The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia is a 1981 American musical drama film starring Kristy McNichol, Dennis Quaid, Mark Hamill and Don Stroud, directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. It was very loosely inspired by the 1972 Vicki Lawrence song of the same name (it shares almost no plot elements with the original song). In 1981, Tanya Tucker recorded a different version for the film's soundtrack and new lyrics related to the plot of the film were written. These altered lyrics were based on the plot line of the movie, which is not the same as the story of the original song.