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« on: July 17, 2012, 04:44:40 AM »
A few comments:
Anthony George did not get "star billing." The only actors who received special billing on DS were Moltke and Joan Bennett. In the final few months Jonathan Frid finally got the special billing he had deserved since 1967. Everyone else on the series was just billed as name and role.
I agree with michael c--Burke's instincts about Barnabas WERE correct, and he had very good reasons for trying to get Vicki not to go to the Old House.
As far as acting goes, I thought George wasn't right for the romantic stuff, but some of his antagonistic scenes with Barnabas were really well played, particularly the "I thrust, you parry" scene in the Blue Whale. At least, that's how I see it. If you don't like the actor from the get-go, the guy could cry real tears while delivering a Shakespeare sonnet and your reaction is just going to be "feh." And frankly, if Roger Davis declaimed from the Bard, *my* reaction would be "feh." I just happen to think George was better than most fans seems to feel. I also love the scene where Burke and Miss Hoffman have a deliciously man-to-man talk in the drawing room over cigarettes. Just grand stuff IMO.
The Burke character was, as michael c points out correctly, a holdover from Shadows' origins in the realm of paperback Gothic novels. The aggressive, controlling, demanding mystery man who both intrigues and repels the heroine. It's kind of frustrating to think that if Conard Fowkes hadn't asked DC for a pay raise, Frank might have been Vicki's love interest and Barnabas' rival in 1967 and we might have had a very different story. I presume the Burke character was retained because he was established and for whatever reason a re-cast of Frank was not considered.
G.
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