Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

If it makes you feel any better, in the entire filmed frame, the nude sketch glimpsed to the right of the above doesn't have Angelique's face on it.  It's more of a female body study.  There's no head on the sketch-- it ends at the neck...

Before yesterday when I began to replace VHS stuff with video clips and frames from the Laser Disc, I'd never broken down Scene 85 frame by frame so I never noticed until today that there's a frame that shows exactly what Darren was talking about. And it show up when both the VHS/Laser -

- and the DVD/Blu-ray -

- is broken down - but while watching the film the camera shot moves so quickly away from it that it's extremely hard to even notice...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another post worth revisiting:

... further proof that -

- David Selby was the anointed successor to Joel Crothers in our DS Universe. 

And I'm sure we all recall that almost exactly 11 years after DS went off, in a DS-related interview Crothers said that when he was on DS he would have loved to have played a character like Quentin. Of course, he wasn't offered the role. But who knows - maybe in some alternate universe Crothers actually did play Quentin on the daytime DS. And quite possibly that might also mean that he played Quentin and Charles in that universe's version of NoDS... 

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Getting back into the subtitles and closed captioning, when it comes to the sounds of Charles and Angelique making out at the beginning of Scene 85 as the camera pans over to them, the subtitles completely ignore them - but not so when it comes to the closed captioning -

More to come...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with the subtitles and closed captioning for Scene 85, the first bit of unscripted/reworked dialogue is handled correctly by both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

More to come...

 

(ADMIN: Reply #248 has been edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with more of the subtitles and closed captioning for Scene 85, with the next bit of unscripted/reworked dialogue that both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

 - handle correctly.

More to come...

 

(ADMIN: Reply #249 has been edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Picking up where we left off with the subtitles and closed captioning for Scene 85, the next bit is acknowledging banging on the door - and both the subtitles -

- and the close captioning -

- do that - and then Gabriel delivers his "Charles, I want to talk to my wife" off screen, exactly as scripted - and both the subtitles and the closed captioning get that correctly - and he follows that with his "I know she's in there. Now, open the door" off screen, exactly as scripted - and the subtitles get that perfectly - however, the closed captioning simply has -

- for some odd reason - and that is followed up by more banging - however, only the closed captioning acknowledges it -

 - this time.

More to come...

 

(ADMIN: Replies #250 & #251 have been edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Back in 2021:

Last night I attempted to recreate my first viewing of NoDS as closely as I could. ...

I hadn't actually watched the film in years, so it was definitely fun to watch it, especially so because it was the first time I'd watched it on a 60in TV. And one would think that having seen the film so many times there couldn't possibly be anything that I would notice that I'm not sure if I ever noticed before - but one would be wrong in that assumption. For quite possibly the first time I noticed that rain is running down the tower room windows in the scene in which Angelique and Charles make out and Gabriel and Strack come to get her.

Of course, timewise it should have been raining because the scene takes place soon after the scene in the Gallery in which Sarah watches Strack, Laura and Gabriel plot and Carlotta's voiceover specifically points out how it's raining. But, well, this is DS, which isn't well known for its continuity, especially considering that in the timeline of events of that day the tower scene takes place after the Gallery scene but it shows up in the film before the Gallery scene. Quite obviously whoever they hired to handle continuity for the film was much better than anyone who might have worked on the daytime show!

And we may never know for sure, but I might have honestly noticed the rain because it was the first time I'd  watched the film on a 4K TV and not on a dinky old-fashioned TV with a typical screen size...

And this time around I noticed for the first time that the rain is clearly seen again in this shot -

- and gee, I wonder what my attention has normally been on when that shot comes up? - though again to be fair so far as the VHS version of the film goes, the rain running down the window is not discernible in the slightest -

- and it's barely discernible even on the Laser -

- pretty much only noticeable if you know enough to try to look closely for it.

One thing I have wondered is if the rain on the window is real or a product of the Tarrytown Fire Department aiming their hose at the window? We know that the rain at Angelique's funeral (and the rain at hoDS' Carolyn's funeral) was thanks to the fire department - but I'm pretty sure nothing has ever been said if the rain outside in Scene 85 and upcoming Scene 119 was artificially created - though at least when it comes to Scene 119 we know the rain is actually mentioned in the script.

It's also interesting how the sound playing over the shot on the DVD/Blu-ray is part of the cut audio that mistakenly appears on the DVD/Blu-ray but rightfully not on the VHS/Laser because of the cuts made to Scene 85 to avoid an R rating. It's been so long since I've seen the 97 minute version of the film that I have no real memory what was transpiring on screen when Charles delivers "For more of your dreary moralizing," but I do recall that when Angelique laughs hysterically she throws her head back and Charles is kissing her neck, and clearly that is not what we see on the DVD/Blu-ray before Charles delivers his "moralizing" line, so obviously even though the DVD/Blu-ray contains the extra bits of sound, it's not synced with the footage that actually belongs with it. What would really be interesting is if the footage seen on the VHS/Laser videos above has the correct sound of Gabriel's banging on the door, but who knows if we'll ever learn if it is or it isn't...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Now, we know that next up on the DVD/Blu-ray there's dialogue that shouldn't be there, and of course it all shows up in the subtitles - Charles' lines are scripted as, "For more of your dreary moralizing? You try my patience, brother." - however, in the 97 and 129 minute versions of the film, as scripted, first Charles delivers, "For more of your dreary moralizing?" - but that shows up in the subtitles as -

- with the "For" dropped - and that's followed, not by Charles' next line, but Gabriel shouting an unscripted -

- as he bangs on the door, though none of the subsequent banging after the first of it is acknowledged by the subtitles - and then is when Charles delivers -

- dropping the "You" - and in the 97 and 129 minute versions Gabriel also shouts his scripted "For the last time! Open the door!" - but that doesn't show up on the DVD/Blu-ray - however, you can hear it, Angelique giving a small giggle, as well as yet more banging if you go back to Reply #1378 and play the third video because I'd put it together using the audio tape of the 97 minute version of the film that I'd recorded back in 1971.

More to come...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing along with the subtitles and closed captioning for Scene 85, rather than the dialogue that appears in the DVD/Blu-ray that shouldn't be in the 94 minute version of the film, the closed captioning on the VHS acknowledges more banging on the door -

- and after Angelique delivers her scripted line to let Gabriel in, which is acknowledged correctly by both the subtitles and the closed captioning, and Charles gets up to do so, the closed captioning acknowledges even more banging -

- and as Charles works on unlocking the door, the closed captioning acknowledges yet more banging (that Gabriel is an impatient one! ) -

- and after that point is where things get very strange because after Gabriel is revealed he says, "That's my wife, Charles," however, both the subtitles and the closed captioning have -

- and as I said back in 2021 -

... whereas Gabriel's next scripted line is:

Page 35A/Scene 85 - Gabriel: 'I have come for her, brother.'

But what he actually says in the film is:... 'That's my wife, Charles.'

What comes up with the closed captioning is ... seemingly a mix of what was scripted and what was actually said, but really neither. Who knows where/how whoever did the closed captioning came up with it?! ...

And the discovery of that exceedingly odd discrepancy in the closed captioning is what's prompted me to check out all the closed captioning as well as all of the subtitles.

More to come...

 

(ADMIN: Reply #252 has been edited to replace a TV video screen capture)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with how Scene 85 is scripted:

Picking up where we left off with Scene 85, with ... Charles' reply to Gabriel -

Page 35A/Scene 85 - Charles: 'What's happened? You've suddenly become a man. (turning to Angelique) Will you take the credit, my dear?'

- coming up, followed by the script explaining:

She laughs as Gabriel takes the opportunity to force        his  way in.  Before Charles knows what's happening,        Strack and FOUR OTHER MEN are coming through the door. 85     CONTD                                     CONTD  85        Angelique rises in alarm as Charles tries to force        them back.  Two of the men subdue him.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 36/Scene 85 - Charles: 'Leave her alone, Trask! I'm warning you! Gabriel, have you lost your mind?'

- comes up.

And as for what's different about the dialogue, what Charles actually first says to Gabriel is "Well, little brother's suddenly become a man. (turning to Angelique) Will you take the credit for that, my dear?" - and the reason I selected two captures for today's quote and repeated the entire quote for both is because 1) I couldn't decide which capture I liked best to represent it, but more importantly because 2) in the film what Charles is scripted to say is actually flipped around with him first saying (to Gabriel) -

Charles: 'Have you lost your mind?'

- and then (to Strack) -

Charles: 'You touch her and I'll kill you!'

- rather than substituting Strack for Trask and saying "Leave her alone, Strack! I'm warning you!"

And the only reason DC's script's Page 35A is indicated as being a part of the 3/31 rewrite is because, as you may have noticed, his script says "Before Charles knows what's happening, Strack and FOUR OTHER MEN are coming through the door", whereas Grayson's script's Page 35 says "Before Charles knows what's happening, Trask and FOUR OTHER MEN are coming through the door."

And once again, one good thing about the VHS version of the film is that it doesn't cut off a character's head, in this case, Strack's:

And as for what's different from the descriptions and directions, Angelique doesn't laugh at Charles' remark about Gabriel suddenly becoming a man - and it's only two other men that enter with Strack, not four - and we don't actually see Angelique rise because when we see her she's already standing in alarm - and before we even see Strack and the second man, ..., it's actually one of the men and Gabriel who subdue Charles.

Considering that supposedly the VHS and the Laser Disc versions used the same print of the film, for their transfers, it's quite interesting how so much better the flesh tones are on the Laser. Another case in point:

I'm really beginning to wonder if the same print really was used or if that info was misreported...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Two more posts definitely worth revisiting:

Apparently Charles Collins was a man who believed in equal opportunity manhandling -

(Click here for a 1000X781 version)

- as this seventh as well as rare still to preview Scene 85 shows...

More join the fray in the eighth still to preview Scene 85:

(Click here for a 1203X925 version)

And so far as I can recall this still has only been published twice: a very small version is on page 224 of the DS Movie Book and a much better version was shared by Cinefantastique with its review, which The Doctor and K9 generously shared back in Reply #131.

(And speaking of the Cinefantastique review, I keep meaning to get back to make some comments on it - but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. But one day - perhaps when some of what I have to say relates to what we're covering in the slideshow...)

And as we saw, the still above is #6 in the NoDS Editor's Portfolio...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Picking up with the subtitles and closed captioning for Scene 85, after Gabriel reminds Charles that Angelique is his wife, Charles remarks, "Little brother's suddenly become a man." - and both the subtitles and the closed captioning get that correctly - and after Charles turns in Angelique's direction, he asks her, "Will you take the credit for that, my dear?" - and again both the subtitles and the closed captioning get it correctly - but when Gabriel lunges up at Charles, only the closed captioning acknowledges Charles' grunt -

- (and I don't think I ever noticed before how much sun is coming in the window - perhaps a big weather change considering it was pouring rain minutes before in the scene - but then it is possible for the sun to shine while it's still raining - I've seen it more times than I can count - so it doesn't have to be a continuity error during shooting) - and as Charles is being subdued by Gabriel and a servant, Charles demands, "Have you lost your mind?" - and once again both the subtitles and the closed captioning get things correctly - however the subtitles indicate that Gabriel says, "No." after that -

- but Gabriel actually says no such thing - and as Rev. Strack enters preceded by another man, Charles shouts out Strack's name - however, oddly, both the closed captioning and the subtitles have it as -

- and the subtitles also have Charles next line, which it gets correctly, as does the closed captioning - and after Strack motions for the man who entered with him to get Angelique, and as the man moves to do so, Angelique lunges to scratch his face and shouts, "Don't any of you touch me!" - and the subtitles get that correctly - but the closed captioning simply has -

- and after that Angelique says, "I'll come with you," - and the subtitles also get that correctly - but the closed captioning only has -

- before Angelique finishes with, "but don't any of you touch me!" - and both the subtitles and the closed captioning get that part correctly - and finally Strack orders, "Come with us, Angelique Collins." - and both the subtitles and the closed captioning get that correctly as well...

 

(ADMIN: Reply #580 has been edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Two more posts worth revisiting

And now we move from stills depicting the scene to stills from behind the scenes to preview Scene 85:

(Click here for a 1000X779 version)
(Keep the fruit bowl in mind...)

This still first showed up in a Nov. '71 16 Magazine article and a Daytime TV article to promote the movie. And then in later years it showed up on page 111 of the DS Companion. Though all of those versions range from greatly cropped to slightly cropped...

And as we recently saw, this still is also #5 in the NoDS Editor's Portfolio...

Here's a still of DC directing to preview Scene 85:

This still first showed up on page 34 of the DS Almanac 30th Anniversary Tribute. But something that's really weird is there's a scan of it that shows up in a few places on the Internet and it's backwards. And even if people didn't realize which side the fabric should be on and which side the window should be on, one might think that in the backward version they'd noticed that the unfinished Angelique painting is oriented wrong...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And yet two more worth revisiting:

And another behind the scenes still featuring David Selby and Lara Parker to preview Scene 85:

(Click here for a 700X476 version)

This one is fairly rare - and it is something to keep in mind along with the still shared in Reply #216 because they will relate to something coming up in a couple days...

Now, this next rare still is definitely behind the scenes - and it could very easily be behind the scenes preparing for Scene 85. But it could also be behind the scenes preparing for Scenes 102 or 124 because Charles and Gabriel are wearing the same clothes.

(Click here for a 1400X1557 version)

And, although Charles is also wearing a black vest in Scene 102, Selby could have easily put that on after getting his sideburns attended to. But I chose to go with Scene 85 because it's the longest. And who knows, all those scenes might have been shot on the same day...

Also, it's amusing that in the still there's a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula on the table near Selby -

- though, of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it was his or he was reading it. It could have been left on the table by anyone...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the first few posts regarding this goof in Scene 85:

... I've decided to provide the answer to this:

And I still haven't forgotten about this -

I haven't forgotten about this:

... I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that there are continuity errors in Scene 85 that I never noticed until I watched it this time around. ...
So, has anyone else noticed the continuity errors? The screw up is a really big problem when it comes to a subsequent scene...

Once you learn what the problem is, you're going to feel foolish that you didn't notice what's wrong with Scene 85. I certainly do. And it would be one thing if it was simply something in Scene 85 and had no bearing on anything else, but as I said, it's a really big problem when it comes to a subsequent scene...

I'm sharing screen captures from both the Blu-Ray and the VHS. See if you can discern the answer without me having to provide an explanation because the answer is going to be staring you in the face:

And from upcoming Scene 124:

(ADMIN: Edited to replace VHS captures with Laser captures)

See if you can discern the answer

A word of advise for those viewing the screen caps on a phone: you may want to enlarge the caps to see things more closely. When I checked the post this morning I noticed that details may not be as visible on a phone as they are for those of us viewing them on a PC monitor. On a phone, if you know what to look for, you'll definitely see it (or not see it, as the case may be) - but if you don't know what to look for, you may not...

I got somewhat distracted by Angelique's big hair but she seems to be missing her pendant in the first few captures. Oops!