Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scenes 171 through 171C are scripted:

And moving on to the next four scenes:

171    INT - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT - WIDE ANGLE   171        as Quentin walks very fast from CAMERA, almost as        if he were trying to run from what he has done.  He        passes the stairway to the Tower, looking up for        a second.  Then he continues on much slower now,        to the far bedroom.  He leans against the wall, his        back still to CAMERA, obviously going through great        mental anguish. 171A   INT - FIRST FLOOR STAIRWAY - NIGHT                 171A        as Carlotta comes up the stairs TOWARD CAMERA and        starts for the Gallery, she suddenly stops as she        notices Quentin through the open bedroom door. 171B   INT - BACK STAIRS - NIGHT - LOW ANGLE              171B        TIGHT on Quentin as he goes through his inner tur-        moil.  HOLD for a moment, then we HEAR the SOUND of        CARLOTTA'S VOICE.                              CARLOTTA (O.S.)                  Mr. Collins?        Quentin does not respond.  SLOWLY WIDEN to reveal        Carlotta, still in the hallway, but coming toward        him.                              CARLOTTA                  The Jenkins' will be returning                  soon.  If Mrs. Collins is going                  to leave, she should go before                  they come back.  Otherwise she                  will simply run to them.  Don't                  you agree?        He does not move or look at her.                              CARLOTTA                  Don't you agree, Mr. Collins? 171B   CONTD                                       CONTD  171B        With great violence, he turns on her.                              QUENTIN                       (blazing)                  Yes, I agree, Carlotta!  But                  I don't need you to tell me                  what I have to do!        As Quentin EXITS THE SHOT down the stairs. 171C   INT - FIRST FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT                 171C        as Carlotta turns and comes TOWARD CAMERA, PAN with        her to the top of the stairs, revealing Gerard,        who stands on the lower landing.  She nods to him        as Gerard then goes down the stairs, EXITING THE        SHOT.

And when it comes to the dialogue, the descriptions, and the directions, because these scenes don't appear in any version of the film, we have no way of knowing what might have been different.

Although, when it comes to Carlotta's second section of dialogue in Scene 171B, Grayson's script has several words crossed out: "If," "going," "should" (which is replaced with "must"), "Otherwise," and "simply," which would seem to indicate that she was intending Carlotta to actually say something like "The Jenkins' will be returning soon. Mrs. Collins is to leave. She must go before they come back. She will run to them. Don't you agree?"

And Grayson's script also contains several notes. She writes that Carlotta conspires with Quentin but she's in charge, and what she's saying is a demand, not simply urging Quentin (which may explain why she changes Carlotta's dialogue in the way that she did), and the takeover of Quentin is becoming more here.

And somehow I'm sure these scenes were played perfectly. With talents like David Selby and Grayson Hall, how could they not have been? I can just imagine how wonderful Grayson must have been, doing her best passive/aggressive manipulation -  and, as we saw on the series numerous times, few actors can play mental anguish better than David can. So it's an absolute shame that none of this is in any version of the film. But then, we all know that when it came to character scenes, they were the first things that DC was only too willing to sacrifice, no matter how great they might have been...

   One thing I forgot to mention when I made the post above is that in DC's script he had all sorts of notes for Scenes 171 though 171C, but for some reason he partially erased them all so it's next to impossible to decipher what he'd originally written. Who knows?

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   This time around I'm not forgetting to mention that it's indicated in the Advance Schedule section of that call sheet I revisited in Reply #1686 that Scenes 171 thru 171C were slated to shoot on April 6, 1971.

However, as I alluded to in the above post, Darren included this on his Restoration site:

Sadly, when it comes to Scenes 171, 171A, 171B & 171C:

The following is a list of scenes that are still lost and which are not present in the 129 min version recovered in 1999.

...

INT.2ND FLOOR CORRIDOR. Quentin runs from the bedroom. INT.FIRST FLOOR STAIRWAY. Carlotta comes upstairs, notices Quentin.

INT.FIRST FLOOR CORRIDOR. Carlotta nods to Gerard who exits.

Though I may be misinterpreting that Scene 171B is lost because the first two scenes listed above are Scenes 171 & 171A, but the third listed is Scene 171C. Did Darren simply forget to include Scene 171B on the lost list? Possibly. Though one thing that is known is that Scene 171B is not on the recovered list. So who knows?

...

It would be quite nice IF Scene 171B is in the 129 minute version of the film, but given that, as I said, it's not on the recovered list, I have my doubts.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

to learn about notes DC made about Scenes 171-171C but erased

I don't know why it didn't occur to me to do it before today, but today I examined what's discernible from the erased notes and it seems like DC wanted to shoot at least some portions of the scenes from a height so he was going to shoot from atop a ladder. Though given much of what he wrote is now unreadable, who knows if he actually shot things that way? And particularly given that nothing from the scenes is in any version of the film, we'll never know...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scenes 172 & 172A are scripted:

...

... moving on to the next two scenes:

172    INT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT                       172        Tracy lies on the bed, her face wet with tears, as        she stares blankly up at the ceiling.  Then slowly        she rises and crosses to the window where she looks        up at the Tower. 172A   TOWER - THROUGH THE WINDOW - TRACY'S P.O.V.        172A        Although the windows are dark, it is almost possible        to see the luminous outline of a woman looking down        at her.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 80/Scene 172A - Tracy (softly, almost to herself): 'I know you're up there. But I won't let you have him. I'll never leave! Never!'

- comes up.

End of scenes.

And when it comes to the dialogue, the descriptions, and the directions, because these scenes don't appear in the film as it currently stands, we have no way of knowing what might have been different. However, they do appear in the 129 minute version of the film...

Coming up next time, we'll deal with more material that isn't in any version of the film - material that will explain what Carlotta's nod to Gerard in Scene 171C was all about...).

   And as far as "today's quote" goes, it is indeed today's, May 5th's, quote.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

 

Page 80/Scene 172A - Tracy (softly, almost to herself): 'I
know you're up there. But I won't let you have him. I'll
never leave! Never!'

And even though the slideshow indicates Scene 172A as being a "Cut/Trimmed sequence," it and presumably Scene 172 are among:

A selection of scenes cut from the 129-minute version that have been recovered:

...

Seeing Angelique's silhouette in the tower window, Tracy pledges that she will save Quentin.

It's funny how some scenes from Darren's various Fest presentations of the recovered NoDS footage stick in your mind more than others. I say "presumably" Scene 172 was recovered because even though I recall seeing Scene 172A back in 2004 at the Tarrytown Weekend as if it had just happened yesterday, I don't recall if Scene 172 was shown with it. And the events of Scene 172 are not included on Darren's list of recovered scenes, only what transpires in Scene 172A...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 173 is scripted:

And now moving on to the next scene in the script:

173    EXT - JENKINS COTTAGE - NIGHT                      173        A car ENTERS THE SHOT, stopping at the house, as        Claire and Alex get out.  Alex takes a valise and the        wrapped portrait from the back seat as they start to        the door.

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 80/Scene 173 - Alex: 'Is it too late to see how they are? --'

- comes up, followed by today's second quote -

Page 80/Scene 173 - Claire: 'Alex, it's two in the morning!'

- coming up, followed in the script by:

173    CONTD                                      CONTD   173        Claire opens the door.  As the two of them ENTER and        the door closes behind them, a light appears in the        living room.  HOLD ON THIS as the SOUND OF THEIR        VOICES can be heard from inside.                              CLAIRE (O.S.)                  I'm making coffee.  You want                  something to eat?                              ALEX (O.S.)                  Yeah.  What's in the Frig?

End of scene - or is it?

And when it comes to the dialogue, the descriptions, and the directions, because this scene doesn't appear in any version of the film, we have no way of knowing what might have been different. However, in DC's script he's added something to the end of the scene:

Pan to see Gerard in car.

Though more than likely it would have been Gerard in his truck...

   And so far as "today's" quotes go, they are indeed today's, May 6th's, quotes.

And a comment about the second quote:

...

... I have to say I've always found the second one from Claire to be quite amusing because in the daytime show two in the morning seemed to be the perfect time for people to drop in at Collinwood!    And the fact that Claire doesn't think so might be clear proof that at the very least Sam Hall considered NoDS to be set in an alternate reality from the daytime show. 

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

 

With regard to Scenes 173, Darren Gross posted on his Restoration Web site:

The following is a list of scenes that are still lost and which are not present in the 129 min version recovered in 1999.

...

EXT.JENKINS COTTAGE. Alex and Claire return- Gerard watches.

... And  no doubt Gerard's presence outside the Jenkins cottage is why Carlotta nodded to Gerard in Scene 171C. Though in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter because Scenes 171C and 173 aren't in any version of the film...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

While trying to do some research into NoDS in China, I discovered that in addition to 暗影之夜 (pronounced Ànyǐng zhī yè and which translates to Shadow Night) the film is also known as 受委屈的鬼魂 (pronounced Shòu wěiqu de guǐhún and which translates to The Wronged Ghost, which I think is a much better title, especially if one looks at the film from the perspectives of Angelique and Charles - and let's face it, they win in the end).

Unlike other foreign Web sites, I didn't come across any sort of video that was either dubbed into Chinese (like the Spanish video I'd discovered) or which had the English dialogue repeated in another language (like the Russian video I'd discovered). And considering US films are exported to China, I was initially surprised not to come across a Chinese DVD/Blu-ray release. But then I remembered that the 2012 DS was banned in China because of its witchcraft theme, so perhaps such a policy was already in place in 1971. If so, that could explain how like with the Russian sites, every Chinese Web site I came across for NoDS that featured a DVD/Blu-ray for the film featured the US release, and quite possibly a bootleg copy at that.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 174 is scripted:

And moving on to today's new scene:

174    EXT - COTTAGE LIVING ROOM - NIGHT                  174        as Alex ENTERS THE SHOT from the bedroom, he crosses        to the bar and pours himself a drink.  He sips, sits        and begins to unwrap the package.  Claire ENTERS THE        SHOT from the kitchen, carrying a tray of sandwiches.

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 81/Scene 174 - Claire: 'Coffee's coming --'

- comes up, followed by today's second quote -

Page 81/Scene 174 - Alex: 'I need this more --'

- coming up.

And when it comes to the dialogue, Alex actually says "Need this more --"

And when it comes to the descriptions and the directions, we don't actually see Alex enter from the bedroom, or cross to the bar to pour a drink, nor sipping the drink to then sit and unwrap the portrait - and as we can see from today's second capture, Alex actually delivers today's quoted line -

- off screen.

Also, it's interesting that the scripted opening of Scene 174 isn't on the list of unrecovered footage, so there's at least a possibility that if it was shot, it does appear in the 129 minute version. Or it may simply be that because it was only a trim, and a pretty insignificant one at that, it simply just wasn't put on the unrecovered list...

   And so far as "today's" quotes and "second capture" go, they are indeed today's, May 7th's.

 

[Josette]

How did you get the Chinese and it's pronunciation???!!!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I came across the Chinese characters for Shadow Night, as well as the special characters for the Brazilian, German, Russian and Turkish titles, on one of the Web sites for the Spanish DVD/Blu-ray release of NoDS. (I'd wondered if they would even display correctly on the forum. But after I'd copied/pasted them from that Spanish site to here and previewed the post, I discovered they did indeed.) As for the Chinese characters for The Wronged Ghost, they were on several different Chinese Web sites. Of course, I had to have Google translate those sites for me before I had any idea what they said. But once I saw the alternate title, it was just a case of going back to the Chinese to copy/paste them just like I had for the first Chinese title.

As for how I got the pronunciations for the Chinese titles (as well as the Russian title), I copied/pasted the Chinese (and the Russian) characters into Google Translate and the pronunciation of the foreign language automatically showed up -

- and as you see one can even play the pronunciation.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting an observation:

I've often mentioned that for the most part I pay closest attention to the characters and little attention to the background and periphery (which is the main reason it's not too often when I notice cameras intrude on the edge of frame on the daytime DS - though we see more of the periphery of VHS and DVD on LED TVs than we ever did on old cathode ray tube TVs, especially the actual broadcast of the show - but that's a different story). And more proof of that came today because today was the first time I ever really noticed that as Claire enters the living room of the Jenkins cottage as she's saying that coffee is coming, we actually see the coffee pot on the stove in the background -

- and as a sidenote, who knows who was responsible for the pot actually being on view in the film because they were definitely doing their job, but what are the odds the same might have happened if a character on the daytime show had mentioned making coffee? Why do I suspect they would have been very low odds?! 

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting more of how Scene 174 is scripted:

Continuing with Scene 174 with Alex' scripted actions:

He raises the drink and then finishes unwrapping the        package, revealing a portrait of Charles Collins.        Now the incredible likeness to Quentin is very        obvious.

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 81/Scene 174 - Claire: 'I don't like being back here --'

- comes up, followed by today's second quote -

Page 81/Scene 174 - Alex: 'I know...'

- coming up.

...

   And as far as "today's" quotes go, they are indeed today's, May 8th's quotes.

And so far as the dialogue, descriptions and directions go, all that will be revisited in a future post...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And speaking of things that I never really noticed before (which I was doing back in Reply #1778):

... I didn't really notice until today that Claire has made five sandwiches for herself and Alex (or at least I hope they're not all for Alex).

         
         

Aren't five sandwiches a bit much for two people? And especially at two in the morning? But then, maybe driving from NY to Collinwood works up a big appetite.    But it's enough to make one wonder just how many sandwiches did Claire make when she made lunch for herself, Alex and Quentin on his first day at Collinwood, especially when both Alex and Quentin ordered a ham sandwich and a tuna sandwich? Unfortunately, though, the tray Claire brings back isn't shot close enough or from a good angle to see how many sandwiches are on it.

         
         

And two comments:

I suppose that Alex and Claire could have stopped at the Howard Johnson's on the Maine Turnpike or whatever restaurant was open 24/7 but I guess that they didn't. Perhaps Alex was in a hurry to get back because there was liquor available at home.

Perhaps Alex was in a hurry to get back because there was liquor available at home.

You could be on to something there! 

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Following up on Reply #1779's excerpt of how Scene 174 is scripted:

...

And when it comes to the dialogue, Alex actually says "Yeah, I know..." - but in addition to that, DC's script has more dialogue written into it -

Page 81/Scene 174 - 'I still can't get over it. If Quentin had that scar on his cheek, they could be twins.'

- and though it isn't specifically assigned to either character, in the film it's slightly reworked and presented as:

Claire: 'I still can't get over the likeness. Charles Collins could
be his twin.'

Alex: 'All that Quentin needs is that scar on his cheek...and you
wouldn't be able to tell the difference.'

And when it comes to the descriptions and the directions, we don't actually see Alex raise his drink because, as was mentioned before, he's off screen when he refers to it - and we also don't see him finish unwrapping the portrait because as can be seen in both of today's captures -

- is already fully unwrapped and leaning up against the couch - and considering that the portrait's back is to the camera, we have yet to see that it's a portrait of Charles Collins or the incredible likeness to Quentin - and when it comes to the additional dialogue, the camera does a slow truck in on Claire as she delivers her portion and also a slow truck in on the portrait as we first get to see it as Alex delivers his portion, ending this close -

- as Alex finishes his additional lines.

   And as far as "today's captures" go, they were May 8th's this time around.