Fans,

Many of you have read this article about the shooting of a porno film at Seaview Terrace in 1975:

http://www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com/2014/12/that-time-someone-made-porno-at.html

There is now an edit of the movie done by somebody who removed all the actual pornographic content, I guess for those who wanted to either see the story or to view shots of Seaview in the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omc5tVNUmwA

The opening scene has a very DS look to it and appears to me to have been shot inside Seaview (but I don't remember enough about the layout of the house to specify which hallway and room). If you go to the 18 minute mark, there's a nice long tracking shot of the lead actor and actress walking across the lawn to a side of the house that was used a lot in the 1966 film segments on DS. It looks as if filming happened in early March.

In one of the outdoor scenes, the lead actor (playing a character named Jason) wears the same style of cape Barnabas had in the 1795 storyline. It does make me wonder if Damiano was a DS fan.

The plot is somewhat different from what was described in the NY Times review. The main difficulties I had watching even this truncated version were the awfulness of the script--completely artificial, unbelievable dialogue no actual human would ever say--and the awfulness of some of the performances, especially the lead actress. Either her theory was that her character was in a drugged state throughout the proceedings (which I guess would make sense) or she was chosen for her looks rather than her acting ability (of which she appears to have none).

Jason's butler Griffin is played by "Zebedy Colt" aka Edward Earle Marsh, an interesting cult figure in counter-cultural gay circles of the time. He recorded a florid album of showtunes and standards with the lyrics adjusted, in some cases. The theme of the album was one man's romantic quest to find his life partner in his nightly prowl through the bars. It's an interesting period piece.

G.

Agreed, MB. But that's a nice screenshot of Barnabas in the foyer she chose for her illustration.

G.

Unusually tasteful shirt and tie for Cyrus--as worn moments ago by Yeagar, perhaps; I can't recall now. I wonder if Stanley Simmons had taken over from Ramse Mostoller at this point on wardrobe duty; I believe so.

G.

What an odd little entry. I've never heard the expression "that burns my biscuits." And several other peculiar turns of phrase.

I think the stories are so numerous because fans enjoy writing them, and other fans enjoy reading them. Period. Simple as that. No need to throw the I Ching or study Freud to come up with some elaborate rationale.

Julia fans, and Julia/Barnabas fans (or "shippers," I think the term is now?) became a rising force around the time I learned about fandom and started going to the occasional Festival, back circa 1995. Of course, I don't see my very intermittent participation in fandom as having anything to do with the rise of Julia cultists in the ranks.

A notable thing I have observed with fans who were involved in the 1970s and 1980s is that if they were Julia fans, they were very badly scarred by the contempt in which the character seems to have been held by the big name fans of the period. The fandom then was dominated by Josette fans and Angelique fans. I think Julia fans were considered eccentric at best.

Interestingly when the series started running nationally on Sci Fi, a lot of people referenced Grayson's performances as a major reason for becoming addicted to the series. This actually seems to reflect what was the same case during the broader popularity of DS back during the original broadcast--it comes out if you read the letters printed in the soap opera mags (which did not start until AfterNoon TV in late 1968). It's the real reason why Grayson was in so many episodes--she was genuinely popular with the fans of the period. It had nothing to do with the fact that Sam was a writer, although Dan Curtis was known to be one of Grayson's biggest fans.

I never know how to evaluate Danny Horn's writing about Grayson... I think he does genuinely admire her, but sometimes I think what he mainly admires is how no holds barred she was in her work on the show. That had a lot to do, as we have frequently discussed, with specifics of the production and what the major directors such as Lela Swift and Henry Kaplan (about whose directorial style KLS had some fond, revealing memories to share in her very first book).

G.

Interesting to see how today's youngsters respond to the show.

G.

Wonderful shot, MB!

That scene is one of many that helps make the 1968 storyline one of my favorites, even though it's often heavily criticized by fans. It is when I started watching the show (a few months prior to this moment, in the middle of the Dream Curse) so it will always be my sentimental favorite.

G.

Not sure I have ever seen that one, either.

It looks as if Frid is uttering that familiar line: "Come along, Willie. We have WORK to do."

G.

Julianka! Even Magda was afraid of her.

There was this one fan who had a cult for actress Diana Davila. Grayson and Davila worked together again in the long lost ABC Wide World of Mystery movie, "The Two Deaths of Sean Doolittle." Perhaps one of these days that film will see the light of day once more...

G.