Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

...

... I absolutely love how David Selby inadvertently splashes himself in the face while he's dunking Kate Jackson ...

...

And here's a slowed down video clip of it to better appreciate the moment:

I suspect he even surprised himself when it happened. 

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Scene 186 (the road near the pool house as the headlights of the Jenkins' car come toward camera) isn't in the film, but it's really just an establishing shot that isn't needed because Scene 187 is the Jenkins in the car as shot through the windshield. And when it comes to Scene 187 it begins with unscripted dialogue as Claire asks in both the closed captioning -

- and the subtitles -

- which also jump ahead with the first part of Alex' unscripted line that finishes off in the subtitles as -

- and appears in the closed captioning as -

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Moving on to Scene 188:

After Claire spots Tracy in the water and Alex dives in to pull her out, as he nears Claire who kneels by the pool's edge, he says in more unscripted dialogue, "Get her, baby." - and that's reflected in both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

- and then quite interestingly in another supposed bit of unscripted dialogue, the subtitles indicate -

- and the closed captioning indicates -

- but for the life of me I don't hear it, no matter how high I turn up the volume - and Alex' mouth doesn't even look like it moves to say anything - the only thing I hear is Claire's breathing - and as has been the case in the past, it can't even be a case that they got it from the script because none of the dialogue that appears in this section of the scene is scripted. Who knows?! Things that are in the film aren't always acknowledged, at least not always completely and/or accurately, and things that aren't (like that supposed sound of footsteps in Scene 149) are...

To be continued...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Concluding Scene 188:

As Alex tries desperately to revive Tracy, in more unscripted dialogue Claire laments in both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

- and then after Tracy has expelled some water, in a last bit of unscripted dialogue, as seen in the closed captioning Claire bends down and hugs Tracy with -

- but the subtitles add an "Oh" beforehand -

- which if it's actually there, can't really be discerned.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

As far as Scenes 189 & 190 go, parts of them are very different from how they were scripted:

Moving on to the next two scenes as scripted:

189    EXT - FRONT OF COLLINWOOD - NIGHT                  189        as Alex' car ROARS INTO SHOT.  Leaping out, he quickly        crosses to the house where he begins to hammer on the        door.  Carlotta finally ENTERS THE SHOT. 190    As she reluctantly opens the door, he quickly      190        pushes by her and starts on down the hall.

And that's when yesterday's first quote -

Page 88/Scene 190 - Alex: 'I'm going to see him!'

- comes up in the script, followed in the script by:

Carlotta follows, calling after him.

And that's when yesterday's second quote -

Page 88/Scene 190 - Carlotta: 'Mr. Jenkins! They're all asleep!'

- comes up in the script, ...

...

When it comes to Scene 189, after Alex pulls his car under Collinwood's portico and comes to a screeching halt (which neither the subtitles nor the closed captioning acknowledges, but so what else is new?!), he does indeed jump out of the car, and after rushing through the vestibule, he does indeed bag on the door - though he also frantically ring the doorbell - and after he sees Carlotta approaching, Alex screams in unscripted dialogue that is acknowledged in both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

- and then as the beginning of Scene 190, after Carlotta opens the door, Alex demands in more unscripted dialoguel that's acknowledged in both the closed captioning -

- and the subtitles -

- though the subtitles jump a bit ahead to Carlotta's response, which is not what the subtitles indicate, nor is it what the closed captioning indicates -

- because what she actually says is "I told you --" before she gets cut off by Alex - but more on that next time...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with Scene 190, again, parts of which are very different from how it was scripted:

...

As Alex nears the stairs he begins calling out.                              ALEX                  Quentin!  Quentin!                              CARLOTTA                       (shouting at him)                  Mr. Jenkins!  You must stop                  that!        As Alex is about to start up the stairs, Gerard        suddenly appears from below and grabs him.  The two        men begin to grapple as Gerard jams Alex against the        wall.  It is then that Quentin appears at the top of        the stairs.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 88/Scene 190 - Quentin: 'Leave him alone!'

- comes up.

...

Continuing with Scene 190 as scripted, beginning with Gerard's response to Quentin's order with regard to Alex:

Gerard lets him go.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 88/Scene 190 - Carlotta: 'He forced his way in here. We told him you were sleeping.'

- comes up in the script.

...

After Alex barges his way in and his first call to Quentin cuts off Carlotta's previous line, I've said this before but it can never be said enough how much I love how Carlotta goes scampering after him, trying to stop him -

...

...

- (and it's interesting how after that the action switches from the foyer to the corridor but it's still considered Scene 190) as Alex makes his second scripted call to Quentin - and rather than what's scripted, Carlotta actually says, "No. Mr., Mr. Jenkins, please." - and that's mostly though not perfectly reflected in both the closed captioning -

- and the subtitles, though they jump ahead to Alex making an unscripted third call to Quentin

- which is also reflected in the closed captioning -

- and after Gerard angrily grabs Alex to stop him, Quentin appears on the stairs and delivers his scripted "Leave him alone," and as Alex pushes Gerard away, rather than deliver what's scripted Carlotta's next line is reflected in both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

To be continued...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Something to revisit for Scene 190 - this rare still:

The fourth of four from Scene 190:

(Click here for a 599X800 version)

And while I've never seen this officially published anywhere, I have come across beige tinted copies of it that look to me like they are scanned from a magazine or book. Though, as is often the case, no one who has shared those copies has cited any source, though presumably the original scanner should have known a source, but either they didn't cite it or I may have just never come across that version that might have cited it...

 

[Midnite]

Oh my god!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I'm guessing you must have missed it the first time around. The possibility that someone may have missed them is exactly why I've been revisiting some of the rarer stills. 

 

[Uncle Roger]

I was reading an article from Tiger Beat circa 1971 that someone had scanned. Among the DS blurbs was a notation that Jonathan Frid had visited Lyndhurst during the filming of Night of Dark Shadows. I realize that you must consider the source of the information. After all, Tiger Beat wasn't exactly The Washington Post. But it's certainly intriguing. MB, had you ever heard this before? It would be quite amazing if any photos of this ever surface.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The possibility that someone may have missed them is exactly why I've been revisiting some of the rarer stills.

Speaking of which, I'd meant to revisit this rare still from Scene 188 but forgot:

And here's a still from Scene 188:

(Click here for a 803X620 version)

Somehow I feel this still isn't as rare as it actually is because I've seen it in several places on the Internet and it's featured in the Italian Lobby Cards, but so far as I can recall, it's never been officially published anywhere...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I was reading an article from Tiger Beat circa 1971 that someone had scanned. Among the DS blurbs was a notation that Jonathan Frid had visited Lyndhurst during the filming of Night of Dark Shadows. I realize that you must consider the source of the information. After all, Tiger Beat wasn't exactly The Washington Post. But it's certainly intriguing. MB, had you ever heard this before? It would be quite amazing if any photos of this ever surface.

Hmmm, I must have missed that issue because I never saw that blurb. And while Tiger Beat wasn't as DS-connected as 16 Magazine was, the info they published about DS was generally reliable. But in this case I have to wonder. It seems like if Frid had visited Lyndhurst during the filming of NoDS, wouldn't we have heard about it from more than that one source? For example, given his extensive research on the production of NoDS, doesn't it certainly seem likely that Darren Gross might have mentioned it in at least one of the numerous things he's written about NoDS or as part of one of his Fest presentations? Or that one of the NoDS actors might have shared an anecdote about the day Frid visited the production? But who knows?

 

[Uncle Roger]

I suppose that blurb was on a par with the one where Frid was on the verge of signing a recording contract with MGM records. Obviously, that didn't happen.  But think about what might have occurred if he had. A potential camp classic? Perhaps. An appearance on a Golden Throats collection alongside other vocally challenged thespians like William Shatner? Definitely!!!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with Scene 190, again, parts of which are very different from how it was scripted:

Continuing Scene 190 with Grayson's script:

190    CONTD                                      CONTD   190

And that's when today's quote -

Page 89/Scene 190 - Alex: 'You didn't succeed, Quentin. She's still alive.'

- comes up, followed in the script by:

CARLOTTA            Please, Mr. Jenkins.                 (to Quentin)          who's            Shall I --                  what's                        QUENTIN                 (interrupting)            Wait a minute!  What are you            talking about, Alex?

...

Continuing Scene 190, beginning with yesterday's quote -

Page 89/Scene 190 - Alex: 'Are you going to try and tell me that you don't know what you did tonight?'

- coming up, ...

After Alex does indeed deliver his quoted lines about Quentin not succeeding exactly as they're scripted and the subtitles completely reflect that, the closed captioning has -

- without addressing Quentin - and as indicated by all her lines following Alex being crossed out, Carlotta says nothing, Quentin then only replies to Alex by asking, "What are you talking about, Alex?" - but the subtitles have -

- without addressing Alex, as does the closed captioning -

- and Alex follows that almost exactly as he's scripted to say, "Are you gonna try and tell me that you don't know what you did tonight?" - but the subtitles have -

- with the "try and" and the "tonight" missing - and oddly the closed captioning has -

To be continued...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I suppose that blurb was on a par with the one where Frid was on the verge of signing a recording contract with MGM records. Obviously, that didn't happen.  But think about what might have occurred if he had. A potential camp classic? Perhaps. An appearance on a Golden Throats collection alongside other vocally challenged thespians like William Shatner? Definitely!!!!

Well, that may have all depended on whether Frid sang or he did recitations over music, similar to what he did on the DS sountrack LP. I suspect most would agree that Frid's recitations on that are very effective. Would an LP featuring Frid but not featuring DS music have been as successful as the soundtrack LP? Probably not. But I doubt it would have been as big a disaster (and dare we say embarrassment) as some of the stuff other celebs put out in the '60s and '70s...