Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Until I looked at the script to check something completely different about Scene 138, I didn't realize that Tracy's scripted reply to Alex is simply, "The best. Why?" - and obviously that was exactly what the closed captioning has. And it's definitely interesting how it happens quite frequently that the closed captioning reflects the script rather than what's actually said in the film.

But anyway, after Tracy asks Alex why he's brought up the Burton's gallery, Alex replies, "Tell you when I get back. You sure you're gonna be OK?" - and the subtitles completely reflect that - but the closed captioning oddly has -

 - and in that case we can't even blame it on what's scripted because what's scripted is almost exactly what's actually said: "Tell you when we get back. You're sure you'll be OK?"

 

(ADMIN: Edited to replace a TV video screen capture)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

After Tracy tells Alex go to NY because nothing bad will happen (she obviously doesn't possess even the slightest speck of clairvoyance or even simple intuition!), a whole slew of unscripted dialogue takes place. And if you want to be reminded of the context for it, revisit -

...  things shift back to the cottage where Alex, as part of quite a bit of unscripted material, tells Tracy -

- because in this post I'm only going to point out where things deviate from what's actually said in the film.

First up, the subtitles:

And after that Quentin says, "I'll be up soon enough," but the subtitles have -

- for some reason. Huh is right.

And the last bit of unscripted dialogue is -

- so you can see that for most part the subtitles get almost everything right. The closed captioning will wait for a future post...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And now the closed captioning:

And there's no mention of them going to NY "for a few days."

It's so rare that the closed captioning gets something right when the subtitles didn't.

 

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I forgot to mention that all those subtitles and all the closed captioning come from Scene 139A, and even though there's no such scene as that in the script, it is indicated on that call sheet that I came across for April 5, 1971:

...

(Click here for a 880X910 version)

...

And also, during the first time around for this slideshow I forgot to point out specifically that given their inclusion on the call sheet, obviously Scenes 137, 139 & 139A were all shot on April 5th...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Recall that:

...

... Scene 140 does not initially take place in the Gallery, it takes place in the Library, and then a sort of Scene 140A takes place in the Gallery (originally DC had some notes about the scene but for some reason he erased them). After Tracy leaves in Scene 139(A) to go up to bed, things start off with Quentin leaving the Card Room and going into the Library. Similar to the script, he walks to the window and looks out -

- but after sitting down, rather than opening his book, he looks over at the clock -

- also similar to the script, though the time (which is hard to decipher) is definitely much earlier than one-thirty - then he simply sits staring into space as the camera -

- moves in to a close-up - but through all of this Quentin does not pour himself a brandy and obviously doesn't drink it. However, from there things do indeed move to the Gallery with an opening shot of Angelique's portrait -

- as the camera pulls away from it, panning over to where Quentin stands looking at it -

- for several moments before turning to move toward the Master Bedroom, similiar to what's scripted, but again, there's no brandy involved, nor is there any sign of the book.

Scene 141 is very close to what's scripted except for the fact that the camera doesn't truck in on a close-up of Quentin. The entire scene is shot with Tracy asleep in the foreground -

- and Quentin coming in no further than the doorway.

Scene 142 is not in the film - or at least not in the film as it currently stands because it isn't on the list of scenes that weren't recovered. And DC's script has a notation that it would be shot using a low angle taken from the stairs.

We do see the opening of Scene 143, up to and including that long moment while Quentin -

- stares up - however, everything beyond that point in Scene 143 is missing from the film, and is indeed on the list of unrecovered footage - and one thing that's interesting is how abruptly the background music ends before the film switches to the next scene that is in the film - but more on that in a later post.

...

So with regard to Scenes 143 -147, Darren Gross posted on his Restoration Web site:

The following is a list of scenes that are still lost and which are not present in the 129 min version recovered in 1999.

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HIGH ANGLE. Quentin runs from the house. EXT.COUNTRYSIDE. Quentin struggles, stops has flashback.

1971.COUNTRYSIDE.NIGHT. Quentin in trance returns to house.

 

[Uncle Roger]

Has anyone ever identified who the standins were?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I wondered that myself. And I'm sure their names must have been listed somewhere on some sort of production document. But just as with hoDS, I've never seen mentioned who the NoDS stand-ins were...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The images in today's slideshow weren't displaying because somehow the first image became corrupted and that was preventing all the images from displaying. But I've uploaded my backup copy and that's fixed things...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

When it comes to the stills I sort of associated with Scene 146 because they were taken in and around the cemetery set, after I came across the stills posted to AOL back in the '90s, I discovered a much better version of the one of Grayson Hall. Today I updated that post with the better version:

...

For a change it's not Nancy Barrett posing around a set/location that Claire didn't appear in, it's Grayson Hall posing at the cemetery set, where Carlotta never appeared, -

- and wearing one of two dresses she appears in stills wearing but she never wore as Carlotta in the film (but more on that at a later time). A somewhat cropped version of this still appears on page 172 of DS Memories.

...

And I also came across this one -

- which I'm sharing for the first time. And when it comes to it, I'm not aware of it having been officially published anywhere...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And finally when it comes to Scenes 145 & 146 this time around, I forgot to post this last time around, and I almost forgot to post it this time around too:

(Click here for a 738X440 version)

It would have been nice if 16 Magazine hadn't doctored the photo like they did. But considering the NoDS article that appeared in their December of 1971 issue is the only place I've ever see the still shared, having a doctored version is better than not having any version at all. (And the really nice thing about that article is that it features several stills that were never shared anywhere else.)

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

When it comes to the subtitles and closed captioning for the opening moments of Scene 149, it's interesting that each interprets Tracy's calling to Quentin differently - the subtitles have -

- with a "?" - whereas the closed captioning has -

- with a "!" - and that way is actually how the script intended it to be.

Also, after Quentin does finally open the door, what Tracy says to him is, "I...I thought you said you weren't gonna come here anymore..." - however, the subtitles and the closed captioning present her line in slightly different ways - the subtitles have -

- with the "I...I" hesitation ignored in favor of a single "I" - and the closed captioning has -

- with the hesitation intact but with "gonna" changed to the grammatically correct "going to," even though Tracy actually says "gonna."

 

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And wrapping up the differences in the subtitles and closed captioning when it comes to Scene 149, after Tracy says she thought Quentin said he wasn't going to come to the tower amymore, she notices something about him has changed and she asks, "Quentin, what's happened to you?" - and the closed captioning reflects that - however, the subtitles have -

- and then before Tracy asks if there's someone else in the tower room, the closed captioning indicates the sound of -

- and makes it seem as if that's what prompts Tracy to look toward the room and then to ask her question - but in all the previous times I've seen the film, I've never heard footsteps - and while if you turn the volume up all the way, there is indeed the slightest of sounds heard, I find it hard to believe it was meant to be that the sound of a footstep prompted Tracy when the sound is so barely perceptible - but who knows? - though what is fascinating is that the closed captioning acknowledge the supposed sound of footsteps yet there's no acknowledgement of the huge sound the door makes when Quentin finally swings it open (or when he closes it later in the scene)...

Also, before Quentin taunts Tracy by mimicking the repeat of her question, the closed captioning indicates that he prefaces it with a -

- (though to me it's always sounded like "Hmm") but only the closed captioning reflects that - and after Quentin says that Tracy makes him sick, he says "I can't stand the sight of you anymore! Now, get out!" - and the subtitles reflect that - but the closed captioning has -

- with both "anymore" and "Now" dropped...

 

(ADMIN: Edited to replace TV video screen captures)

[dom]

I remember becoming emotionally affected during this scene especially at this moment. It was disturbing to me as a kid. (The pool scene was the other!!)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I remember becoming emotionally affected during this scene especially at this moment. It was disturbing to me as a kid. (The pool scene was the other!!)

Yes, the way the film currently stands, and even so far as the 97 minute version goes, there's a definite one-two punch of back to back emotionally affecting scenes, what with Quentin's abysmal treatment of Tracy in Scene 149 immediately followed by Carlotta's passive-aggressive behavior towards Tracy in Scene 153. Though one of the missing scenes does appear between them in the 129 minute version...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   And speaking of that scene that appears between them, it would be Scene 150:

A selection of scenes cut from the 129-minute version that have been recovered:

...

After Quentin slams the tower door on Tracy, he works on continuing Charles' unfinished portrait and embraces the ghostly Angelique.