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Messages - Bob_the_Bartender

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886
Current Talk '11 I / Do You think Anyone Bothered to Attend Matthew Morgan's Service?
« on: June 17, 2011, 12:35:14 AM »
Hey gang,

Watching the first year episodes of "Dark Shadows" recently (which are very good, seeing many of the beloved DS characters leading so-called "normal" lives before Mr. B. eventually showed up in town), I wondered if after Matthew Morgan departed this mortal coil, did the Collinses or anyone from town take the time to say au revoir to ol' Matthew?  (A stone-cold-dead Matthew had barely hit the floor of the drawing room in the Old House, when Laura Collins showed up, and it was almost as if Matthew had never existed, imo.)

I mean, Matthew was "hardly" the Andy Hardy or even the Regis Philbin of Collinsport, don't you agree?  Certainly, Vicky Winters and Burke Devlin (not to mention the recently departed and beloved Bill Malloy) had little reason to mourn the surly Matthew's passing.  However, since Matthew had been a loyal employee/servant for the Collins family for many years, maybe a magnanimous Mrs. Stoddard, along with a reluctant Roger, a bored Carolyn, and Matthew's little playmate, David, did attend "Mr. Sunshine's" funeral ceremony?

Previous to working as a handyman at Collinwood, I couldn't remember if Matthew had just worked in the Collins Cannery or had also worked as a fisherman on one of the Collins fishing boats.  If Matthew had been a fisherman (possibly, along with Joe Haskell's late father), perhaps Mrs. Stoddard arranged for Matthew's body to be buried at sea from one of the Collins fishing boats?

I can see it now:  Matthew's tightly-wrapped corpse, being ever-so-gently and ever-so-respectfully lowered into the sea by Ezra Ahearn, Joe Haskell and some of the other longtime fishermen of the Collins Fishing Fleet, as Sheriff Patterson and his deputies discharged a solemn volley of gunshots from their service revolvers in a final tribute to the curmudgeonly, old man of the sea and the cannery.  

And, of course, Mrs. Stoddard, in an almost tristful and pensive manner, would toss a bouquet of flowers into the sea; flowers which Matthew used to so diligently and lovingly cultivate on the grounds surrounding the great house of Collinwood.  

I tell you, Matthew's possible burial at sea might have rivalled the late, unlamented Osama bin Laden's impromptu dumping into the Red Sea for solemnity and dignity.

So long, Matthew.  We hardly knew ye!   [ghost_nowink] [ghost_rolleyes] [ghost_grin]

PS Maybe Mrs. Johnson, puffing on one of her Lucky Strikes out there on the fishing boat, shed a tear for poor, old Matthew? [ghost_sad] [ghost_wink]

887
Current Talk '11 I / Re: Regarding the End Credits of the "Dark Shadows: The Beginning" DVDs
« on: June 16, 2011, 11:54:10 PM »
Lydia,

I think that Barbara Hershey (before she eventually hooked up with David "Kung Fu" Carradine) was on "The Monroes."

And let's not forget Bob Lloyd (Thank you, Midnite!) intoning those immortal words at the end of a Dark Shadows episode:

"Tonight on ABC, tune in to see 'The Rat Patrol' and 'Love: American Style'  IN color!"  [ghost_cheesy] [ghost_grin]

Bob

888
Current Talk '11 I / Regarding the End Credits of the "Dark Shadows: The Beginning" DVDs
« on: June 14, 2011, 07:36:43 PM »
Hey gang,

I get a big kick out of hearing the announcer at the end of the "pre-Barnabas" episodes, mentioning some of the ABC shows that were being broadcast back during 1966/1967 while watching the final DS credits on those first year, black-and-white episodes.

That wonderfully resonant-sounding announcer (who initially intoned the immortal words: "Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production" at the end of each show before the DS cast members eventually did the honors)  might say something like: "Tonight, on ABC see 'Bewitched' and 'Combat' in  Color!"  (Yes color was a big deal in 1966!)

Wow, do those promos bring back wonderful memories of such 1960s' ABC night time classics as "Peyton Place," the aforementioned "Combat" (which my brothers and I loved to watch with our late, World War II US Army veteran father) and the cool and thought-provoking sci-fi series, "The Invaders," featuring the always terrific Roy Thinnes, the future Roger Collins of NBC's 1990 Dark Shadows revival series.

Ah, yes, the halcyon days of Dark Shadows, The Avengers, Combat and so many other superb series on ABC during the 1960s.  Sadly, we'll never see their great likes again.... [ghost_sad]

Bob

PS Does anyone know the name of that silver-toned ABC announcer on the Dark Shadows episodes?

889
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Re: Denise Nickerson Today
« on: May 17, 2011, 09:42:27 PM »
Gerard,

Thanks for the interview with Ms. Nickerson; I understand that she is a very warm and gracious person.

Bob

890
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Re: OT: Kate Jackson on Match Game
« on: May 17, 2011, 09:39:01 PM »
The Match Game is about the only decent show on The Game Show Network. 

I suppose that Kate Jackson was probably the only Dark Shadows alum to appear on that memorable and very funny game show.

Bob

PS Did you ever catch that classic Match Game episode, when a young guy (maybe about 35-years-old and having complete male pattern baldness on the top of his head), had just lost and was about to be "rolled-off" the set, when the always irrepressible Charles Nelson Reilly, shouted from the upper-tier of the celebrity panelists' seats, "Wait a minute!"?

With that, Mr. Reilly walked very calmly and leisurely over to where the young guy was still sitting and then took off his own "squirrel," placed it on top of the young guy's formerly hairless head, and declared: "There, you look ten years younger now!" as Gene Rayburn, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson, the other celebrities, and everyone else in the studio audience broke out into uproarious laughter!   [ghost_grin] [ghost_cheesy]

891
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Re: Who Killed the Soaps? We Pick 7 Culprits
« on: May 14, 2011, 10:12:45 PM »
Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on May 14, 2011, 10:06:50 PM
[ghost_grin]  But somehow I think Roger wouldn't have been caught dead in K-Mart!  [ghost_wink]

Yes, Roger Collins, always steadfast in "keeping up appearances," among the "unwashed masses," of Collinsport, just like his "other," likely "British cousin," Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet"). [ghost_embarrassed]

892
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Re: Who Killed the Soaps? We Pick 7 Culprits
« on: May 14, 2011, 10:00:51 PM »
In addition to shopping at Brewster's Department Store, perhaps the unfailingly sartorially-splendid Roger used to also purchase some of those finely-tailored navy double-breasted blazers, snazzy Sherlock Holmes-like Inverness raincoats, and traditional "rep" ties of his at the Collinsport K-Mart's men's clothing department?

(Roger always did enjoy those "blue light" specials at K-Mart's, I understand.)

893
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Re: Who Killed the Soaps? We Pick 7 Culprits
« on: May 14, 2011, 09:17:54 PM »
What's going to happen to "Soap Opera Digest"?  I'm going to miss employing my old Evelyn Wood speed reading training lessons, when reading that eminent publication as I wait  on line to check-out at my local supermarket.

By the way, do you think Mrs. Johnson (or even the "slightly" toffee-nosed Roger Collins) ever enjoyed perusing through all of those weekly periodicals prominently displayed on the rack by the check-out register as they made purchases at the local Collinsport Von's or K-Mart's? 

894
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Re: Collinsport, ME and Whitewood, MA.: Possible Sister Cities?
« on: May 14, 2011, 09:03:49 PM »
One of the other fun parts of this cult film is in listening to the all British cast as they attempt to affect the appropriate American accents of their Massachusetts-based characters.  Sir Christopher Lee does a quite admirable job in sounding like an American college professor, as did Dame Diana Rigg, when she portrayed an American woman in the early 1970s film, "The Hospital," with the late, great George C. Scott. 

Incidentally, I understand that the title of Sir Christopher's autobiography is the wonderfully ironic and humorous one of "Tall, Dark and Gruesome"!  I have not read the book yet, but I look forward to reading about this truly distinguished gentleman's life and film career.  (I do know that Sir Christopher and Patrick "John Steed" MacNee were friends and classmates as young boys in England.) 

In her first book, "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows," Kathryn Leigh Scott wrote that the renowned film actress, Gale Sondergaard (sp?), once visited the Dark Shadows set.  Ms. Scott regretted that the former "spider woman" of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes films and also the "other woman" in the Bette Davis classic, "The Letter," was never able to have a cameo appearance on "Dark Shadows."

I've often regretted that we never got to see some of the other film horror icons of the 30s/40s/50s on "Dark Shadows" as well.  From Great Britain, it would have been wonderful to have seen Sir Christopher "Dracula" Lee and his longtime "nemesis," Peter "Dr. Van Helsing" Cushing on "Dark Shadows."

And, from this side of the pond, wouldn't it have been terrific to have seen such American film horror icons as Lon "Lawrence Talbot" Chaney, Jr., the always eloquent and erudite Vincent "The House on Haunted Hill" Price (who was said to be a big fan of "Dark Shadows" himself) and of course, America's "adopted" horror icon, the great Boris "The Frankenstein Monster" Karloff acting with Joan Bennett, Jonathan Frid, Lara Parker, and, my personal favorite, Bob "Bob Rooney" O'Connell on "Dark Shadows"?

Oh, well ,what could have been... [ghost_sad]

 

895
Calendar Events / Announcements '11 I / Collinsport, ME and Whitewood, MA.: Possible Sister Cities?
« on: May 12, 2011, 12:24:12 AM »
Hey gang,

I recently watched a new dvd copy of a British 1960 supernatural thriller film, entitled "The City of the Dead."  The star of the film is the truly great, Sir Christopher Lee.

Basically, the film deals with a coven of witches, who, since 1692, have gathered together to conduct a human sacrifice on every Candlemas Eve (February 1) to honor their "boss' and to renew their immortality for another year.

Sir Christopher portrays Prof. Alan Driscoll, an expert in the occult (and a not-so-nice version of Prof. T. Elliott Stokes), who urges one of his comely, young female students to travel to Whitewood in order to gain a better "insight" into the history and legends of witchcraft  in New England.  (I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice it to say, that that impromptu academic field trip ends rather badly for the young coed.)

The village of Whitewood, Massachusetts reminded me very much of the beloved Collinsport, Maine; most of the the residents seem to be very creepy and there always seems to be an incredible amount of fog, rising up from the streets and sidewalks of the town (very much like the pea soup-like stuff Barnabas encountered when he first met the Leviathans on his way along the path to the Old House).

Of course, there is an especially nasty witch around, named Elizabeth Selwyn (shades of Angelique), who was previously burned at the stake in 1692, right around the same time that Judah Zachery had his head lopped off after his own witchcraft trial.


The film was directed by veteran director John Lllewllyn Moxey, who directed such memorable television series as "Mission Impossible," "Kung Fu," "Magnum P.I.," and the superb British spy series, "The Avengers," starring the wonderful Patrick MacNee and the remarkable Dame Diana Rigg.

Oh yeah, Mr. Moxey also directed the 1972 cult supernatural t.v. film, "The Night Stalker," starring Darrin McGavin and the beautiful Carol Lynley, and produced by one Mr. Dan Curtis, a prolific giant of both American film and television, and who once also produced a Gothic daytime soap opera, which we all may have seen, from time to time, over the years.

The dvd also features commentaries by both Sir Christopher Lee and Mr. Moxey, and also an in-depth interview with the United Kingdom's greatest film Dracula. I first saw this film on John Zacherle's Friday night horror show on Channel 11 in NYC way back during the 1960s, and I wholeheartedly recommend this genuinely spooky film to all of my Dark Shadows cousins today.

Bob


896
Current Talk '11 I / Re: Discuss - Ep #1196
« on: April 18, 2011, 09:15:54 PM »
Mr. Astredo was an absolutely wonderful villain, what with that unbelievably wicked killer smile of his. [easter_smiley]

I'm glad, that as Charles Dawson, Mr. Astredo did NOT have to wear that seemingly ubiquitous grey suit of his, which "poor" Nicholas Blair always seemed to be decked out in. [easter_evil] 

(Aren't Satan's top emissaries provided with an adequate expense budget for classy and snazzy threads while on Earth acting in his "behalf"?)  [easter_huh]

897
Caption This! - 1995-Gerard and Daphne-Summer of '70 / Re: Episode #1095
« on: March 28, 2011, 03:21:21 AM »
Quote from: Gerard on March 28, 2011, 12:24:52 AM
Julia:  "Barnabas, just swallow your pride already and pay the electric bill!"

 [lol2] [hello] [laughing6]

Yes, as Vicky once observed, "Barnabas has no use at all for the 'modern conveniences.'"  [nodno]

898
Current Talk '11 I / Re: How About an Official Patron Saint for Collinsport?
« on: March 28, 2011, 03:07:09 AM »
DarkLady,

We've speculated before about the possible religious affiliation of the Collins family.  I agree that they were probably members of one of the Protestant denominations, although the surname Collins is Irish (like that of Irish patriot, Michael Collins).

Incidentally, about the only man of the cloth I can recall from the contemporary episodes of "Dark Shadows" was Rev. Brand (or Bland?), who performed the nuptials for Carolyn and Jeb Hawkes (a veritable match made in Heaven!). [snow_rolleyes]  Come to think of it, that rather youthful reverend was kind of "bland." [snow_scream]

I particularly liked your point about the change in demographics in Colinsport over the years, with French-Canadians and possibly Portuguese moving into town.  In addition, there must have been quite a few Irish, Scottish and Italians, who eventually arrived in town.  (Too bad we never got to see Joe Haskell and Maggie Evans, sitting down to a romantic and sumptuous dinner of Chicken Marsala at Galtieri's Authentic Italian Trattoria.)

I've always thought that Burke Devlin, Bob Rooney and perhaps Sheriff George Patterson may have all been fresh-faced altar boys during their early years in Collinsport.

By the way, wouldn't it have been cool to have seen Collinsport's own "bete noire," Mr. Willie Loomis, as he made his way to confession after a "considerable" lapse in time?  Willie probably would have entered the confessional, knelt down, made the sign of the cross, and said something like, "Bless me father, for I have sinned.  Man, have I REALLY sinned!  It's been thirty years since my last confession," and Willie would then proceed to provide Father Brendan F.X. Rooney with probably THE most incredible confession the good father had ever heard in his twenty-five years as a priest! [snow_shocked]

Pax vobiscum,

Bob

899
Current Talk '11 I / Re: How About an Official Patron Saint for Collinsport?
« on: March 27, 2011, 05:07:43 PM »
Quote from: DarkLady on March 27, 2011, 04:29:02 PM
Trouble is they probably would have thought those movies were documentaries!  [snow_wink]

How true THAT is!!! [snow_laugh] [snow_cheesy]  Someone once posited the idea that on Halloween the residents of Collinsport and Collinwood did absolutely nothing at all to honor that particular holiday because, frankly, it was just like virtually any other day in the great and spooky town of Collinsport, Maine! [snow_smileydevil]

Incidentally, I'll bet at that double feature of "Rosemary's Baby and "The Exorcist" at the Collinsport Cinema, that Angelique, Nicholas Blair and Judah Zachery (sp?) were all sitting in the front row of the theater, enthusiastically cheering on all of those satanic residents of the Dakota and also "Captain Howdy" down in Washington, D.C.!   [snow_shocked]

900
Current Talk '11 I / Re: How About an Official Patron Saint for Collinsport?
« on: March 27, 2011, 01:17:24 AM »
DarkLady,

Wouldn't it have been great fun to have seen Barnabas, Julia and Roger and Mrs. Stoddard returning home to Collinwood immediately after seeing a double feature at the Collinsport Cinema of "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist"?

Can you imagine that quartet discussing those two films over coffee and snifters of brandy?  Oy vey!

Bob [snow_laugh]

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