DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '09 I => Topic started by: fanforever on April 04, 2009, 05:36:34 PM
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I was recently watching a 1968 episode and noticed that Barnabas acts differently depending if Lela Swift is directing and when Sean Dhu Sullivan is directing. For instance, when Sullivan is directing an episode, Barnabas seems to rush through his lines, and acts like he never read the script, whereas when Swift is directing, Barnabas seems more relaxed and simply acts better.
I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this drastic change in acting with any other actors?
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Oooh, this is great. I want to hear more of this, from people far more focused and observant than I.
I'd always noticed that JF was more invested and remembered better when in the past storylines.
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For certain, an excellect subject. If you look at the actors from days of old, certainly they had their favorite directors. Claude Rains and Bette Davis loved to work with Michael Curtiz, although he was known to be an ass.
I bet the actors on DS had their favorite directors that they preferred to work with.
Awesome subject!!!!
Kerz, you got any insight?
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I always preferred Grayson's performance's with one certain director. I can't think of who it is at the moment though.
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I did but I took antibiotics for it.
Kerz, you got any insight?
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I wonder if anyone else has ever noticed how nervous and off-key Joan Bennett seems to act whenever Dan Curtis is directing? [easter_huh]
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I always preferred Grayson's performance's with one certain director. I can't think of who it is at the moment though.
I too noted a difference in Grayson's protrayal depending upon the director and it was noted in the biography. Lela Swift reportedly said "bigger, make it bigger" well Grayson surely responded. Whereas Kaplan was known, the quote Nancy Barrett, to "sit on us" and coached them to be more subtle. Grayson is generally less reactive when Kaplan is directing. This is an interesting observation --when they went to make the films, Grayson reportedly advised the younger actors, who'd not been in films, to be still and quiet and not hyper-react. But she didn't take that same advice to her TV work on DS consistently.
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I'm not sure this is a reflection on the director of the show but merely an observation that Joan Bennett seemed to be a better actress in the earlier shows. I am watching the 'beginning' episodes and when Elizabeth Stoddard came on screen I was struck by the difference in her performance. I love JB but was wondering if maybe by the end of the show she'd had enough and just went through her lines without giving it that little extra.
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Could have a lot to do with the role she was playing. Early Liz was a meaty role. Liz had two huge secrets and was trying to normalize David and protect him from the Roger's indifference. She also had to contend with Burke on at least two fronts. She also had to deal with multiple problems (large and small) stemming from Mathew Morgan, Bill Malloy, Carolyn, and Roger. And this was all pretty much at the same time. I would guess that Joan played Liz as a woman with all these problems nuanced in her performance as opposed to playing Liz as a woman whose only problem was the one she was dealing with in any particular scene. I don't think her last characters had as much to deal with all at once and perhaps it came across as a phoned-in performance in comparison. Could have had as much to do with the writing also, I would guess (as I am not that familiar with the last storylines).
On the other hand, as you've stated, it has been noted that much of the cast had grown tired of "the job" toward the series' end and were ready to "move on". So I guess if Joan had been in that camp, it may have manifested itself in her performance.
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I know from the festival actor panel discussions that there was not much love towards Henry Kaplan. John Karlen said on stage he wanted to punch Kaplan in the mouth on many occasions. He didn't, of course.
Re Frid - I think any lackluster performances were probably more about the fact he was tired than anything else. At one point he stopped doing the many tv and radio interviews and publicity stunts he was going right after taping and on the weekends because he arrived back at the studio exhausted. It doesn't help if you are not a quick line learner to also be tired when working on a script. In addition to having the most lines on any DS show he was also the actor who spent the most time doing interviews and publicity stuff including weekends. Not being an apologist here just stating the facts, ma'am.
Nancy
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without a doubt joan did much of her best work on the series during it's first year.
which is why i found one of the dvd interviews with sam hall to be so baffling when he stated that it was during his tenure that joan's "ill defined" characterization of elizabeth collins stoddard was given some direction.hardly.
i'm rewatching the 1966 episodes and i'm being reminded of why i fell in love with liz in the first place.it's such a great,meaty role.her and mitch ryan are so well matched and i love their rivalrous scenes together.same goes for her scenes with louis edmonds.liz can be such an ice queen!
i'm also reminded of how much screen time liz got in the early days.in later years sometimes weeks go by(sadly)without an appearance.
in general i think that joan's performances are better when she's given some good material to work with.when she's peripheral sometimes she just phones it in.for that reason i really enjoyed her work as naomi and judith during the time travel storylines.it's great stuff.as ridiculous as the leviathan plot was one of the reasons i liked it was that liz was given some good material.again,frosty!
during the final months i did notice that joan,but more notably jonathan and grayson,seemed exhausted.
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My favorite work of Joan Bennett was during the 1897 timeline. I really loved her work there.
I've often wondered how much of the chaos on the DS set contributed to the seeming "tense" work seen from the actors from time to time. The set is, in effect, the actor's office. If the office isn't running well or full of unhappy, tired people doesn't it eventually reflect on how well everyone works?
nancy
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true,
as fond as we all are for the show it's important to remember that for the actors involved it was,at the time at least,just a "job" even if they liked it(and some did not).
and how many times have we all gone into work tired,or cranky,or just not "into it" or even said "i hate my job". [easter_rolleyes]
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YES...Henry Kaplan's episodes with Grayson are here best IMO!
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Well put, mscbyrk. Perfectly put, actually, IMO. [easter_wink]
nancy
as fond as we all are for the show it's important to remember that for the actors involved it was,at the time at least,just a "job" even if they liked it(and some did not).
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I love the work that I do but there are days, like today, where I hate everything and everybody, lol.
[easter_shocked]
nancy
and how many times have we all gone into work tired,or cranky,or just not "into it" or even said "i hate my job". [easter_rolleyes]
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My favorite work of Joan Bennett was during the 1897 timeline. I really loved her work there.
I agree. I LOOOOOOVE Judith!!
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Did Joan Bennett ever express dissatisfaction with all the strange supernatural content of DS, as all that intensified, perhaps going over the top sometimes? And did she see DS as a big step downward after having been a screen star? From childhood on, I got that impression of JB, but I could have just been misareading her reserve.
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From what I can gather from the tone of her interviews, JB may not have loved the show, but she didn't dislike it. I think she relished the movie more than the show, since that was more her bag.
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From what I recall of a Mike Douglas Show interview with Joan, she came across as rather excited about the show as she mentioned vampires, ghosts, and werewolves. But I imagine Joan was much too gracious a woman to say otherwise for the TV cameras. I mean she was obviously there to promote the show and I doubt she would bite the hand that fed her. I know of a DS fan private interview Joan gave in her latter years and I imagine she was a bit more upfront about her feelings. I've never heard or seen it (that I can recall, anyway) but I know of some here that have and if we are lucky, maybe they will expound.
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I wonder if anyone else has ever noticed how nervous and off-key Joan Bennett seems to act whenever Dan Curtis is directing? [easter_huh]
I'll hazard a guess that differences you're noting in Joan's performances are more likely due to her impatience with his inexperience and inefficiency. It's quite apparent in biographies about her that she was extremely organized and efficient (both privately and professionally), whereas Curtis' resume' as a director was seriously lacking. And quite honestly, I can't say I've found her performance to be "off" under his direction; i.e., I thought she was quite good in the scenes leading directly to Naomi's [spoiler]heartbreaking suicide.[/spoiler]
She has admitted to her own nervousness, which had more to do with poor vision and the pace of a daytime serial.
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I think she relished the movie more than the show, since that was more her bag.
Though her part in HoDS wasn't all that big, and it meant working entirely under DC's direction (see above post [easter_wink]). It was during the filming that we got the well-known anecdote, "Aren't you Joan Bennett?" "I used to be."
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I'm sorry, I should've chosen my words better. What I meant was nervous, especially the first ones that he directed. It was like the boss coming to check on the workers.
I really like Dan's directing, especially the camera angles used. I have a lot of respect for him.
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For the actors to whom this was their first or second job, I can understand their being nervous when the person who presumably hired them came back to direct some episodes.
As for people like Joan Bennett, I doubt very much she was nervous because DC was her boss and now directing. She had worked with some of the best and most talented film directors in film history. Dan Curtis, at that point in his career, was no where near being viewed as a great director.
Nancy
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A very interesting topic. I'm sure the directors had different temperments and actors had their favorites. If Lela Swift wanted the actors to project "big", certain actors found that appealing. Dark Shadows was larger than life and a certain amount of theatricality was fine, but overdoing it, as Grayson Hall sometimes did, didn't work for me.
As far as Joan Bennet goes, I agree with the general consensus that once BC came on board, and after the Jason storyline, her importance on the show diminished. More time was spent on the supernatural elements (and special effects) and she, as well as a few others, became props. The balance went in favor of those elements that were popular. Once we had time traveling vampires, ghosts, witches and werewolves, it was hard to get into a meaty domestic situation.
Frid certainly was overworked with the show and promotional work and it showed at times. When he was good, he was very good (as Mae West used to say!).