Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the last of how Scene 132 is scripted:

Wrapping up Scene 132, picking up with today's quote, as Carlotta's response to Quentin's insistence that he will always love Tracy -

Page 66/Scene 132 - Carlotta: 'If you truly believe that, Mr. Collins, then I suggest you leave Collinwood as soon as possible. ... If you can.'

- comes up. However, it's actually in DC's script as:

CARLOTTA                  If you truly believe that, Mr.                 Collins, then I suggest you leave                 Collinwood as soon as possible.        Quentin turns away from her, unable to answer.        Carlotta crosses to the door, where she stops and        then looks back at him.  There is a long moment as        Quentin finally turns to face her.                              CARLOTTA                  If you can.        She turns and EXITS THE SHOT.

But considering parts of what was scripted to happen between Carlotta's two lines is crossed out in DC's script, plus what wasn't crossed out never actually takes place, either, because Carlotta stays standing exactly where she is the entire time, I simply combined the two lines into one for today's quote because that's the way it occurs in the film.

And when it comes to differences in the dialogue, once again Carlotta drops addressing Quentin with "Mr. Collins" - and what Carlotta actually says "If you truly believe that, then I suggest you leave Collinwood...immediately. ... If you can."

And when it comes to the differences in the directions and the descriptions, I've already explain that as scripted, everything between Carlotta's two lines is dropped in the film - and as can already be seen in the way I wrote her combined lines, there is still a pause between Carlotta telling Quentin he should leave and then adding, if he can, but the pause wouldn't be considered a long moment - and I just love the way she delivers the combined quote because, as can be seen in today's capture -

- the expression on her face is priceless - though it's not quite as priceless as the expression on her face as -

- after zinging Quentin, Carlotta does indeed turn to exit the shot, leaving Quentin -

- standing there with his thoughts...

   And so far as "today's" quote and capture go, they were April 4th's this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 133 and the start of Scene 134 are scripted:

As you've probably already discerned from today's graphic, we're getting into more material that doesn't appear in the film as it currently stands (or in the 97 minute version). However, the scenes we'll be dealing with today are not on Darren Gross' list of scenes that weren't recovered, so chances are they do appear in the 129 minute version:

133    EXT - BACK OF COLLINWOOD - DAY                    133        SHOT favors Quentin, who stands moodily looking out        of gallery windows.  RACK FOCUS to Tracy, who ENTERS        THE SHOT F.G.  She is carrying the groceries.  She        waves at Quentin, who suddenly notices her and as        he waves back, she crosses toward the veranda. 134    INT - GALLERY - DAY - HIGH ANGLE                  134        Quentin is back at his easel as Tracy ENTERS the        room.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 66/Scene 134 - Tracy: 'I'm a genius with butchers. Of course, he thinks me quite mad...and very rich. The steaks are a masterpiece.'

- comes up.

And as far as the differences in the dialogue, the directions, and the descriptions go, because Scenes 133 and 134 aren't currently in the film, we have no way of knowing what might be different.

And there aren't any notes in DC's script for either of these scenes. (In fact, he won't have any notes until we reach Scene 139).

And you might have realized that I'm using the same still for Scene 134 as I did for Scene 116. Obviously the still can't be from both scenes, but I suspect it's actually from neither but is simply a candid shot of David Selby and Kate Jackson, even though the caption for it when in was published in 16 Magazine says otherwise. But no matter, the real reason I've chosen it is that both actors are wearing the same clothes that they wear in Scenes 116 and 134 (how we can know this will become obvious once we get to Scene 135, which is in all versions of the film), so the still can be used as a substitute in each scene until hopefully one day we actually get the restored 129 minute version of the film.

   And as far as "today's" quote and graphic go, they were April 5th's this time around.

And this is the graphic that's referenced:

We'll revisit the caption 16 Spec Magazine used for the still in a future post...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A post worth revisiting:

A reminder:

As you've probably already discerned from today's graphic, we're getting into more material that doesn't appear in the film as it currently stands (or in the 97 minute version). However, the scenes we'll be dealing with today are not on Darren Gross' list of scenes that weren't recovered, so chances are they do appear in the 129 minute version:

And yes, neither Scene 133 (From the Gallery window Quentin sees Tracy outside as she returns with groceries - she waves) nor Scene 134 (In the Gallery Tracy jokes about the steaks she's bought and notices Angelique's portrait is back) are a part of Darren's list of scenes that weren't recovered. However, after I rediscovered his list of scenes that were recovered, I noticed that they're also not on that list. So, who knows? And I don't honestly remember if they were ever shown during one of Darren's presentations of the recovered footage...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Back in 2022, the various graphics for Scene 116 and Scene 134 had ...

... been made using different crops of this -

- which was published as part of a NoDS Movie Preview article in 16 SPEC Magazine and as far as I can recall has never been officially published anywhere else...

... and the only reason I'd used that one was ...

... because I had yet to come across the actual still:

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting more of how Scene 134 is scripted:

Continuing Scene 134 with Tracy's reaction to the fact that:

She notices the portrait of Angelique hanging in its        former position.

And that's when yesterday's quote -

Page 66/Scene 134 - Tracy: 'She's back!'

- comes up, followed by the first part of today's quote -

Page 66/Scene 134 - Quentin: 'I offended Carlotta's sense of family tradition.'

- coming up, followed in the script by:

He laughs. 134    CONTD                                     CONTD   134

And that's where the second part of today's quote -

Page 67/Scene 134 - Quentin (Contd): 'What was good enough for my forefathers should be good enough for me.'

And as far as the differences in the dialogue, the directions, and the descriptions go, because Scene 134 isn't currently in the film, we have no way of knowing what might be different.

   And as far as "yesterday's quote" goes, it was April 6th's this time around, and "today's" quotes were April 7th's this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Wrapping up revisiting how Scene 134 is scripted:

...

He puts down his brush.

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 67/Scene 134 - Quentin: 'How about you and I getting out of this house? We'll take a walk.'

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

Page 67/Scene 134 - Tracy: 'Perfect.'

End of scene.

And as far as the differences in the dialogue, the directions, and the descriptions go, because Scene 134 isn't currently in the film, we have no way of knowing what might be different.

And coming up tomorrow we'll revisit something that I brought up back in March with regard to Scene 71A but said we wouldn't deal with until we reached Scene 135...

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

And given the date of the revisited post, you could have probably already figured out that the reference to March was to March of 2016. And what I'd brought up about Scene 71A back then will be discussed in an upcoming post...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 135 is scripted:

Moving on to the next scene, this is how it's scripted:

135    EXT - MEADOWS - DAY - LONG LENS                   135        Holding hands, they stroll through the meadows.        She stops to pick a flower.  He watches her.

And that's when today's quote is scripted -

Page 67/Scene 135 - Quentin: 'Do you have any idea how much I need you?'

- to come up, followed in the script by:

She looks up into his face as he draws her to him.

End of scene as scripted.

And as far as any difference in the dialogue goes, Quentin actually says "Do you know how much I need you?", plus it's delivered under completely different circumstances.

Which brings us to the myriad of differences in the directions and descriptions. Scene 135 does indeed begin with Tracy and Quentin holding hands as they stroll through a meadow - but she doesn't stop to pick a flower, nor does he watch her while she does so or deliver today's quote or draw her to him after she looks up into his face. They simply stroll up to and underneath a cherry blossom tree, pushing branches of flowers -

- out of their way as they go - and then things switch to a completely different location - which brings us to revisit Scene 71A as scripted:

DISSOLVE TO: 71A    EXT - RAILROAD FOOTBRIDGE - DAY                   71A        as they stroll hand-in-hand with the river in the B.G.

Scene 71A does not take place in the film as it currently stands. It seems to have been moved to play along with and after Scene 135 comes up because, as can be seen in the following capture, after Scene 135 things switch to Quentin and Tracy under the railroad footbridge -

- with Tracy throwing a rock into the river, and then after she sits down, Quentin strokes her cheek, delivers today's quote from Scene 135 -

Page 67/Scene 135 - Quentin: 'Do you have any idea how
much I need you?'

- and then she kisses him, nuzzles his cheek, and -

- rests her head on his chest, none which is scripted for Scene 71A or Scene 135 or, more likely, a nonexistent Scene 135A. So who knows why things are done that way in the film? DC may have simply thought Scene 71A wasn't needed where it was placed in the script (possibly because it's part of a montage or romantic moments between Quentin and Tracy) and it worked better following Scene 135 with Scene 135's bit of dialogue. I suppose we'll never know. But things do indeed work well the way they are.

...

   And as far as  "today's quote" goes, it was April 9th's this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A poste related to Scene 135 that's worth revisiting:

I find it interesting that several places are selling this -

(Click here for a 700X708 version)

- as a still when quite clearly it's a cropped screen capture -

(Click here for a 1280X720 version)

- and because it's a bit blurry, perhaps a screen capture from the VHS.

It's also interesting that both Tracy and Quentin are looking off as if they've spotted something surprising, though nothing like that actually happens in the film. But who knows if they look that way because DC told them to with a possible intent of using the footage somewhere else in the film? And then he never followed up on it.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

As I said in the revisited post in Reply #1671, it seems as if DC added a Scene 135A to the film, combining the setting of Scene 71A with the dialogue from Scene 135. And both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

- reflect how things actually play in the film...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles and closed captioning (with new screen captures) for Scene 136 and the start of Scene 137:

When it comes to Scene 136, I have to admit I was a bit more than shocked when, after not acknowledging so many other sounds, the supposed SDH subtitles actually acknowledged the phone ringing in the Jenkins cottage -

- though the closed captioning both rings separately -

- but all is not perfect with the closed captioning because after Alex answers the phone and asks Tracy what's wrong, in Scene 137 she replies, "Oh, Alex, how gloomy you are. There's nothing's wrong. I called to say everything's perfect." - and the subtitles completely reflect that - but the closed captioning goes from -

- right to -

- completely ignoring Tracy having said, "Oh, Alex, how gloomy you are."

...

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen captures)

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how the very start of Scene 136 is scripted:

Moving on to the next scene:

CUT TO: 136    INT - COTTAGE - NIGHT                             136        Claire and Alex sit by the fire.  The telephone        rings.  Alex gets up.  Claire watches him from the        B.G.[/coor]

And that's when today's quote -

Page 67/Scene 136 - Alex: 'Hello? Tracy? What's wrong?'

- comes up, followed in the script by:

In the B.G. Claire rises.

End of scene.

And as far as any difference in the dialogue goes, Alex actually says "Hello? Tracy, honey, what's wrong?"

And as far as any differences in the directions and descriptions go, as can be seen in the following capture, Claire is indeed sitting by the fire and reading a book, but an already standing Alex -

- actually comes from the direction of the desk behind the couch to answer the already ringing phone, and as he makes his way to the phone, Claire does not watch him because her attention is only on the book in her lap - but as can be seen in today's capture, Alex' words certainly capture Claire's attention, though -

- we don't see her rise. (However, when next we see Alex in upcoming Scene 138, Claire will be standing at the table with him, so it's quite possible that Claire rising was shot but it didn't make it into the film - well, at least not as it currently stands...)

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

And jumping to the next scene:

CARD ROOM    137    INT - COLLINWOOD - LIMBO - TELEPHONE AREA -       137        NIGHT

And that's when today's quote -

Page 67/Scene 137 - Tracy (on telephone): 'Oh, Alex, how gloomy you are. I called to say everything's perfect.'

- comes up.

And as far as any difference in the dialogue goes, what's scripted is delivered exactly as written, but there's an addition because Tracy actually says "Oh, Alex, how gloomy you are. There's nothing's wrong. I called to say everything's perfect."

And as far as any differences in the directions and descriptions go, as can be deduced from the crossing out in DC's script as well as today's capture -

- the only thing is that Scene 137 takes place in the Card Room rather than some Limbo Telephone Area.

And tomorrow the slideshow will be dealing with material from this sequence that was dropped - or at least dropped from the film as it currently stands...

   And as far as  "today's quote" goes, it was April 11th's this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting more of how Scene 137 is scripted:

Continuing and wrapping up Scene 137, beginning with today's first quote -

Page 67/Scene 137 - Alex: 'Are you sure?...Did you get into the tower?'

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

Page 67/Scene 137 - Tracy: 'He's not even painting there anymore. He's his old self again.'

- coming up.

End of scene - but certainly not end of sequence.

And when it comes to any differences in the dialogue, the directions, or the descriptions, there obviously aren't any directions or descriptions, and there's no way to know what might have been different about the dialogue because neither of today's quotes appear in the film as it currently stands. And considering that both quotes harken back to Scene 113, a scene that doesn't appear in any version of the film, chances are quite likely that even if today's quotes were shot, they're also not in the 129 minute version of the film...

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

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Recisiting how Scene 138 is scripted:

Moving to the next parts of the sequence, and they actually deviate a bit from the way they're scripted, but here's how today's quotes are scripted to appear:

138    INT - COTTAGE - NIGHT                             138

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 68/Scene 138 - Alex (on telephone): 'That's great. Listen, Trace, Claire and I should go to New York tonight. I thought we'd stop in Burton's Gallery. He's an authority on Early American artists, isn't he?'

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

Page 68/Scene 138 - Tracy: 'The best. Why?'

- coming up.

And as far as any difference in the dialogue goes, the "That's great" part of Alex' quote is dropped because it refers to Tracy's dropped line about Quentin not painting in the tower anymore - and the remainder of his quote is actually delivered as "Uh, listen, Trace, uh, Claire and I should go to New York tonight. And we thought we'd stop in at, uh, Burton's Gallery. He's an authority on Early American artists, isn't he?" - and Tracy's actual reply is "Well, I think he's the best. Why?", which gives a background to Tracy that is too bad the script didn't explore further.

And as far as any differences in the directions and descriptions go, there's nothing to get into there. However, the quotes don't all play at the cottage. Only up to Alex telling Tracy that he and Claire are going to NY -

- plays at the cottage (and as I'd mentioned earlier, Claire is seen as having moved to the table). After that, things shift back to the Card Room at Collinwood as Tracy listens to Alex telling her about -

- how he and Claire are going to go to Burton's Gallery and he asks if he's an authority on Early American artists - plus, as can obviously be seen in today's second capture -

- Tracy offering her opinion that Burton is the best and wondering why Alex asks also plays at Collinwood.

   And so far as  "today's" quotes go, they actually are today's, April 13th's, this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles and closed captioning (with new screen captures) for Scene 138:

In Scene 138, in the way that the film stands, after Tracy insists to Alex that nothing is wrong and everything is perfect, the next thing to come up in the scene is that Alex says to her, "Uh, listen, Trace, uh, Claire and I should go to New York tonight. And we thought we'd stop in at, uh, Burton's Gallery. He's an authority on Early American artists, isn't he?" - and the subtitles basically reflect that (minus Alex' use of "uh") - however, for reasons known only to who wrote them, the closed captioning has -

- to which Tracy replies, "Well, I think he's the best. Why?" - but the closed captioning only has -

- and even the subtitles have -

- dropping just the "well"...

...

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen captures)

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the end of how Scene 138 is scripted and how Scene 139 is scripted:

Wrapping up Scene 138 and moving beyond with scripted as well as completely unscripted material, beginning with today's first quote -

Page 68/Scene 138 - Alex: 'Tell you when we get back. You're sure you'll be OK?'

- coming up, followed in the script by:

139    INT - COLLINWOOD - LIMBO TELEPHONE AREA - NIGHT   139

And that's when today's second quote -

Page 68/Scene 139 - Tracy (on telephone): 'Go, Alex...go. Nothing bad will happen to us now.'

(Famous last words, as they say...)

- comes up.

End of things as scripted.

Switching things up a bit and leading with any differences in the scripted directions and descriptions, as we can easily tell from today's first capture -

- today's first quote takes place back at the cottage, as it was scripted to, rather than over the phone at Collinwood as had been happening earlier in the scene - and for some reason "LIMBO - TELEPHONE AREA" is presented a bit differently for Scene 139 than it was for Scene 137, and here DC doesn't cross out/replace it in his script with "CARD ROOM".

And now as far as any difference in the dialogue goes, Alex actually delivers today's first quote as "Tell you when I get back. You sure you're gonna be OK?" - but today's second quote is delivered exactly as scripted - however, unlike how things are scripted, they don't actually end there in the film. For one, as can be seen in today's second capture -

- Quentin is seen approaching the Card Room as Tracy tells Alex nothing bad will happen to her and Quentin - ...

   And soon after that quite a bit of unscripted material takes place as Scene 139 continues - but more on that in a future post -  and as far as  "today's" quotes go, they are indeed today's, April 14th's, this time around.