Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how the beginning of Scene 185 is scripted:

Beginning the next scene as scripted (using Grayson's script):

LAURA 185    SAMANTHA - QUENTIN'S P.O.V.                        185        SUBCONSCIOUS MEMORY CUT                                   Laura        It is no longer Tracy but Samantha who stands there,        as he begins to re-enact the moment of her death.        INTERCUT these MEMORY SHOTS throughout the rest of        the scene.        QUENTIN - TRACY        As Quentin slowly moves toward her, Tracy begins to        back away.

And that's when yesterday's quote -

Page 86/Scene 185 - Quentin: 'Isn't it enough that you killed her?...Won't you ever leave us alone?...ever?'

- comes up.

And when it comes to differences in the dialogue, after Quentin asks the first part of his quote ("Isn't it enough that you killed her?"), in more unscripted dialogue, Tracy asks -

"What are you talking about?...What's wrong with you?..."

- after which Quentin asks the second part of his quote ("Won't you ever leave us alone?...ever?") - and then in more unscripted dialogue, a somewhat anxious and confused Tracy says -

"Quentin, it's me."

And when it comes to the differences in the descriptions and directions, Quentin doesn't actually see Laura until after Tracy asks what's wrong with him -

- and before she makes a gesture of nodding her head no and tries to tell him that it's her.

   And as far as "yesterday's quote" goes, it was from May 20th this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the rest of how Scene 185 is scripted:

Wrapping up Scene 185 as scripted (using Grayson's script):

QUENTIN - CLOSE-UP - TRACY'S P.O.V.        Now only a few feet from her, the look of incredible        hate in his eyes burns into the CAMERA.

And that's when yesterday's quote -

Page 86/Scene 185 - Tracy (O.S.) (hysterical): 'Quentin!...Quentin! It's me...It's me...please!...'

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

Reaching TOWARD CAMERA, with his face almost in the       lens.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 86/Scene 185 - Quentin: 'No, Laura. I'm going to make sure you'll never interfere again.'

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

TRACY - QUENTIN - HAND HELD        As he grabs her and drags her, screaming and kicking,        to the edge of the pool and plunges her into the        filthy dark water.  Holding her head under, she        futilely claws and scratches at his hands and arms.        HOLD ON THIS as her movements become weaker and        weaker, and, finally she starts to sink to the bottom        of the pool.  Quentin then slowly rises and moves        AWAY FROM CAMERA.

End of scene.

And when it comes to differences in the dialogue, yesterday's and today's quotes are actually flipped in the film with Quentin's coming first -

"No, Laura. I'm going to make sure you'll never interfere again."

- and Quentin seems to deliver his lines exactly as scripted but Tracy's hysterical delivery is so loud that it appears to cut off the word "again" - and when it comes to Tracy's quote -

"Quentin!...Quentin! It's me...It's me...please!..."

- what she actually says is "No, look, it, it's me!...Stop it, Quentin, it's me!..." and she cries out as she's about to hit the water, and she continues to cry out as Quentin repeatedly dunks her under the water.

And when it comes to the differences in the descriptions and directions, Quentin doesn't actually reach toward camera because as we saw in yesterday's capture above, he reaches around Tracy's throat, but his face is -

- almost in the lens - and as Tracy screams "me!...Stop it", it's actually Laura -

- who Quentin sees before he angrily throws Tracy -

- into the water - though one thing I find very interesting is that Quentin's face shifts to almost expressionless as -

- Tracy is about to fall into the water - but I absolutely love how David Selby inadvertently splashes himself in the face while he's dunking Kate Jackson -

- and especially Quentin's crazed expression as he pulls back after Tracy stops -

- fighting him.

And interestingly enough, even though Carlotta doesn't appear in Scene 185, Grayson has several notes in her script. In part she writes that Carlotta has done what she promised, that Quentin is Angelique's forever, and that she and Angelique are smiling at each other. It can also be made out that Carlotta is kissing the lock of hair (though we never do actually see that lock of hair in the film) and somehow she offers it as a symbol of victory. Also, she writes that they have won because (she believes, anyway, that) Tracy is dead...

   And as far as "yesterday's quote" goes, it was from May 21st this time around, and "today's quote" is indeed today's, May 22nd's, quote.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Moving on to revisit the subtitles and closed captioning from what is really Scene 185:

...

After Quentin, thinking she's Laura, asks if she won't ever leave them alone, Tracy tries to point out in more unscripted dialogue that's reflected in both the subtitles -

- and the closed captioning -

- and after Quentin, still thinking she's Laura, vows that she'll never interfere and makes a grab for Tracy's throat, Tracy follows that up by screaming "No, look, it, it's me!" - but the subtitles have -

- and the closed captioning has -

- and Tracy follows that by screaming "Stop it, Quentin, it's me!" - but the subtitles have -

- and the closed captioning has -

To be continued...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting more of the subtitles and closed captioning from what is really Scene 185:

...

- and the closed captioning has -

...

   As you can see the last closed captioning in the previous post jumps the gun a bit because Tracy doesn't "Oh!" until after Quentin throws her in the water, which is two shots later.

And when it comes to the subtitles, they simply have -

- but the closed captioning has -

- reflecting each scream.

And as I've said, it's fascinating what sounds do and do not get acknowledged because in this sequence there are all sorts of sounds of crickets and water dripping and also footsteps but neither the subtitles nor the closed captioning acknowledges any of them...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Recisiting an amusing moment during Scene 185:

...

... 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]

Revisiting a still from Scene 185:

And speaking of the drowning, here's a still -

(Click here for a 700X529 version)
The Famous Monsters caption for it reads: "Influenced by a malignant spirit, Quentin (David Selby) attempts to drown Tracy."

- of which a slightly cropped copy appeared in the NoDS cover article in Famous Monsters of Filmland #88 Jan. 1972. The Doctor and K9 generously shared a PDF of the article back in Reply #132.

And of course you will recall that still is #35 in the NoDS Editor's Portfolio.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scenes 186 & 187 and the beginning of Scene 188 are scripted:

Moving on to the next three scenes:

186    EXT - ROAD NEAR SWIMMING POOL - NIGHT              186        as the lights of a car come TOWARD CAMERA. 187    INT - CAR - NIGHT                                  187        Alex drives as Claire stares out the window.  Suddenly        she reacts.                              CLAIRE                  It's Quentin!        QUENTIN - THEIR P.O.V.        Through the window, Quentin can be seen as he comes        out of the pool building.        INT - CAR - NIGHT        as Alex stops the car, Claire is about to call out.        Alex grabs her arm.                              ALEX                  Don't!        Through the window Quentin can be seen disappearing        into the darkness.  Alex grabs a flashlight, they get        out of the car and run toward the pool house. 188    INT - POOL HOUSE - NIGHT - HIGH ANGLE              188        As Alex and Claire ENTER, the SOUND OF THEIR FOOTSTEPS        ECHO LOUDLY.  Stopping at the edge of the pool, Alex        flashes the light about.                              CLAIRE                  What was he doing here?                              ALEX                  I don't know.        As he starts toward the back of the pool, still        panning his light, he suddenly sees something in the        water.        THE WATER - THEIR P.O.V.        The light has picked up the shadowy form of Tracy at        the bottom of the pool.

And that's when today's quote -

Page 87/Scene 188 - Claire (O.S.) (screaming): 'It's Tracy!'

- comes up.

And when it comes to differences in the dialogue, in more unscripted dialogue, Claire asks -

"Suppose he won't leave?"

- at the start of Scene 187 - and to that Alex replies -

"He'll leave if I have to drag him out of there."

- and right after that, rather than saying "It's Quentin!", Claire actually says -

"Alex, there he is!"

- when she spots Quentin - and rather than a simple "Don't!", Alex actually says -

"No, no, wait!"

- but the dialogue for what's covered so far of Scene 188 is delivered exactly as scripted, with the exception that, as can be seen in today's capture -

Page 87/Scene 188 - Claire (O.S.) (screaming): 'It's Tracy!'

- today's quote is not delivered off screen.

And when it comes to the differences in the descriptions and directions, there is no Scene 186 as the film currently stands, though it's not on the unrecovered footage list, so it may be in the 129 minute version - and when it comes to Scene 187, after Claire spots Quentin, we don't actually see him shot through the car's window as he -

- walks away from the pool house - and we also see the Jenkins' car in the background as -

- Quentin soon disappears off camera - and unlike what's scripted, Alex doesn't grab a flashlight before he and Claire get out of the car and run toward the pool house - and when it comes to what's covered so far of Scene 188, we don't actually hear the sound of the Jenkins' footsteps echo loudly as they enter the pool house - and considering that Alex doesn't carry a flashlight, obviously he doesn't flash its the light about or pan it as he and Claire make their way through the building - and the way Tracy is actually spotted by Claire is that she sees Tracy's body -

- bobbing in the water, meaning Tracy has not sunk to the bottom of the pool.

   And as far as "today's quote" goes, it was yesterday's, May 23rd's, this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles and the closed captioning for Scene 187:

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]

Revisiting how the rest of Scene 188 is scripted:

Before we get to today's new scene, we need to wrap up Scene 188, starting with the end as scripted:

188    CONTD                                      CONTD   188        Suddenly, Alex ENTERS THE SHOT, diving into the pool.        HOLD as we see him swim to the bottom and grab the        inert Tracy.  He brings her to the surface as Claire        helps him pull her out of the pool.  Again and again,        he pumps at her back as Claire stands watching.  And        then finally, with one huge gasp, Tracy begins to        breathe.

End of scene - though that's not quite how things play in the film - for example, Alex doesn't dive into the pool so much as -

- jump, and he doesn't retrieve Tracy from the bottom of the pool because he actually grabs -

- her partially floating body - and once he's brought Tracy to the edge of the pool, several bits of unscripted dialogue come up, beginning with Alex telling Claire -

"Get her, baby."

- and while he's pumping Tracy back, barely audibly he says -

"Come on, honey."

- and then Claire, who's not simply standing and watching but kneeling right beside Tracy, crys -

"Tracy."

- and after water finally spills out of Tracy mouth without a huge gasp or otherwise, Claire leans down to embrace Tracy and once again she crys -

"Oh, Tracy."

- and she begins to sob. And that's how the scene actually ends.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles and closed captioning for 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]

Revisiting this still:

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...

The Italian Lobby Card -

- (what a surprise that everyone's clothes are colorized incorrectly - NOT!    And if that wasn't bad enough, they flipped both stills) - and of course you will recall that the still is also #37 in the NoDS Editor's Portfolio.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Some behind the scenes info worth revisiting:

Also before we get to the new scene, if you've never seen/read the NoDS Pressbook, you might find this article interesting because it relates to scenes that we've recently covered:

(Though unlike the shooting of the funeral, all the main stars save Grayson Hall were invloved.)

 

...

A couple of extra tidbits, though ones that are probably more well known:

• Kate Jackson couldn't swim, so she was terrified to film her sequences in the pool.
• But she credits Selby and Karlen with helping her get through it and making sure she was safe.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 189 and the start of Scene 190 are 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, followed in the script by:

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.

And when it comes to the differences in the dialogue, the descriptions, and the directions, there are quite a few things different - for example, in what's scripted to be Scene 189, in unscripted dialogue, Alex actually screams -

"Open the door! OPEN THE DOOR!!"

- once Carlotta comes to the door - then in Scene 190, once she opens the door, Alex actually demands -

"Where is he?"

- as he barges in - and Carlotta actually says -

"I told you..."

- which gets cut off by Alex shouting -

"Quentin!"

- as he rushes through the foyer with Carlotta running after him (and I absolutly love how -

- she does so) - and we actually see Gerard 's shadow coming up the stairs as Alex shouts a second -

"Quentin."

 - and Gerard running up the stairs as Carlotta actually says -

"No. Mr., Mr. Jenkins, please."

- which is followed by Gerard rushing to intercept Alex as Alex shouts an unscripted third -

"Quentin."

- and when Alex and Gerard do grapple, Alex -

- isn't actually pinned up against the wall - and, as can be clearly seen in today's capture, when Quentin appears on the stairs, he isn't actually at the top of them -

(ADMIN: Edited to add video and remove animated GIF)

   And as far as "yesterday's" quotes go, they were from May 24th this time around, and "today's quote" was yesterday's, May 25th's, quote.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles and close captioning or lack thereof for Scenes 189 and the start of 190:

...

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 dialogue 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...

...

For some strange reason it doesn't seem as if I've ever shared Grayson's notes for Scene 190.    However, for the part before Alex barges in, she wrote, "Slow. Quiet. Try to close the door in his face" - and then for the part where Alex is calling out for Quentin, she wrote, "Gerard Gerard Stop him!"

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting a bit more of how Scene 190 is scripted:

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.

And when it comes to any differences in the dialogue, Carlotta actually says an unscripted  -

"We tried to stop him."

- which isn't added to Grayson's or DC's scripts.

And when it comes to any differences in the descriptions and directions, Gerard doesn't actually let go of Alex until after Carlotta delivers her line.

   And as far as "today's quote" goes, it was yesterday's, May 26th's, this time around.