Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

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It's amazing how different the color of Claire's outfit looks on the Blu-ray versus the VHS. Or maybe not so amazing given how so many things are colored differently on the VHS version of the film...

Just for the fun of it, I checked the Laser versus the VHS and, of course, there's a difference there: the Laser is a bit darker and a very slight bit closer to the Blu-ray. Here's the Laser screen capture versus the VHS screen capture and the color of a pixel taken from the Laser version of Claire's blouse versus the same pixel taken from the VHS version and then below those the Blu-ray screen capture and the color of the same pixel taken from the Blu-ray version:

(Click here for a 620X465 version)	(Click here for a 620X465 version)

(Click here for a 620X349 version)

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Maybe Claire, knowing her husband's appetite, had prepared sandwiches in advance and kept them in the refrigerator. In a Tupperware container, of course.

And once again you may have hit on something - I can definitely see that as a possibility. I mean, given the way things play out so quickly in the script with regard to Claire preparing the sandwiches and getting the coffee going, she would have otherwise have to have been a genius at putting together sandwiches so amazingly quickly.

And speaking of Tupperware, something just hit me: If Claire and Alex really were as broke as Alex claimed on the night they had dinner at Collinwood with Tracy and Quentin, the perfect solution could have been that Tracy and Quentin wouldn't have abandoned the tradition of serving tea in the drawing room and those continued tea events could have been combined with Tupperware parties hosted by Claire to make extra money!    It would have been a win-win. But alas, no one lived long enough for them to do it. Oh well. But can you just imagine the scene, though - especially how Carlotta would have most likely looked on disapprovingly!! 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting more of how Scene 174 is scripted:

Continuing with more of Scene 174 with regard to Claire's actions:

She looks at the portrait.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 81/Scene 174 - Claire: 'I still don't see how showing Quentin that is going to make him leave here.'

- comes up.

And when it comes to the dialogue, Claire actually says "I still don't see how showing him that is gonna make him leave here" - and as can be seen in today's capture -

- Claire actually delivers the line off screen.

And when it comes to the descriptions and the directions, there's nothing that's different.

   And as far as "today's quote" goes, it was May 9th's this time around.

 

[Uncle Roger]

No doubt that Carlotta would have regarded the burping of Tupperware to be terribly declasse.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I can so see the look of disdain on Carlotta's face, and I'm sure she wouldn't have even tried to hide it. And of course she would have blamed Tracy for it all even though it would have been Claire who was hosting the Tupperware parties. As if Carlotta needed another reason to dislike Tracy and to want her gone. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Wrapping up revisiting how Scene 174 is scripted:

... beginning with yesterday's quote, Alex' reply to Claire -

Page 81/Scene 174 - Alex: 'I've got to break through to him. If I can only get him to admit that it has to be at least more than a coincidence...we've got a shot.'

- coming up, followed in the script by:

TRUCK IN to the portrait. 174    CONTD                                      CONTD   174

And that's when today's quote -

Page 82/Scene 174 - Claire (O.S.): 'Well, it'll have to wait until morning.'

- comes up.

End of scene.

And as far as the dialogue goes, Alex actually says "Honey, I gotta break through to him some way. If I can just get him to admit that it's at least more than a coincidence, we got a shot" - however, the first part of Alex' actual dialogue ("Honey, I gotta break through to him some way.") is delivered off screen as the camera continues to truck in -

- on Charles Collins' portrait and then holds on it - and as can be seen in today's capture -

- Claire doesn't actually deliver her line off screen.

And when it comes to the descriptions and the directions, the camera doesn't truck in on the portrait after Alex' lines because, as we've already discussed, it did so before yesterday's quote and into the first part of it - and the scene actually ends with -

- Alex taking a sip of his drink as things soon begin to dissolve into upcoming Scene 175...

   And as far as "yesterday's quote" goes, it was indeed yesterday's quote, meaning it was May 10th's this time around, and "today's quote" is indeed today's, May 11h's, quote.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Wrapping up revisiting the differences in the subtitles and closed captioning for Scene 174:

... after Alex says that if Quentin had the same scar on his cheek, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and Charles, Claire says, "I still don't see how showing him that is gonna make him leave here" - and the subtitles reflect that line as delivered - but the closed captioning has -

- and to that Alex first replies, "Honey, I gotta break through to him some way." - and the subtitles reflect that line as delivered - but the closed captioning has -

- and Alex continues his reasoning with, "If I can just get him to admit that it's at least more than a coincidence, we got a shot" - but the subtitles have

- with "at least" dropped for some reason - and the closed captioning goes even more afield with -

- before both do conclude with, "we got a shot."

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting a theory:

Today as I was thinking about the painting with Charles, something I've very rarely ever thought about, I began wondering if Charles included his horse Dubloon (at least, presumably it's Dubloon) because, with the exception of Angelique, Dubloon was the only other living thing that Charles cared for/loved? And that would be particularly interesting if the painting the Jenkins come across is a self-portrait.

(Click here for a 818X706 version)

And if that is the case, it could make one wonder if there wasn't more to Gabriel having Dubloon killed after Charles is sealed in the basement room? Could Gabriel have had more motive than the fact that Dubloon was involved in Strack's death? Previously I've question if that was simply Gabriel's motive. But might it have been far more personal for Gabriel, like he felt Charles cared for/loved his horse more than he did his own brother? I mean, if you care for/love your brother, do you have an affair with his wife? Not likely. So maybe Gabriel's ultimate revenge against Charles simply had to include dispatching of Dubloon as well because Gabriel was just that insanely jealous. It's too bad at this point that, if Chris Pennock ever gave any analysis as to justify why Gabriel had Dubloon killed, we can no longer ask him what might have been his conclusion...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 175 is scripted:

Moving through the next three scenes as scripted:

DISSOLVE TO: 175    EXT - COTTAGE - NIGHT - WIDE ANGLE                 175        It is later now.  The house is in darkness.  The        jeep is no longer there.  HOLD FOR A MOMENT, then        start a VERY SLOW ZOOM IN.

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And as far as the differences in the descriptions and directions go:

It's interesting that for Scene 175 there's a reference to a jeep (presumably actually Gerard's truck) no longer being there when DC actually had to add to his script that Gerard was watching Claire and Alex in Scene 173. Apparently Gerard watching must have been a part of the script but was accidentally left out somewhere along the way.

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And it must have been left out at least as early as the March 10th version of the script because DC's added reference to Gerard watching doesn't appear in Grayson's copy of the script either...

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[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 176 is scripted:

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DISSOLVE TO: 176    INT - COTTAGE LIVING ROOM - NIGHT                  176        The room is in darkness except for the glowing embers        in the fireplace.  CAMERA SLOWLY PANS THE ROOM, then        starts to TRUCK DOWN THE HALLWAY.  Through the open        bedroom door at the end of the hall, Claire and Alex        can be seen sleeping in their twin beds.  CAMERA        CONTINUES TO TRUCK, ENTERING THE ROOM.

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And when we first see the cottage living room in Scene 176, the room isn't in darkness except for the glowing embers in the fireplace because the light is on -

 - however, soon the light slowlys dims until the room actually is in darkness -

- and Alex begins to toss and turn -

- until we actually see Angelique's spirit -

- come down the corridor - approach -

- Alex - and then turn into -

- the mist-like vapor that envelopes Alex' body. So, the camera doesn't actually do a slow pan of the living room because, as we could see in the above captures, the camera actually remains stationary and focused on Alex asleep on the couch - and the camera also doesn't do a truck down the hallway, and we never actually see Claire and Alex through the bedroom door and asleep in their twin(!) beds (especially considering we've already seen Alex asleep on the couch in the living room) - and the camera doesn't continue to truck in as it enters the room.

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