A reminder that the 1967 B&W movie "Eye of the Devil" airs on TCM late night Saturday (actually 3:15 a.m. EST Sunday, 2:15 a.m. Central).  Several people have been interested in this movie in the past, which is why I'm posting about it again.  Despite the title, this is not a garish horror flick, but an atmospheric, nuanced story with mythic elements.  The top-notch cast includes Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Flora Robson, Donald Pleasance, and Emlyn Williams.

One aspect of the movie I like are the many variations of trance and dream states throughout.

Beware of the many negative but uninformed reviews of this movie.  Several state that the opening scenes are set in London, which tells you something about how closely some viewers (including professional reviewers) watched the movie (the opening scenes are set in Paris, where the opening shots were filmed).  Edgy camera work was panned in "Variety" as being influenced by TV commercials!  (I would like to have seen those TV commercials ...)

I believe the last scene to have inspired the ending of NODS (i.e., Quentin going back into the house for seemingly innocent purposes ...).  "Eye of the Devil" also seems to have provided inspiration for the idea behind "The Wicker Man."  Of the two movies, I prefer "Eye of the Devil," at least in part because of its Gothic atmosphere.

Joanna Mills seemed to have powers far beyond those of any ordinary dead person or ghost on Dark Shadows.  How do we explain this?  Might Miss Mills, as she is referred to, have been a witch in life?  Her corporeal body reminds me of Angelique's physical body in her returns from the dead, e.g. the 1795 courtroom scene.  Also, Miss Mills and Miss Harridge are sisters -- so why do they have different last names 

Someone recently said that the character of Ben Stokes was brought back for little apparent purpose at the beginning of 1840.  Although I disagree with that assessment, I just thought I'd point out the very practical reasons the writers may have had in killing off poor Ben Stokes early on -- Thayer David's return in two successive roles within the same storyline.

I wonder if any other actor did this on DS -- three different characters in one storyline!  And each one an individual creation -- Ben Stokes, Mordecai Grimes, and Professor T. Eliot Stokes.

Kudos to Thayer David!  And to those who plotted and casted the 1840 storyline!

Another delayed reaction, but ...

I happened to come across something called the "Dark Shadows FAQ."  I'm not sure where it is or how I found it -- I think it used to be linked on Mr. Juggins' webpage ... I know I saved it on disks a few years back.  This is an excellent compendium of knowledge, with some of the best material on DS I've read.

Any way, according to the FAQ, the image on Gerard's watch fob stolen by Lazlo represents the Colussus of Rhodes -- one of the Seven Wonders of the (Ancient) World.  I'm amazed that someone was able to identify this ... I know I looked at it but couldn't identify the image ... to me it looked like possibly a religious medallion.

At any rate, the FAQ author points out that the Colussus itself is a representation of Helios, the god of the sun (later Apollo).  Somehow I find this very interesting ... maybe because Apollo, as the patron and inspirer of reason, order, and poetry (if I'm remembering my Greek mythology) has always been my favorite among the Greek pantheon.  I seem to remember that he was often seen as the direct opposite of Dionysus -- god of unreason, licensiousness, etc.

Interesting if the icon of Apollo was carefully selected for Gerard.  In some ways, it does fit him ... the original Gerard, that is.  Despite his gun running, opportunism, and other exploits, Gerard also was a man of some culture and sophistication ... he plays the piano, for instance; and appears to fit in comfortably with the aristocratic Collins family.

Yet the danger Gerard represented, which has magnified a thousandfold with his possession by Judah Zachary, makes the iconic image of Apollo an ironic representation.  Given the destruction with which Gerard is now associated, perhaps the proper symbol for Gerard/Judah would be the opposing force of Dionysis, destructive and seductive ...

Total eclipse of the moon -- and it's happening right now!!!   

Not long ago, I talked about the mythic dimension of disembodied heads, how there were ancient cults surrounding severed heads, and of the magical properties they have been thought to have had at various times in history.  I felt that the Dark Shadows writers were drawing on this archetype in making the head of Judah Zachary of focus of this storyline.

Now I'd llike to briefly draw attention to the other major mythic aspect of 1840, which is the ritualistic Mask of Ba'al.

Masks have been part of ancient ritual since prehistoric times when they were used by shamans in their spirit ceremonies.

Shamanism was the spiritual practice of most cultures before the development of religions.  The term comes from a Siberian word, and shamanism is thought to have originated in Siberia and Central Asia.  The shaman is analogous to the concept of priest, a broker between the earthly and supernatural spirit realm.

The purpose of the mask in shamanistic ceremonies was "to proclaim the incarnation of a mythological figure - a god, ancestor, or mystic animal. The mask effects the transubstantiation of the shaman, transforming him before everyone's eyes into the supernatural being he is impersonating"  (http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/shaman.html).

The possession of Gerard by Judah Zachary is only complete when Gerard puts on the mask.

In using the mask in a ritualistic way, the Dark Shadows writers are drawing on ancient religious practices that have entered the realm of myth and archetype.

The other significant aspect of the mask is that it is referred to as the "mask of Baal [or Ba'al]."

Without getting into too much detail, ba'al refers to a class of gods of the ancient Canaanite people.  These gods had possession or lordship over various aspects of life.  Later it seems that the term became a proper name for one individual god.  The Hebrew people at various times practiced Baal worship, though this was always denounced by the prophets in the Bible.

I think the DS writers are using the term rather loosely, though, as a synonym for Satan.  Ba'al worship came to be associated with evil in the Jewish tradition, and the Christian interpretation makes the association one with Satan.  Angelique informs us that Judah Zachary was "a disciple of Lucifer's" and he is also referred to as the devil's son.  I think the writers are just using Ba'al as a somewhat exotic name that we are meant to associate with Satan.

I'm puzzled about something I don't remember from seeing 1840 before, and I'm wondering if my current daily taping got out of order when I fell behind in my viewing last week ...

Anyway, from what I've seen, Julia "Collins" and Leticia Faye stitched Judah Zachary's head back onto his body (implied), the body came to life but then didn't, Julia and Leticia leave, Gerard Stiles enters the crypt and removes the mask from the lifeless body which then comes to life, they grapple and Gerard escapes the crypt but Judah Zachary is apparently killed in a fire that breaks out, Julia and Barnabas return to the crypt and find his arm sticking out from under the rubble and cavalierly pronounce him dead.  At this point (at least as I've taped it), Gerard returns to Rose Cottage, where he consults the head of Judah Zachary, which is still in its glass case.

At first I thought I was watching an old episode on the tape, but then the head seemed to instigate a dream in which Gerard is inspired to return to the tomb for the mask.

That's about as far as I've gotten (and I had to pre-empt the second episode last Thursday so I could tape something on another channel) ... but I also noticed Quentin wearing his unusual ring, although I don't think that has been introduced yet, unless that was the episode I missed taping ...

Anyway, if Judah Zachary's head was attached to his body, how could it still be in the glass case at Rose Cottage?

 

I don't know if anyone has said anything about this, but I'd be interested to know more about the Daniel Collins "backstory" to 1840.  I'm wondering who Harriet was (besides being his wife) and why Daniel murdered her.

Despite his being a murderer, Daniel is one of the characters we sympathise most with in this storyline.  This complexity of character and the ambivalent feelings the viewer has toward him -- we sympathize, but at the same time have reservations knowing that he's a murderer -- is a sign of good character development -- by both writer and actor.  I always prefer shades of gray to black and white interpretations.