Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Before the next VantageNet posting, there are a few things I want to visit regarding Midnite's NoDS 30th report:

Auntie Foundling soon made an appearance, and as suspected he had changed his appearance drastically-- hair cropped short, and BLONDE. Then Dean joined us, and later we were able to say hello to ... MordecaiGrimes from Tim's DS board.

MordecaiGrimes became a member here soon after this version of the forum was created. Dean also became a member, as did Auntie Foundling, who used many names in fandom, but here he was known as casper_collins. And sadly I say "known" because he passed away in 2018 and if you search his name, you'll find a topic with some wonderful tribute posts. As anyone who knew him will attest, he was truly one of a kind. He, Midnite and I shared some fantastic times together at various Fests. And also sadly, Dean passed away in 2002, just about a year after the NoDS 30th event. You can also find a wonderful tribute topic about him if you search his name. He was quite active and much beloved in fandom and very generous. In fact, the next two posts we'll be sharing links to are posts Midnite made on the VantageNet board to share some of Dean's photos from the NoDS 30th event.

historian Darren Gross was introduced. Darren explained his quest and then regaled us, first with the 7 "explicit" scenes cut to prevent an R rating, and then the formerly lost piano scene (with Angelique in the dress worn in the portrait) and the fabulous séance scene. Lastly, he played the 2-minute trailer which contains glimpses of the lost pool scene and the séance scene in color, woo!

I'm sure most fans are well aware what 7 "explicit" scenes Midnite refers to and what was cut, but just in case there are still some who don't, here's an excerpt from a page Darren posted on his now defunct restoration site:

Strack being trampled to death by Charles' horse includes a few more shots of Strack being trampled, his face covered with gore as well as shots of Charles' horse rearing up. Charles can also be heard to shout, "Up Dubloon !(the name of his horse)Kill! Kill ! Die Strack ! Die ! Die !" The shot of Strack rolling over and dying is extended. There is a closeup of his dead body. The camera then tilts up to a shot of Charles looking down satisfactorily at the body. He then looks off-camera, feeling a presence. The film then cuts to the shot of Angelique's ghost standing in the cemetary as Charles approaches which was retained in the 93.5 minute version.

In Quentin's flashback in the tower, Charles and Angelique's kiss is more explicit. Angelique throws her head back and laughs mockingly as Charles kisses her neck and the unseen Gabriel hammers angrily at the door. GABRIEL: I know she's in there now open the door !(this is also present in the short version, but I have retained it to give the next line context) CHARLES: For more of your dreary moralizing ? You try my patient brother. GABRIEL(pounding, furious): For the last time - open the door !

Angelique's hanging is more explicit. After she is pushed off the scaffold her body jerks and swings as it stops. The hangsmen grab her body to stop it from swaying then grab the rope and use it to pull her body high up in the tree. They tie the rope off. The body swings as the tree branch creaks.

When Quentin attacks Tracy in bed his molestation of her is much more physical and his dialogue more suggestive. Quentin roughly strokes Tracy's chest and violently grabs her breast while she fights him off. QUENTIN: What's the matter, don't you like it anymore ? Quentin grabs her and holds her down violently.

After Claire and Tracy re-enter the cottage, the shot of Gerard lunging at them with a murderous expression on his bloody face lasts a bit longer.

In the truck, Gerard's molestation of Tracy is more explicit. After Gerard muffles her shrieks, he rasps quietly to her: GERARD:Promise not to yell and I'll let you go... He then turns towards her and begins to slowly stroke her leg, her thigh, and her crotch and Tracy begins to kiss him to keep him distracted.

After Gerard falls to his death and his body is seen lying on the railroad tracks, there is a closeup of Gerard's bloody head which is lying tilted back, its mouth gaping open. He is clearly dead. After Alex and Claire join Quentin on the railroad bridge Alex looks at Gerard's body below and says "Looks like the old Bangor local will be running a little late tonight."

And if you've never seen the 2 minute trailer, here's a link:

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (1971) Rare Movie Trailer

You'll also see glimpses of such cut things as Gerard's bloody head, Tracy's dream about Quentin and Angelique making out at the pool house, Strack's trampling, and Angelique's hanging.

 

[Midnite]

DARK SHADOWS: General Discussion Forum -    12/3/01 2:40:07 AM

[Midnite]

DARK SHADOWS: General Discussion Forum -    12/3/01 2:41:43 AM

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another take on the event:

"LA Weekly November 2-8, 2001

Shadows of Their Former Selves

Devotees of DARK SHADOWS, undoubtedly the quirkiest entry in the history of TV soapdom, gathered at the VISTA THEATER recently for a 30th-anniversary screening of Night of Dark Shadows , the 1971 feature-film spinoff from the series about the ghoulish goings-on at creepy Collinwood Estate (vampires, ghosts, werewolves and even a phoenix figured among its characters). Fans provided running commentary about the series stars who alighted from a big black limo, including tall, gray and handsome DAVID SELBY (who’s even better-looking at 50-something than when he played hot young Quentin Collins); petite, perky LARA PARKER (the notorious Angelique, pictured); jovial JOHN KARLEN, a far cry from Collinwood’s sullen groundskeeper Willie Loomis; dainty DIANA MILLAY (Laura Collins), disappointed that there were “no vampires in the crowd”; leather-jacketed CHRIS PENNOCK (Jeb Hawkes), looking very hip in long white hair and mustache; and NANCY BARRETT (Carolyn Stoddard), gracefully enjoying the spotlight once more, albeit with tongue firmly in cheek. Before the screening, the stars gamely participated in a handprints-in-the-cement ceremony in front of the theater. Only problem was it took at least three takes for each of them to write their names in the wet cement, causing CHIP SELBY, David’s wife, to note that “they made the movie in less time!” And an auction of Dark Shadows memorabilia (proceeds going to the Women’s Care Cottage) fetched $100 for a genuine Barnabas ring, which, the auctioneer assured us, was “adjustable.” (Eat your heart out, Harry Winston.) Speaking of Barnabas: Alas, Jonathan Frid, the sexiest vampire since Bela Lugosi, lives quietly in Canada and doesn’t do the D.S. circuit anymore. Fangs for the memories!

Mary Beth Crain"

I don't have the actual article, so I can't share the photo of Lara Parker. And unfortunately, a search of LA Weekly's archive brought up the text of the article without the photo...

 

[Uncle Roger]

I know that I'm repeating myself but I am really enjoying these posts from the Vista theater. I wasn't able to make the trip out to California at the time. Don't remember why at this point, most likely financial considerations.
Thank you also for reminding me of Dean Wilson. We were pretty close friends back then and I do have memory of going to Universal Studios with him, Helen Samaras and Stuart Manning.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

When I found what was on the disc, I wondered whether or not I should share what I'd discovered from the NoDS 30th. Not that I didn't want to - I just wondered if it was a good idea. But I asked Midnite and she thought it sounded like a great idea. So, people might have her to thank more than they do me.    And people are checking out the links, so it looks like we made the right choice.

Look for another link to be posted shortly...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS IS 30! - 6

And there is still one more page from this to come...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Oops - I forgot to post this yesterday:

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS IS 30! - 7

It's interesting that in the seeming tradition of NoDS' original run, they went with the B Poster for the newspaper ad and the A Poster for display in the theatre.

And it's even more interesting that they reprinted the photo spread from the NoDS Herald in the souvenir program.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And finally when it comes to the NoDS 30th, lest you think there aren't any more photos from Midnite or Dean, be sure to check out these pages on MsCriseyde's David Selby Web site:

midnite's photos

midnite's photos 2

dean's photos


You may also want to check out the photos from the event on Cheryl Singletary's Web site:

Cheryl's Dark Shadows Website - Page Eleven

Cheryl's Dark Shadows Website - Page Twelve


Sadly, too many other sites from back then have disappeared into the ether...

 

[Uncle Roger]

Also, while the archives of 16, Tiger Beat and the like have been picked pretty clean, there are a lot of vintage soap magazines that fell by the wayside. They covered DS to a good extent but so many of the magazines folded years ago and their publishing companies are no longer around.

[dom]

In the early 70s I used to go to the Collingswood Auction. I called it the Collinswood auction, lol. It was an indoor/outdoor flea market for the most part. A guy there sold old magazines and 45s. I got most of my pre Petofi Dark Shadows info from these magazines. MPI (not a fan) made the impossible dream come true when they made the series available for home viewing.

Hey, Bob the Bartender, I bet you have some memories of 'the Auction'. Imagine the Collins clan at the Auction?

It's not even close to being the same, but it's still going strong and a fun quick stroll down memory lane whenever I am out that way.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another oops - I forgot to share something from Darren's Restoration Web site:

I was going to share his take on the NoDS 30th festivities, but for some strange reason I can't find the page I'd saved from his site where he'd summarized the event. However, I'd stored a second copy elsewhere of a photo he'd shared of the stars signatures/handprints in cement. It's the clearest one I think I've ever come across because it looks like the cement may have been completely dry when he took it:

(Click here for a 875X187 version)

And that may close out the subject of the NoDS 30th, well, unless I do come across Darren's take, which I probably will some day when I'm not looking for it...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

One more flashback item:

Something I rediscovered after I'd posted the still from Scene 56 in Reply #827, a still from Scene 55, Quentin sees a vision of Angelique's funeral:

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Recall that the following two discrepancies in the closed captioning for the current slideshow scene prompted the discussions of the closed captioning/subtitles versus the actual film:

First post:

...things get a bit wonky after that. We've seen that Gabriel's next line is:

GABRIEL (O.S.)                  I know she's in there.  Now open                  the door.

And that is indeed what he says in the film.

However, all that comes up with the closed captioning is:

But that's not what I found odd because, as aggravating as it might be, I've noticed before when I've been with people who've had the closed captioning on that sometimes words or even entire lines of dialogue are missing. 

And we've seen that Charles' lines in the script followed by Gabriel's next lines do not come up in the 94 minute version of the film and that version moves right on to Angelique's next line:

Page 35A/Scene 85 - Angelique: 'Let him in.'

And it plays in the film the exact same way:

Angelique: 'Let him in.

And it shows up in the closed captioning in the exact same way:

However, it's after that where the oddness occurs...

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen captures)

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Second post:

...because we've seen today that 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:

Gabriel: 'That's my wife, Charles.'

What comes up with the closed captioning is:

That's 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 I wonder if similarly odd closed captioning happens anywhere else in the film? One of these days it might be interesting to watch the film with closed captioning on, which is something I've never done. Honestly, I don't even know why it was active on the TV I used yesterday to check something in the VHS' version of Scene 85. The TV is the only one I have that still has a connection for my VCR, so it's the only reason I still have it. Perhaps close captioning is automatically set to active when the TV is plugged in after not being in use for months. Who knows? But if it wasn't for the fact that it was active, it's quite possible I would have never noticed how odd that bit of closed captioning is...

(ADMIN: Edited to replace a TV video capture)