Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's quote -

Page 17/Scene 50 - Carlotta: 'Is anything wrong, Mrs. Collins?'

- check out -

Setting up the current scene:

- this post...

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The review from Parents Magazine:

And while it may not seem particularly flattering, it is when compared to their review of hoDS. One thing the two have in common is the magazine accuses both films of bad direction and acting - but then they also betray themselves as being prejudiced against DS because the hoDS review says the mystery to them is the daytime show's great popularity. And while they rated NoDS "Fair" for adults, that's actually a step up because hoDS was rated "Mediocre".

Quite honestly, whenever I read almost any of the reviews in Parents I picture the critic as someone like Dana Carvey's Church Lady because it's like very little pleases him/her because he/she finds fault in almost everything (though they did at least say that NoDS has an interesting and unusual plot - well, before they say how it gets ruined). But in the case of this particular review I definitely picture a Church Lady type because of how the review accuses NoDS of containing nudity. What?! About the most the film gets in the nudity department (even when it comes to the more explicit/graphic version) is this shot of Angelique:

(Click here for a 1160X640 version)

But, please, there's more cleavage on display in the majority of period dramas! Heck, there's more nudity on display in hoDS thanks to how Carolyn's shroud sometimes leaves little to the imagination (and there's no mention of nudity at all in Parents' hoDS review). But neither the DS films nor the period dramas would be considered showcasing nudity by the majority of individuals. But then, if you have a Church Lady mentality, well...

Although, perhaps the Church Lady reviewer felt the need to bring up nudity because of the sketch hanging on the wall in Charles' studio:

If so, thank heavens the version of NoDS shown in theaters was 1.85:1 and not the 4:3 version of the VHS in which the sketch is seen like this:

The reviewer's head might have exploded!! 

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's quote -

Page 17/Scene 50 - Tracy: 'There's someone down there just staring up at me. Who is it, Carlotta?'

- check out -

Picking up where we left off, beginning with:

- this post...

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Just to show that there were writers who actually reported the facts accurately, I'm sharing this magazine blurb:

Given most of the other blurbs I've shared, it would be easy to understand if anyone wondered if mostly every magazine got anything from minor things to major things wrong - but most didn't...

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's first quote -

Page 17/Scene 50 - Carlotta: 'There's no one there.'

- and/or today's second quote -

Page 17/Scene 50 - Tracy: 'There was a man. With two black dogs.'

- check out -

Picking up where we left off, beginning with:

- this post...

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's quote -

Page 17/Scene 50 - Carlotta: 'Oh, Gerard. Gerard Stiles. My nephew. He's the caretaker-handyman. He keeps the horses, too. I don't know what I'd do without him.'

- check out -

Picking up with today's quote, Carlotta's explanation:

- this post...

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Oops - I just realized that I'd only done this slideshow up through the 16th. That's why things are incorrect today. But I will fix that right now...

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's quote -

Page 17/Scene 50 - Carlotta: 'Those dogs are very important to the security of the estate, madam ... now, is there anything I can get you?'

- check out -

Wrapping up the current scene:

- this post...

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's quote -

Page 18/Scene 51 - Gerard: 'Do you know what happened last night? [She does not answer.] Do you?'

- check out -

Setting up the new scene:

- this post...

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As I was going through things and planning out future things to share, two thoughts struck me: it's unfortunate that some magazines used a quality of paper that doesn't seem to scan particularly clearly, and more often than I would have liked magazines chose to use a still from the NoDS Editor's Portfolio (which MGM provided with stills and background articles) that, if it was me making the choice, would have been the least likely one I would have chosen. Case in points, this:

It's really quite surprising how often that cemetery shot showed up in prerelease publicity in the various entertainment magazines rather than stills that featured actual stars from the film. Yes, as I've said, it's definitely true that the still of Tracy and Quentin entering the vestibule with their luggage was published more than a dozen times - but the cemetery photo had to come in as a close second. And one has to wonder why? Did the magazines think people might say to themselves, "Oh look, it's a photo of people in a cemetery, let me run to see that film!"? I tend to suspect few people would have. But then there is no getting around that MGM did include the photo in the set, so they had to believe it had some sort of selling point. And it's not even like it's the only cemetery still they used to promote the film because one of the Lobby Cards is a cemetery shot:

But anyway, for what it's worth, here's a much better version of what turned out to be one of the magazines favorite NoDS stills:

(Click here for a 672X543 version)

And if you think about it, the ones who really lucked out were the extras in the still because they got their photo in a lot of national magazines. 

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Posts often look different on a phone than they do on a monitor, and when I got the chance to check out the above post on my phone I saw that the scan I'd posted of the magazine version of the cemetery still doesn't look nearly as bad as it does on my monitor. Interesting.

Something else also struck me. I'd forgotten this:

So chances are that cemetery still was probably one of the first official stills released to promote the film. And that probably explains why it appeared in so many magazines during the prerelease publicity. Though of course they could have also released stills from the funeral sequence featuring Thayer David, Diana Millay, Christopher Pennock, Clarice Blackburn and Monica Rich because stills of them in various combinations most certainly do exist. But apparently the extras portraying pallbearers and mourners was the mood MGM wanted to go with...

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And speaking of those TV spots, my favorite of the two I saw is definitely the one that appears on MPI's DS Behind The Scenes VHS/DVD:

I keep forgetting to mention that's it's interesting that TV spot (and at least one of the trailers) includes the shot that is actually the end of NoDS (nothing like finally getting back to it a month after having posted the video):

But the good thing in this case is that, unless you've already seen NoDS, you have absolutely no idea 1) that's the last shot, or 2) what its significance is. On the other hand, I hate some of the hoDS TV spots/trailers because they clearly give away too much of the plot. I mean, one hoDS trailer gives away seemingly every twist and turn save for the final one - and who knows how they ever controlled themselves not to give away that one too?! 

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's first quote -

Page 18/Scene 51 - Carlotta: 'Everything has changed now. You must accept-'

- and/or today's second quote -

Page 18/Scene 51 - Gerard (interrupting): 'I was good enough before he came, now...'

- check out -

Continuing with Scene 51, beginning with today's first quote -

- this post...

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If you want to learn about or refresh your memory concerning the background of today's quote -

Page 18/Scene 51 - Carlotta (snapping at him): 'Go to the stables. He will be down to ride soon. [Gerard is about to object.] I've told you things are different now.'

- check out -

And wrapping up Scene 51, beginning with today's quote -

- this post...

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Here's another still/review pairing:

I'm not so sure what was wrong with "soap opera gothic," especially considering that is exactly what most of us liked about the daytime DS. But then the early '70s were still a time when people looked down their noses at soaps and they were practically considered by too many as the bottom of the barrel. How times would change. But at least, unlike Parents Magazine's' review, this one credits the cast's talents. (But then, Parents definitely falls into the category of places where soaps were considered the bottom of the barrel.  )

And as for the photo that accompanied the review, it's another that appears in the NoDS Pressbook -

- and here's a scan of the actual still -

(Click here for a 471X700 version)

 - though, oddly, the top is a bit cropped.

And as an aside, most fans are probably already well aware of this, but just for the sake of documenting it, the above still was colorized and the image of Charles Collins' skeleton from this still -

(Click here for a 548X700 version)

- was combined with it as the image for the front cover of the NoDS VHS box:

(Click here for a 383X700 version)

I'm not usually a fan of colorizing B&W photos, but whoever was responsible for doing the colorizing in this instance did an exceptional job. They could have definitely taught their counterparts at MPI a thing or two!