Angelique in NoDS

[Gothick]

Greetings,

thanks to a friendly tip from Darren and the MB (see NoDS thread), I've been reading the NoDS script published in the DS Movies book back in 1999.

When I first saw NoDS (on the CBS television broadcast around 1973, I think--the movie only played my town for one week, and it was when we were away on a trip), my "read" on the story was that Angelique really was a Witch. Her death certainly could be regarded as an injustice (not to mention being technically illegal--not to put too fine a point on it, in the events depicted in the complete script, she was lynched by a mob consisting of a stump preacher and some deluded local stable boys, under the direction of certain of the local gentry who had a score to settle with the lady).  I was surprised when I began to read online fandom back in the mid 90s to find that many fans' take on it was that Angelique, although a scheming adultress, was technically innocent of Witchcraft.

My current reading of Sam Hall's screenplay reinforces my original impression, that we're meant to understand that Angelique isn't just "witchy," but actually a Witch.  Many of the scenes that clarify her "uncanny" abilities of course fell victim to the cutting room floor.

I hope to go into more detail later on, but am just curious what other fans of NoDS think about the matter.

G.

[Gerard]

Even when I saw the movie during it's theatrical run, I always thought that she was, indeed, a witch, even if pivotal scenes from the screenplay which made that quite clear (I read it in the book, too - fascinating!; I loved the "prequel" scene with the hippie), either ended up on the cutting room floor or were never shot.  I guess I was able to read between the lines.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I loved the "prequel" scene with the hippie ... never shot.

I may have ranted one or two times about the scenes DC never shot for hoDS. (OK - so I've ranted one or two million times.) But in the case of the "hippie" sequences in the NoDS script, I actually think it was an excellent decision not to have shot them. They would have tipped the audience off way too early that Carlotta and Gerard were, well, pretty much a pair of homicidal maniacs when it came to protecting the "secrets" at Collinwood. I think it's much better that that fact evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace as edited...


As for Angelique being a witch, I've always felt that "the strange death of Reverend Herridge so soon after his sermon denoucing her," as Strack put it, wasn't merely some trumped up charge on Strack's part but was actually a plot device to more than hint that Angelique had indeed had more involvement in his death than possibly having simply wished that the reverend had minded his own business.

[Patti Feinberg]

thanks to a friendly tip from Darren and the MB (see NoDS thread), I've been reading the NoDS script published in the DS Movies book back in 1999.

My current reading of Sam Hall's screenplay reinforces my original impression, that we're meant to understand that Angelique isn't just "witchy," but actually a Witch.  Many of the scenes that clarify her "uncanny" abilities of course fell victim to the cutting room floor.

Steve...where is Sam Hall's screenplay? Is it something you download, or something you personally bid on and won?

I'd love to see something like this.

Thanks,
Patti

[Mark Rainey]

MB wrote:

But in the case of the "hippie" sequences in the NoDS script, I actually think it was an excellent decision not to have shot them. They would have tipped the audience off way too early that Carlotta and Gerard were, well, pretty much a pair of homicidal maniacs when it came to protecting the "secrets" at Collinwood. I think it's much better that that fact evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace as edited...

The opening hippie scene might have done too much too early for -- or to -- the movie as a whole, but as a set piece, the way it reads in the script, it's outright scary. I can envision every detail of it, and I'd love to have seen that filmed -- even if it were a five-minute short film.

--Mark

[Stuart]

Steve...where is Sam Hall's screenplay? Is it something you download, or something you personally bid on and won?

The original script is reproduced from Dan Curtis' archive copy in the "Dark Shadows Movie Book", published by Pomegranate Press.

As for Angelique, I always felt that she wasn't a witch.  Certainly in the full script she's a far more sympathetic character than Strack and his cronies.  My take on it was that the injustice of her death kept her spirit at Collinwood, and that any powers she showed were gained from attempting to alter those events. I very much like the cloudiness of the character - it's a nice source of mystery for the film, and it definitely benefits from not answering all the questions it raises.

I'm pretty glad the unfilmed scenes were lost - the opening reads as a wonderful set piece, but it pretty much kills any intrigue in the opening act along the way.  And the shopping scene with Gregory really spoils the enclosure of the rest of the movie - all the action takes place on the Collinwood estate, so popping away for a daytrip halfway through seriously compromises that sense of isolation.