When the Lights Go on Again
Cast & Crew
William K. Howard
James Lydon
Regis Toomey
George Cleveland
Grant Mitchell
Dorothy Peterson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Suffering from combat fatigue and wounded in a South Pacific battle, young Marine corporal Ted Benson is granted a thirty-day furlough to visit his bride and family in his hometown of Middletown. Upon arriving in Kansas City, Ted suffers an injury in a taxicab accident that causes his shell shock to return. As Ted wanders the streets of Kansas City, he is befriended by reporter Bill Regan. When Ted, who does not remember anything about his past, shows Regan a letter from his family in Middletown, the reporter offers to accompany him home. The train to Middletown is overcrowded, and so Ted and Regan ride with the engineer in the locomotive. The engineer recognizes Ted, and as the train speeds to its destination, he relates Ted's history: Ted's father Arnold, a pillar of the community, owns half the town, including a factory. Rebelling against his father's regimented business and social life, Ted falls in love with Arline Cary, the daughter of Tom Cary, the town's newspaper editor, but his father believes it would be more advantageous for the family if Ted married Barbara Dunham, the daughter of the town banker. Following an argument with Arline, Ted discusses his problems with his younger brother Joey. When Ted's grandfather, Pat Benson, tells him that his father has arranged for him to marry Barbara, Ted telephones Arline and reconciles with her. Soon after, Ted informs his father that he has decided to quit college and go to work for Arline's father. At Thanksgiving, an editorial appears in the paper criticizing Benson's policies, thus jeopardizing the chances that the Benson factory will be converted into a defense plant. When the elder Benson discovers that Ted wrote the editorial, he visits Cary and denounces him and his daughter for turning Ted against his family. Upon learning of his father's accusations, Ted elopes to Kansas City with Arline. The newlyweds return to Middletown to learn that Pearl Harbor has just been bombed. Ted immediately enlists in the Marines, and after returning from boot camp on a short furlough, reconciles with his father. After a tearful farewell, Ted is shipped overseas. As the train pulls into Middletown, the engineer finishes his story and another train carrying Joey, who has just enlisted in the armed forces, departs. That night, Regan visits the Bensons and explains the great care needed to assure Ted's recovery. The next morning, Regan goes to Arline's house and informs her of her husband's condition. As the days pass, Ted's memory slowly returns and he begins to recall familiar events and places. Ted's recuperation becomes complete when he and Arline visit their favorite trysting place under a weeping willow tree and Ted remembers the special name that he and Arline had for the tree --"Willy the Weeper."
Director
William K. Howard
Cast
James Lydon
Regis Toomey
George Cleveland
Grant Mitchell
Dorothy Peterson
Harry Shannon
Lucien Littlefield
Joseph Crehan
Luis Alberni
Warren Mills
Emmett Lynn
Jill Browning
Barbara Belden
Roberta Carling
Larry Thompson
James Hope
Willard Jillson
Jac Turrell
Bill Nelson
Myrtle Ferguson
Guy Blake
Al Stewart
Elmo Lincoln
Crew
Billee Bass
Bennie Benjamin
C. A. Beute
David Chudnow
Frank Craven
Leon Fromkess
W. Franke Harling
Donn Hayes
Milton Lazarus
Sol Marcus
Ira Morgan
Alec Morrison
Raoul E. Pagel
Paul Palmentola
Ferrol Redd
Eddie Seiler
Charles Stevens
Glenn P. Thompson
James H. Wade
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Songwriter Bennie Benjamin's surname is misspelled "Benjemen" in the onscreen credits. According to pre-production news items in Hollywood Reporter, actor-writer Frank Craven was initially slated to play "Pat Benson" in the film, but a previous Broadway commitment forced him to withdraw. This picture marked the screen debut of Barbara Belden. The title song was a popular World War II song in the U.S. and Britain. Other Hollywood Reporter news items add that the title song was heard on the "Hit Parade" radio show for twenty-two weeks and was adopted as the theme song of the American Legion. The governor of Indiana declared Thanksgiving week "When the Lights Go on Again Week," and several governors issued proclamations asking their constituents to observe a "When the Lights Go on Again Week" on V-E Day.
