Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the wrap up of how Scene 190 is scripted (a glimpse of which we got in the video clip in Reply #1858):

...

Quentin looks at Alex, then suddenly turns and starts        up the stairs, three at a time.                              QUENTIN                       (screaming)                  Tracy!  Tracy!        Alex starts up after him.

...

And when it comes to the differences in the descriptions and directions, with the close of Scene 190, after Carlotta says she's sure Tracy is in her room, Quentin doesn't actually look at Alex and then suddenly turn to start up the stairs because, rather, he immediately whirls around to -

- look up the stairs (and I love the expression on Carlotta's face as she studies him as he does so) - and then in close-up -

- that instantly zooms back to a long shot of the foursome -

- Quentin screams out the first scripted "Tracy!", which echoes - and it's only after that that Quentin runs up the stairs, though not three at a time, and screams out the second "Tracy!" - however, we do not see Alex start up after Quentin ...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And a bit of trivia: eagle-eyed fans will notice the name Amos Ross on the tombstone, a tombstone that was apparently recycled from the daytime series. Does anyone besides me remember how it was used and in which storyline?

While I was watching a DS ep today as preparation for future installments in the "MUST" slideshow, I came across said Amos Ross and that reminded me that I may indeed be the only one who remembers how he appears on the daytime series and in which storyline. But before I have explain all, I'm going to give everyone one last chance to show their knowledge of DS trivia...

[Uncle Roger]

Was it the name of one of Jeb's zombies?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Yes, it was! 

Who knew NoDS would share something in common with Leviathans, of all storylines. 

What would have really been a hoot is if they'd used something like Daphne Harridge's gravestone in the NoDS cemetery. But if it still existed, I guess they didn't want to go down a road like that. 

[Uncle Roger]

Maybe it was decided that the reference to the late Reverend Harridge was enough?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Possibly an oblique reference to Daphne because in the script his name is spelled "Herridge" and that's the way Thayer David pronounces it. Who knows what Sam Hall was thinking? Though given that he could have picked any name and chose one close to "Harridge," chances are it was some sort of wink.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Backtracking a bit to Scene 189, I forgot to revisit this:

Something I'm definitely noticing this time around now that they're starting to appear is that the day-for-night shots look so much better in the Blu-ray release than they do in the VHS:

(Click here for a 620X465 version)	(Click here for a 620X349 version
(Click here for a 620X465 version)	(Click here for a 620X349 version

And not surprisingly, the Laser version is just as bad as the VHS:

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another post worth revisaiting:

Before we move on to Scene 191A, just to get back to the supposed sound of a door closing, just who would have closed said door? All the people in the house are gathered there down at the stairs. Tracy isn't in the house. And why would Angelique be closing a door? What would be her motive? It's not like Quentin would have needed to be lured upstairs because, being so doubtful of Alex' story and with Carlotta saying she's sure Tracy is in her room, surely Quentin would have gone up to check the bedroom without hearing any sort of sound to get him there. That's always been the way I've interpreted his actions before I saw the closed captioning indicate the sound of a door closing. But who knows? I suppose we'll never really know, IF that actually is the sound of a door closing. When Quentin grabs the banister a similar sound is heard so perhaps all the sounds can simply be attributed to the stairs making noise because of the people being on them. But thanks to the closed captioning it's all just a head-scratcher. 

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Getting back to revisiting the scripte, here's how Scenes 190A, 191 & 191A are scripted:

...

190A   INT - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT -              190A        REVERSE ANGLE        as Quentin comes charging TOWARD CAMERA and bounds up        the stairs to the Master Bedroom. 191    INT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT                       191        With an empty bed in the F.G., Quentin explodes into        the room.  TRUCK IN TO HIS CLOSE-UP as he looks.        Quickly, he turns, runs down the stairs. 191A   INT - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT                191A        In the F.G. of the SHOT, Quentin stands, his back to        CAMERA, staring at Alex, who stands at the far end        of the corridor at the top of the stairs.        QUENTIN - TRUCKING SHOT        as he starts toward Alex, CAMERA TRUCKS BACKWARD in        front of him, HOLDING HIM IN CLOSE-UP. 191A   CONTD                                       CONTD  191A        ALEX - QUENTIN        as Quentin stops directly in front of Alex and looks        down at him.

And that's when today's first quote -

Page 91/Scene 191A - Quentin (quietly): 'You're right. She's gone. So she's left me. If that's the way she wants it, fine.'

- comes up, followed in the script by:

Alex puts his hand on Quentin's elbow.

And that's when today's second quote -

Page 91/Scene 191A - Alex: 'Quentin, that's not...'

- comes up.

And when it comes to differences in the dialogue, what Quentin actually says to Alex is "You're right. She's gone. If that's the way she wants it, it's fine with me", with the "So she's left me" part dropped - and Alex nods his head no before he actually says "Quentin, that's not you...".

And when it comes to the differences in the descriptions and directions, with Scene 191, there is no truck in to a close-up of Quentin because things simply remain with the empty bed in the foreground -

- and Quentin in the doorway before he turns to leave, upon which we do not see him run down the stairs from the bedroom - and with Scene 191A, rather than seeing Quentin's back to the camera as he stares at Alex standing at the far end of the corridor at the top of the stairs, at first we see a gratuitous shot of Quentin's butt -

- (though I'm sure there were many in the audience who enjoyed that ), which soon switches to a shot of Quentin's hand which he then -

- clenches before he begins to make his way to Alex, which is indeed shot as the camera trucks backward in front of him as it holds him in close-up, but the camera also switches to a hand-held shot of Alex as Quentin moves closer and closer -

- to him, until Quentin finally reaches him and we see the 2 shot of them as in today's captures - and as we can easily see from today's second capture, Alex is not seen to -

- put his hand on Quentin's elbow, nor does it appear that he even does so.

   And as far as "today's" quotes and second capture go, they were June 3rd's this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Moving on to revisit the subtitles/closed captioning for Scene 191A:

...

After Quentin has run to the bedroom, seen that it's empty, gone back out and seen Alex is standing at the far end of the corridor, and has gone down to him, Quentin says to him, "You're right. She's gone." - and that's reflected in both the subtitles and the closed capturing - but then Quentin says, "If that's the way she wants it, it's fine with me" - and that's reflected in the subtitles - but when it comes to the first part the closed captioning has -

- no "If" - and Alex replies to that with "Quentin, that's not you..." before Quentin cuts him off - and the subtitles reflect that - but the closed captioning has -

- no "Quentin" - and after Qeuntin cuts off Alex by saying his name, he then says, "Now, listen to me." - and in this case it's the closed captions that reflects it correctly - but the subtitles have -

- no "Now" - and for some reason, as we've seen recently, "now" seems to be a word that gets dropped...

To be continued...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another post worth revisiting:

...

After Quentin has run to the bedroom, seen that it's empty, gone back out and seen Alex is standing at the far end of the corridor, and has gone down to him ...

And speaking of that going back out into the corridor and going down to Alex, it makes me wonder if it's the type of scene Sam Hall was talking about in these excerpts from the 1983 interview he did for the DS Files book series?

It certainly seems like it could be in that sort of style -

- though in its case there is a point to the way it plays, which is probably why it survives in the film when other examples do not because they were removed to tighten the film. The way it's shot with backward trucking on Quentin and handheld moving in on Alex actually increases the drama.

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the wrap up of how Scene 191A is scripted and moving on to revisit Scene 191B:

...

Quentin pulls his arm away.

And that's when the first part of today's quote -

Page 91/Scene 191A - Quentin: 'Alex, I've known you for a long time. But listen to me. I'm sick of your insane writer's mind. Don't ask me anymore questions. Don't bug me anymore. Just get out of here.'

- comes up, followed in the script by:

Alex looks at him.

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

Page 91/Scene 191A - Quentin: 'And take her with you --'

- comes up, followed in the script by:

WIDEN as Alex turns, knowing there is nothing else        he can say.  HOLD ON THIS as Quentin stands there.        Alex starts down the stairs, passing Carlotta, who        stands on the middle landing watching him.  As Alex        continues down to the first floor, Gerard comes to        him, trying to hurry him along.  Alex shakes him        off, and EXITS THE SHOT.                                  ALEX                  Take your bloody hands off me -- 191B   HOLD ON the three of them as the SOUND of the      191B        front door can be heard.  There is a moment when no        one moves.  Then finally, Quentin starts down the        stairs.  As he reaches the middle landing, he looks        at Carlotta with hatred in his eyes.  Carlotta knows        not to speak to him.  He continues down to the first        floor and stops, looking down the hall where Alex        exited.  He then crosses into the Card Room where        he picks up a bottle of brandy and pours himself a        drink.  Carlotta follows him in as Gerard remains in        the hall.

End of scene though not end of sequence...

And when it comes to differences in the dialogue, what Quentin actually says to Alex is "Alex. Now listen to me. I've known you for a long time. I'm sick of your insane writer's mind. I don't wanna talk about it anymore. I just want you to get out of here and take her with you --", with the "Don't ask me anymore questions. Don't bug me anymore" part reworked and the "And take her with you --" part incorporated without any separation - and after that Alex simply nods his head - however, for reasons that will become clear in the next section, Alex' "Take your bloody hands off me --" is completely dropped in the film.

And when it comes to the differences in the descriptions and directions, in Scene 191A, Quentin doesn't pull his arm away from Alex before he tells Alex he's sick of him, he wants him to get out, and he wants Alex to take Tracy with him, and that's because, as we got into yesterday, in the film Alex never touches Quentin in the first place - and there's no point where Alex' reaction to what Quentin says to him is to simply look at him because in the film there's no pause between Quentin's first and second quoted dialogue - and the camera shot doesn't widen as Alex turns away from Quentin - nor does the camera hold on Quentin because as soon as Alex turns away he immediately starts down the stairs - and as Alex approaches Carlotta on the middle landing, I love the momentary and slight smile -

- that Carlotta flashes - and as Alex rounds the railing to the next set of stairs, he -

- looks up in Quentin's direction - and as Alex continues down to the first floor, Gerard doesn't actually come to him to try to hurry him along, so, obviously, nor does Alex shake him off - we simply see Alex pass by Gerard, who isn't actually still down on the first floor -

- but standing up about midway on the first set of stairs, and then Alex exits the shot - and the camera holds on Carlotta and Gerard as he puts a smile on his face -

- and with Scene 191B, we do see a shot of Quentin, Carlotta, and Gerard as the sound of Alex' footsteps and the front door closing can be heard, however we only see Quentin-

- from the back - and as Quentin begins to descend the stairs, similar to the way things were shot while Quentin approached Alex, we actaully see a hand-held shot of Carlotta as Quentin moves closer and closer  -

- before he reaches the middle landing and looks at Carlotta with hatred - and just after Carlotta enters the Card Room while Quentin gets his drink, she turns to look back out into the corridor -

- in the direction of Gerard.

   And as far as "today's quote" goes, the two parts of it were on June 4th this time around.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the wrapping up of the subtitles/closed captioning for Scene 191A and a bit of Scene 191B:

...

Picking up where we left off, Quentin tells Alex, "I've known you for a long time. I'm sick of your insane writer's mind." - and of that is completely reflected in both the subtitles and the closed captioning - then Quentin follows with, "I don't wanna to talk about it anymore." - though the closed capturing has -

- with the grammar corrected from "wanna" to "want to" because every so often they can't resist correcting grammar - on the other hand, the subtitles retain the "wanna," but -

- drop the "anymore" - the subtitles also jump ahead to Quentin saying, "I just want you to get out of here and take her with you --" - but the closed captioning only has -

- with the part about taking Tracy with him dropped, which is very strange because that's definitely an important part of what Quentin says.

And then after Alex simply nods his head, goes down the stairs and exits the stairwell, in Scene 191B when Quentin appears on the second floor landing, neither the subtitles nor the closed capturing acknowledge the sound of Alex' footsteps as unseen he makes his way to the door, but the closed captioning does have -

- whereas the subtitles do not.

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A post worth revisiting regarding info about the scenes just covered as well as some other interesting NoDS trivia:

I forgot to mention that the call sheet that I've shared indicates that the foyer, 1st floor corridor & stairs portions of Scene 190 were also shot along with the many other scenes that were shot on April 5,1971. And I also forgot to mention that according to the Advance Schedule section of the call sheet, the portions of Scene 190 taking place on the 2nd floor corridor & stairs were shot on April 6, 1971.

Also shot on April 6, 1971 were the just featured Scenes 191A & 191B.

And something I don't think I've ever mentioned is that call sheet was an added bonus when someone sold a copy of John Karlen's NoDS script on eBay. Here's a photo of the cover page of the script:

(Click here for a 738X842 version)

There are some interesting things regarding that page and the script itself:

One is who knows who printed the actors' names on it but seemingly they didn't know Grayson Hall very well considering they printed her first name as "Gracine"!? You also have to wonder why those names are printed on it? But that's probably a story that's not likely to be explained at this point...

And the person who sold the script offered some interesting background information about it. It seems as if John Karlen had a crush on the seller's mom and gave the script to her. Apparently the seller's mom and dad worked at the Lyndhurst during the filming of NoDS. She was a tour guide for Lyndhurst. He worked security for the film and was also a part-time landscaper for Lyndhurst. And the seller wanted the script et al. to go to someone who would keep it safe, preserved and appreciated because it had just been sitting in a memory chest their entire life. I'm guessing the sale might have meant that their mom had passed away and they were cleaning out her stuff...

...

 

[Uncle Roger]

Maybe it was the seller's mom or dad who did that. Especially since Diana Millay's name is misspelled Dianna. Those errors are still common today, even with spell check.