A Haunting in Venice opens with Vera Lynn’s classic song ‘When the Lights Go On Again‘
The new Agatha Christie film A Haunting in Venice released in movie theaters in the United States today after coming out in the UK earlier in the week.
The film stars Kenneth Branagh, who is reprising his role as the now-retired detective Hercule Poirot, alongside Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird and Michelle Yeoh.
It follows Detective Hercule Poirot in post-World War II Venice as he is asked to solve the now one-year-old murder of Alicia Drake.
Along with the typical Agatha Christie thrills and mysteries, A Haunting in Venice also features several cool songs on its soundtrack.
One being that fabulous Vera Lynn song ‘When the Lights Go On Again‘, which was playing in the opening scenes of the movie as people go about their business in Venice, and as we see Poirot pottering in his garden.
The song is also hummed by Dr. Ferrier (played by Jamie Dornan) as they are all gathering for the séance, and is then played again over the film’s end credits.
What is the significance of Vera Lynn’s ‘When the Lights Go On Again’?
The song was obviously chosen for the film as it is a classic Vera Lynn song that talks about how the soldiers will return home, true romance can begin again, and the world will go back to normal after World War II finally ends.
When the lights go on again all over the worldAnd the boys are home again all over the worldAnd rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies aboveA kiss won’t mean “goodbye”, but “Hello to love”
As A Haunting in Venice takes place in 1947, soon after the end of World War II, the song is explaining to viewers that Venice is now “back to normal”, except for the recent murder of Alicia Drake who sadly didn’t live long after the “lights went on all over the world”.
Vera Lynn’s ‘When the Lights Go On Again‘ was written in the early years of the Second World War, and first recorded and released by American musician Vaughn Monroe.
Lynn’s version of the song came out in 1944, a year before the war ended, but in the UK is the version of the song that is the most well-known and the most liked.
Vera Lynn herself was known for her many uplifting songs during World War II. Songs that are said to have brought people together, and given them hope that the war would eventually end and that their now war-torn life would eventually return to normal.
Listen to Vera Lynn’s ‘When the Lights Go On Again‘ as heard during the opening scenes and end credits of A Haunting in Venice in the video, and via the Spotify player.
Almost 70 years after its release, it is still a lovely song.