Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A discussion worth revisiting regarding the notes Grayson and DC made in their script:

My personal take on all this has always been that most, if not ALL, of those notes in Grayson's script represented her own thoughts on how she was going to play this out.

Grayson was a great believer in something called sub-text.  In a theatrical context, this means information that an actor brings to a given scenario or action.  Ordinarily, this would be augmented or perhaps changed outright by the director's notes.  DC was still fairly green at this time, though, so I don't know how much he contributed to all of this.  I know he was into things such as tracking shots and whip-pans.  LOL.

I do remember the story of him yelling at Thayer David to hit the stake HARDER in a certain scene in hoDS.  Frankly, that seems about DC's speed during this period of his life as a director.

Of course he went on to win an Emmy... which was invariably prominently displayed in every video interview he did, in later life.  I always had the feeling he worked his butt off getting that thing.

Wonderful captures, MB!  And wonderful job of annotating all this for us.

G.

I do remember the story of him yelling at Thayer David to hit the stake HARDER in a certain scene in hoDS.  Frankly, that seems about DC's speed during this period of his life as a director.

Entirely likely!! As we've often lamented, early director DC was far more concerned with blood and gore than he was with character elements. I don't believe there's even one notation in DC's entire NoDS script (or hoDS script) that could even remotely be considered character oriented or particularly subtextural.   

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the final still for Scene 117:

And here's the last still I'm sharing that's associated with Scene 117 -

- and so far as I'm aware it's never been officially published anywhere. And even though it's taken straight on and not from below, it may be the still that comes closest to how the scene -

- was actually shot, as we can see when compared to the screen shot above.

Look forward to several stills associated with upcoming Scene 119...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Three comments that are worth revisiting regarding the previous still:

That last still you posted of GH is stunning!

Quite an outstanding still, MB!!!

I really like that still too. When it comes to most of the others I've shared from Scene 117, I've had them for dozens of years, but I didn't come across that one until a few years ago...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 118 and the beginning of Scene 119 are scripted:

Kicking off the next scenes in the sequence:

DISSOLVE TO: 118    INT - CORRIDOR - DAY - 1800                        118        Although the following sequences will have their own        distinctive style.  They will be different from the        MEMORY CUTS.  Carlotta's voice will continue over the        scene. 118    CONTD                                      CONTD   118

And that's where the first of today's three quotes comes up opposite its direction and description:

It is a rainy afternoon. The ten-year-old Sarah, having nothing to do, skips TOWARD THE CAMERA playing one of her little private games.

Page 59/Scene 118 - Carlotta's Voice: 'It was a dark, rainy afternoon. All week long strange tensions had been building in the house...'

119    INT - GALLERY - DAY                                119

And that's where the second of today's three quotes comes up opposite its direction and description:

as Sarah walks into the room PAN WITH HER as she crosses to the windows.	Page 59/Scene 119 - Carlotta's Voice (Contd): 'tensions I did not understand...but feared. Everyone did not love my Angelique as I did.'
SARAH - CLOSE-UP

And that's where the third of today's three quotes comes up opposite its direction and description:

as she stares out at    the steady downpour.

Page 59/Scene 119 - Carlotta's Voice (Contd): 'I knew that something terrible was about to happen.'

And as far as the differences in the dialogue go, with the exception of adding the word "and", as in "a dark and rainy", all Carlotta's first two quotes are delivered as scripted - however, as has no doubt been figured out already given its graphic, her third quote is dropped in the film.

And as far as the differences in the directions and the descriptions go, the camera doesn't actually pan with Sarah as she makes her way to the windows - and while she does look out the side window, when she reaches the large window, she basically just looks down at the doll she's been carrying and, as can be seen in the following capture -

- then she seems to stare in a world all her own.

And as far as notations go, neither DC nor Grayson made any for this section of the script.

And as an aside that has nothing to do with the scenes covered here, but earlier today I happened to notice in the forum's Who's Online feature that a member was checking out an old NoDS topic, and feeling curious about what it was about, I came across this post while I was perusing it:

You can see the missing footage either at a festival panel that I might do next year or perhaps sometime in the next 10 years or so it will be restored and  released on a DVD.

As you can see, Darren made that post back in 2003, and obviously 2013 came and went with no restored NoDS to be seen.    But in 2016 we still try to remain optimistic that one day... So until then I suppose we just have to settle for Darren's occasional Fest presentations.

   And as far as "today's" quotes go, they were yesterday's, March 8th's, this time around.

And this is the graphic that's referenced for the third quote:

Page 59/Scene 119 - Carlotta's Voice (Contd): 'I knew that
something terrible was about to happen.'

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm always saying that no matter how many time we watch, there's still a possibly to notice something new. Well if you go back to Replies #1567 and #1574 you'll see that they've been edited to add a new observation to each...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Picking up where we left off as we revisit how Scene 119 is scripted:

Continuing with Scene 119 (and I'm going to use the way the scene appears in Grayson's script because DC didn't change the character names - and I have changed the names in all the quotes because it was just easier that way):

WIDEN as the SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS can be heard coming        down the hall.  Sarah, not wanting to be seen, runs        and hides in back of a chair.                               LAURA                              SAMANTHA (O.S.)                  We can talk in here.          LAURA                        STRACK        Samantha, Gabriel and the Rev. Trask ENTER THE HOST        and cross to the windows.

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 59/Scene 119 - Laura: 'You must make a decision, Gabriel.'

- comes up, followed by today's second quote -

Page 59/Scene 119 - Gabriel: 'You've already made it for me. Why else would the good Reverend Strack be here?'

- coming up.

And when it comes to any differences in the dialogue, Laura switches things up a bit by actually saying "Gabriel, you must make a decision" - and Gabriel actually delivers his first sentence as "I think you've already made that for me." - and Laura actually sighs after Gabriel says that and before he surmises what other reason would Rev. Strack have for being there.

And when it comes to any differences in the directions and the descriptions, Sarah doesn't hide behind a chair because she actually hides under the table before the adults enter the Gallery - and the adults don't cross to the windows because they actually gather around the table, though, as can be seen in the following capture -

- at first we only see their legs as evidence of that because Sarah is the one who's on screen.

And still no notes in DC's script for this scene.

   And as far as "today's" quotes go, they were yesterday's, March 9th's, this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles/closed captioning (with a new screen capture) for Scene 119:

Perhaps the strangest thing I find about the subtitles on the DVD/Blu-ray is that they're supposed to be SDH subtitles, which means by definition they're subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, which assumes the viewers using them can't only not hear the dialogue but also important non-dialogue information so they also highlight important sounds such as sound effects, music, etc., but the subtitles rarely if ever do that. On the other hand, the closed captioning often does. The most recent example of that was back in Reply #879 for Scene 109 when the closed captioning acknowledged the sound the Greenhouse's glass ceiling makes before it comes crashing down. And now when it comes to Scene 119 the closed captioning acknowledged the sound of approaching footsteps that soon prompt Sarah to hide under the table -

- but of course, the subtitles do not acknowledge that sound...

...

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen capture)

And just as an observation, I've mentioned this before, but I continue to find it so interesting that the closed captioning text displays differently depending on the VCR or TV that's decoding it. Take this case in point, in the above screen capture the text is smaller and placed in a better spot onscreen than it was when I shot video off of one of my TVs when it was doing the decoding:

It's much better to be able to see Sarah's face than it is to have part of it covered by the closed captioning.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles/closed captioning (with a new screen capture) for Scene 119:

As Laura, Rev. Strack and Gabriel enter the Gallery in Scene 119, Laura points out, "Gabriel, you must make a decision" (a "MUST" quote!!  ), and the subtitles reflect that exactly - however, the closed captioning has -

- with "we" instead of "you" for a reason known only to the person who wrote it...

...

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen capture)

And I've also mentioned this before, but I continue to find it so interesting that the closed captioning text displays at different times and for different durations depending on the VCR or TV that's decoding it. The case in point here is that with the VCR I used to get the closed captioning from the VHS tape, the caption in the above screen capture disappears from the screen before Gabriel comes into view, whereas when it came to the caption that was decoded with the TV from which I shot video, it remained on view until Gabriel had come into view -

- but as you can see, when it comes to that same frame with the VCR decoding -

- the caption has already changed text.

And even though it has nothing to do with the closed captions on the VHS displaying differently, when it comes to the subtitles, Laura's line displays even longer -

- or at least it does in my Blu-Ray player. I wonder, if like the closed captioning, it's a case that the subtitles display differently depending on the player? Just for the fun of it one of these days I should borrow a friend's player to check it out...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A discussion worth revisiting regarding the notes Grayson and DC made in their script:

My personal take on all this has always been that most, if not ALL, of those notes in Grayson's script represented her own thoughts on how she was going to play this out.

Grayson was a great believer in something called sub-text.  In a theatrical context, this means information that an actor brings to a given scenario or action.

It's funny that this was revisited the other day because after I got the capture for today's 1840 entry in the "Must" slideshow, just for the fun of it because I had the time I decided to check out the bonus interview on the DVD (Collection 23, Disc 3/The Complete Original Series, Disc 115) and among other things Kate Jackson talks about this very thing and how Grayson sometimes helped her with her character's intention in a scene:

Actually, I wonder if Kate made notes in her NoDS script regarding Tracy's motivations in scenes. I've never seen anyone talk about this, so who knows how available Kate's copy of her script is? I've never seen it and if anyone I know has, they've never mentioned it. But like all the other copies of the script where an actor has made notes for their scenes, I'm sure they might prove to be an interesting read...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A comment worth revisiting regarding Scene 119:

In Scene 119, after Laura brings up that a decision must be made, as we've seen in the slideshow, Gabriel is scripted to say -

Page 59/Scene 119 - Gabriel: 'You've already made it for me.
Why else would the good Reverend Strack be here?'

- but I like how for the first part he actually says, "I think you've already made that for me." - I don't know if it was Chris Pennock's or someone else's idea to add the "I think," but it was an excellent move because it softens Gabriel's line. It changes it from a statement of fact to an assumption, and that works much better because, given the way the scene plays out, it's made clear that Rev. Strack and Laura want Gabriel to give his permission for their plans (even though, as Laura states flatly, they will carry out things without him)...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Beginning to revisit stills from Scene 119:

Here's the first of what I'm sharing that's associated with Scene 119 -

- it's part of an article from the December 1971 issue of TV Dawn to Dusk entitled CATCHING UP WITH...The Dark Shadows Cast, which mostly focused on NoDS and shared five moments from the film, two of which (the seance and Quentin with Charles' skeleton) aren't in the film - and anyone who collected NoDS articles back in the day is aware that it was the only article to feature that shot of Gabriel, Laura and Strack - In fact, it was the only article to feature Diana Millay...

And it's too bad that they identified Diana Millay as "Diana Hilay" because other than that goof the article was very accurate...

   The entire TV Dawn to Dusk article is shared in Reply #1340...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with how Scene 119 is scripted:

As you've probably already figured from today's graphic, today's quote -

Page 59/Scene 119 - Laura: 'Gabriel, don't you realize how I've dreaded this moment? But we've both known it had to come...'

- was dropped from the scene in the film.

And when it comes to any differences in the dialogue, even if it today's quote was a part of the scene at some point, we'll never know if anything was different about it because it doesn't appear in any version of the film.

And when it comes to any differences in the directions and the descriptions, there aren't any of either in the script for this section.

And still no notes in DC's script for this scene. But there will be some for the quotes coming up tomorrow...

   And as far as "today's quote" goes, it was Sunday's, March 10th's, this time around.

Picking up Scene 119 where we left off, with today's first quote -

Page 59/Scene 119 - Strack: 'Where is the witch now?'

- coming up, followed by today's second quote -

Page 59/Scene 119 - Laura: 'Where she always is -- in the tower, "posing" for my husband.'

- coming up.

And when it comes to any differences in the dialogue, both quotes are actually delivered exactly as scripted.

And when it comes to any differences in the directions and the descriptions, there aren't any of either in the script for this section. However, DC has a note in his script that before Strack asks where the witch is, Gabriel crosses to the other side of Laura and Strack, and that does indeed happen even though we're still only seeing the adults' legs on screen because the camera -

- is still focusing on Sarah listening.

   And as far as "today's" quotes go, they were yesterday's, March 11th's, this time around.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A much better version of yesterday's still related to Scene 119:

Today I'm sharing the full still version of the photo I shared yesterday -

(Click here for a 700X526 version)

- beyond the obvious that in the actual scene at no point do Gabriel, Laura and Strack ever stand in proximity to each other in the way they do in the still, see if you can spot other differences as the actual scene plays out...
(I almost feel like we'll be playing a reworked version of 16 Magazine's SPOT THE ERRORS game - though I won't be giving any potential winner $10 for their ability to observe everything that's different.  )

   And of course you'll recall that still is #3 in the NoDS Editor's Portfolio...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

More of how Scene 119 is scripted:

Continuing with Scene 119 (and with Grayson's script because DC didn't change the character names):

119    CONTD                                      CONTD   119                              STRACK                              TRASK                  Well, Mr. Collins?

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 60/Scene 119 - Gabriel: 'Why do you want my permission?'

- comes up, followed by today's second quote -

Page 60/Scene 119 - Strack: 'Angelique Collins is your wife.'

- coming up.

And when it comes to any differences in the dialogue, everything here is delivered in the film exactly as scripted.

And when it comes to any differences in the directions and the descriptions, as Strack delivers the unquoted line from this section of the scene and before Gabriel asks why Strack wants his permission, as can be seen in the following capture and today's first capture -

- Strack actually crosses to the other side of Gabriel - though interestingly in DC's script there's a note indicating that Strack isn't supposed to do that until he points out that Angelique is Gabriel's wife. (And can I just say that I love the expressions on the faces of Gabriel, Strack and Laura in the first capture above!) - and as can be seen in today's second capture -

- Laura actually moves closer to the two men as Strack points out that Angelique is Gabriel's wife, even though there's no indication in the script or in a notation from DC that says she does so.

   And as far as "today's" quotes go, they were yesterday's, March 12th's, this time around.

(There are also screen captures with major examples for our game.)

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

...

And even though it has nothing to do with the closed captions on the VHS displaying differently, when it comes to the subtitles, Laura's line displays even longer -

- or at least it does in my Blu-Ray player. I wonder, if like the closed captioning, it's a case that the subtitles display differently depending on the player? Just for the fun of it one of these days I should borrow a friend's player to check it out...

I've done just that, and while I'd thought the subtitles might not display differently depending on the Blu-ray player, apparently I was foolish. Though I probably should have known better.

On my friend's Blu-ray player not only does Laura's line still appear in the same frame as it does with my player -

- it last on screen for 18 more frames beyond it -

- also notice how on my friend's player it displays on one line rather than two - that's something that's even different from the closed captioning. With closed captioning the text may appear in a different place on screen, but if the text is two lines, it's two lines regardless of what's decoding it, and the same words always comprise the same lines.

Who knows? It's all just very strange given that regardless of what's decoding the closed captioning or subtitles, it's working with the same encoding on the VHS or disc. 

It's also strange that my friend's player doesn't show as much on all sides of the frames...