Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting more of the subtitles/closed captioning for Scene 254:

...

Tracy doesn't finish her previous question because Quentin starts to get up, but afterward he simply stands in front of the window, at which point Tracy asks an unscripted -

- which as you can see both the subtiles and the closed captioning acknowledge - and after we see Quentin come limping toward her, we hear Tracy say an unscripted -

- and you can see both the subtitles and the closed captioning acknowledge that as well - and then we see an extremely confused Tracy complete her thought by asking an unscripted -

- and the subtitles and the closed captioning also acknowledge that.

More to come...

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[Mysterious Benefactor]

And revisiting even more of the subtitles/closed captioning for Scene 254:

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After the camera has begun to move in close on Tracy's face as she shows an expression of shock and concern, she asks an unscripted -

- which as you can see both the subtiles and the closed captioning acknowledge - and then as the camera moves up Quentin's body as he moves closer to Tracy, she begins to ask an unscripted -

- and you can see both the subtitles and the closed captioning acknowledge that as well - (though, obvious by the screen capture from the VHS, we've only seen Quentin's face in silhouette) - and then Tracy senses another presence as she turns to see Angelique entering and she gasps

- and the subtitles and the closed captioning also acknowledge that.

More to come...

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[Mysterious Benefactor]

Wrapping up revisiting the subtitles/closed captioning for Scene 254:

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After Tracy then crys the first part ("Oh no...") of her scripted reaction to seeing Angelique, with a look of sheer terror on her face, she begins to back up against the wall and screams out the remainder ("...oh, God, no!") of her scripted reaction - and both the subtitles and the closed captioning gets all that right - and she follows with unscripted screams of -

- which as you can see both the subtitles and the closed captioning acknowledge, though the subtitles have two too few, whereas the closed captioning has the correct amount - followed by an unscripted -

- and then yet more unscripted -

- and the subtitles and the closed captioning also acknowledge that as Tracy's voice trails off - and after the screen frezes on an image of Quentin, an unscripted UPI news bulletin prints out -

 - the full text of which as -

- as it fades off the screen for the closing credits.

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting two rare stills associated with Scene 254:

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...

First:

(Click here for a 700X476 version)

And:

(Click here for a 620X810 version)

And to my knowledge, neither of these have been officially published. Although, on the Internet I have come across this cropped B&W version of the first -

(Click here for a 1054X773 version)

- which certainly looks like it was scanned from a book or magazine - but because, as usual, a source is not cited, I have no idea what to say about it...

...

When it comes to the still of Angelique, I never noticed until today that the ceiling light in it is turned on, whereas in the film it isn't. But then, what do I keep saying about how sometimes you can see something a thousand times before some detail finally leaps out at you...

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[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting a post about the UPI dateline at the end of the film:

When it comes to the UPI dateline about the Jenkins' fatal accident many have lamented that they were killed off. But to me they needed to go. And the reason why I think that is because, with the triumph of the Charles/Angelique love story over the one of Quentin/Tracy, the Jenkins would have continued to totally interfere and would have never given Charles/Angelique a moment's peace to enjoy their triumph. The demise of the Jenkins assures that Charles/Angelique would go on to have the "life" they were denied in the 19th century, whatever it may have turned out to be. Not the ending those routing for Quentin/Tracy would have liked, but certainly a fitting ending for Charles/Angelique. Plus, killing off practically everyone in NODS' present day is in keeping with the how the daytime DS operated with nearly every one of its storylines - with few exceptions, the only characters that survived were the ones who were necessary for the Collins line to survive.

As for the idea that the Jenkins could have survived so that there could have been the possibility of a NoDS sequel, chances are if there had been a third film, Sam Hall and DC never intended that it would be a sequel to NoDS, otherwise they wouldn't have strongly implied that Tracy wasn't going to survive long beyond the end of the film. It's not like the Jenkins could have saved Tracy from her fate. And no matter how much Quentin denied it, if he really was Charles' reincarnation, any attempt by the Jenkins to reassert Quentin's personality would have most probably been doomed to failure...

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[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting an older graphic from Scene 254:

... a line we didn't quote this time around was included in the original slideshow -

NoDS: Scene #254 - Tracy: 'Quentin, what's the matter?'

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Posts worth revisiting:

Great look on Lara's face in that still.  I don't recall having seen that one before.

That ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which of course is part of the fun.  Looking at these beautiful captures, I wonder if Angelique had become fully embodied again at this point. She looks fully alive, not just a ghost, in these shots.

One possibility for what would happen next is that Tracy would either have been killed by Charles/Quentin, or her body would have been taken over by the spirit of Angelique.  Which would have been the same result, for her.

It all begs the question of whether Angelique in NoDS was actually a Witch, or not.  I personally feel that the story makes no sense unless she was actually a Mistress of the Dark Arts, but it's left open for each viewer to decide for themselves.

  The comment about the still refers to the one od Angelique revisited in Reply #2073.

That ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which of course is part of the fun.

Exactly, which is why I hope for us to have a conversation about what we all think.

Looking at these beautiful captures, I wonder if Angelique had become fully embodied again at this point. She looks fully alive, not just a ghost, in these shots.

That's definitely one of the big questions I've been wanting to bring up. Recall that back in Scene #192 the script indicated:

... reveal Angelique, now more real than ever, as        she stares down at him.

Though in subsequent Scene 224 Angelique is described as -

... the mist-like ghostly figure of        Angelique.

- when she's moving in to attack Tracy. And that, along with Strack's reference in Scene 119 to the "strange death of Reverend Herridge" and the UPI reference to the eyewitness account that before the Jenkins' car crashed it "filled with thick white smoke" got me to thinking.

It all begs the question of whether Angelique in NoDS was actually a Witch, or not.  I personally feel that the story makes no sense unless she was actually a Mistress of the Dark Arts, but it's left open for each viewer to decide for themselves.

What if Angelique really was a witch in life - and what if one of her witchly powers was the ability for her astral self to turn mist-like to dispose of her enemies. What if it had nothing to do with Angelique's later existence as a ghost? That *might* explain how, *IF* Angelique has indeed become fully embodied again at the end of the film, she could still use her smoke/mist-like astral self to dispense with Alex and Claire...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And just because the slideshow reached the end of the film for the third time, once again that doesn't mean that nothing new will be posted to this topic. Again it's a case that over the course of the past year there were several times when I forgot about materials I have as well as discovered new materials. There are also still many candid stills that I have yet to post. And again I want to share a few different articles about the release of the film as well as some material written long after the release. And I also plan to finally get into some things that I've teased about over the first three years (like why I treasure my copy of the NoDS Insert Card (beyond the fact that it's only one of two versions of the A Poster that feature the full artwork)). So a lot of that sort of stuff will be posted as the slideshow progresses through this fourth run. Plus, I need to revisit subtitles/closed captionings that were posted for the first time last time around. And remember that if something comes up in the slideshow that you may be seeing for the first time and are not sure about, you can always go back in the topic to the posts that provided explanations for them - or if you can't find explanations, you can always post questions...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting posts made in a topic from 2003. They touch on more opinions as to whether or not Angelique was a which as well as the unshot Hippy sequence, which was recently covered again in the slideshow and which I want to make a comment on because I suddenly had an idea of how that sequence could have worked for me if it had been shot with a few tweaks.

Posts from a topic entitled "Angelique in NoDS" on the "Current Talk '03 II" board:

Greetings,

thanks to a friendly tip from Darren and the MB (see NoDS thread), I've been reading the NoDS script published in the DS Movies book back in 1999.

When I first saw NoDS (on the CBS television broadcast around 1973, I think--the movie only played my town for one week, and it was when we were away on a trip), my "read" on the story was that Angelique really was a Witch. Her death certainly could be regarded as an injustice (not to mention being technically illegal--not to put too fine a point on it, in the events depicted in the complete script, she was lynched by a mob consisting of a stump preacher and some deluded local stable boys, under the direction of certain of the local gentry who had a score to settle with the lady).  I was surprised when I began to read online fandom back in the mid 90s to find that many fans' take on it was that Angelique, although a scheming adultress, was technically innocent of Witchcraft.

My current reading of Sam Hall's screenplay reinforces my original impression, that we're meant to understand that Angelique isn't just "witchy," but actually a Witch.  Many of the scenes that clarify her "uncanny" abilities of course fell victim to the cutting room floor.

I hope to go into more detail later on, but am just curious what other fans of NoDS think about the matter.

Even when I saw the movie during it's theatrical run, I always thought that she was, indeed, a witch, even if pivotal scenes from the screenplay which made that quite clear (I read it in the book, too - fascinating!; I loved the "prequel" scene with the hippie), either ended up on the cutting room floor or were never shot.  I guess I was able to read between the lines.

I loved the "prequel" scene with the hippie ... never shot.

I may have ranted one or two times about the scenes DC never shot for hoDS. (OK - so I've ranted one or two million times.) But in the case of the "hippie" sequences in the NoDS script, I actually think it was an excellent decision not to have shot them. They would have tipped the audience off way too early that Carlotta and Gerard were, well, pretty much a pair of homicidal maniacs when it came to protecting the "secrets" at Collinwood. I think it's much better that that fact evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace as edited...


As for Angelique being a witch, I've always felt that "the strange death of Reverend Herridge so soon after his sermon denouncing her," as Strack put it, wasn't merely some trumped up charge on Strack's part but was actually a plot device to more than hint that Angelique had indeed had more involvement in his death than possibly having simply wished that the reverend had minded his own business.

MB wrote:

But in the case of the "hippie" sequences in the NoDS script, I actually think it was an excellent decision not to have shot them. They would have tipped the audience off way too early that Carlotta and Gerard were, well, pretty much a pair of homicidal maniacs when it came to protecting the "secrets" at Collinwood. I think it's much better that that fact evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace as edited...

The opening hippie scene might have done too much too early for -- or to -- the movie as a whole, but as a set piece, the way it reads in the script, it's outright scary. I can envision every detail of it, and I'd love to have seen that filmed -- even if it were a five-minute short film.

--Mark

...

As for Angelique, I always felt that she wasn't a witch.  Certainly in the full script she's a far more sympathetic character than Strack and his cronies.  My take on it was that the injustice of her death kept her spirit at Collinwood, and that any powers she showed were gained from attempting to alter those events. I very much like the cloudiness of the character - it's a nice source of mystery for the film, and it definitely benefits from not answering all the questions it raises.

I'm pretty glad the unfilmed scenes were lost - the opening reads as a wonderful set piece, but it pretty much kills any intrigue in the opening act along the way.  And the shopping scene with Gregory really spoils the enclosure of the rest of the movie - all the action takes place on the Collinwood estate, so popping away for a daytrip halfway through seriously compromises that sense of isolation.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting my least favorite NoDS trailer, what is my opinion is mostly a waste of what could have been used as a good minute of promotion rather than one where the ridiculous sound effects ruin an otherwise interesting narration:

...

... what I'm sharing today is my least favorite NoDS trailer. Though that being said I do like the voiceover because it gets into things that no other NoDS trailer (to my knowledge, anyway) gets into, like: "A man is buried alive in a basement tomb, then reincarnated to take his revenge." (So, can we say that because the trailer says that, it's canon, and Quentin really is Charles' reincarnation despite, as I said yesterday, whatever protests Quentin might make?):

The trailer really wouldn't be half bad if it wasn't for the sound effects, which ruin things for me (that gurgling choking sound - please! ). Well, that, and the use of hoDS footage rather than footage from NoDS itself. Sure, maybe at the time they put the trailer together they'd yet to have access to any NoDS footage. But still, what was the rush? 

And speaking of the footage, yes, the timing of the figure coming into frame at the same time the voiceover talks about the man being reincarnated to take his revenge does works well. But what about the shot of Collinwood being so jittery before that? I never remembered the shot of the house being so jittery in hoDS and that's because it isn't. In fact, most of the footage that's in the NoDS trailer isn't even in hoDS, as one can see here with the following video of hoDS Scene 81:

All in all, that NoDS trailer might have been enough to keep people away from NoDS showings rather than teasing them into wanting to see them. Or maybe not. Things were different in the '70s - maybe I'm forgetting that sort of approach really might have appealed to a potential audience. I find that hard to imagine looking back with a 2023 perspective. But who knows...

...

 

[Uncle Roger]

Did anyone ever ask Lara Parker if she thought that this Angelique was a witch?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting a rare NoDS radio spot:

Another NoDS rarity: a radio spot. It was posted back in the 90's to AOL's DSO's Image Gallery. Sure, it's not an image, it's a sound file. But no one complained - and it was hardly the only sound file that was posted there.

The original file was posted as a WAV, however, I've created a video file with it, similar to the ones for the various pieces of soundtrack music I've posted. WAV files don't play well with the forum's system, whereas MP4 video files do. So it's a no brainer to go this route.

And unlike the trailer I posted yesterday, the sound effects in the radio spot are kept to practically a bare minimum -

- and at least in the radio spot's case, it might have actually appealed to a potential audience...

Also, it's interesting how the tag line, "Collinwood, that house of dark shadows, where life and death go on as usual," gets used in so many of the promos.

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how similar sound effects were used for two hoDS radio spots:

Those screams in the first trailer don't really sound like they came from any version of DS, past or present.

Just for the fun of it I listened to the two hoDS radio spots that are on the 30th Anniversary CD. But listening turned out to be very informative because some of the exact same sound effects were used for them. And once again I've created video files because MP4 video files play well with the forum's system:

So, apparently whoever did that weird NoDS trailer also did the radio spots for the films. And I'm guessing they just used generic stock sound effects.

As a side note, back when I was working on the hoDS slideshow topic I got so sick of seeing so many photos and stills from the Barnabas walks with Maggie scene that I swore that I might actually go insane if I ever saw another one or even the scene itself. (I swear MGM and Ben Martin must have shot reams of film just for the one scene!!) So imagine my horror when that first radio spot started playing and it featured dialogue from the scene!!    (Though thankfully I was able to cope by quickly posting the caption that I did on the "Caption This! - house of Dark Shadows" board in the "house of Dark Shadows Scene 201" topic.)

(And speaking of how I named that topic, I made a big mistake when I posted the screen caps on the four hoDS and NoDS game boards by not including scene numbers because it's next to impossible to figure out what scenes are posted in which topics. So as I get the chance I plan to go through them all and add scene numbers to the topic titles.)

...

Though this time around I made sure I didn't play that first radio spot featuring the dialogue from Barnabas' walk with Maggie because I wasn't at all in the mood to risk insanity. Although, if listening inspired a new caption, maybe it would have been worth the risk. But I'm still not taking the chance. 

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Before we get into the tweak I think could have worked, let's revisit the Hippy sequence as scripted:

FADE IN: 1      EXT - RIVER ROAD - NIGHT - WIDE ANGLE             1        A desolate, forbidding scene.  A heavy driving        rain.  Trees bending against a HOWLING WIND.  There        is no living thing abroad.  HOLD on this until        faintly above the SOUND of the STORM the DISTANT        SOUND OF A CAR can be heard.  FINALLY, headlights        appear at RIGHT FRAME and move slowly TOWARD CAMERA. 2      EXT - ROAD - MEDIUM ANGLE                         2        Standing at the side of the road, drenched by the        storm, stands a young man, dressed in hippy apparel.        As the approaching car gets closer, he steps out        into its lights and tries to flag a ride.  All        the car does is accelerate and ROAR by him. 3      HIPPY - CLOSE UP                                  3        as he tries to leap out of the way, only to be        engulfed in a wave of water as the car leaves him        in its wake.                              HIPPY                       (screaming in anger)                  Hey, you dirty ... I'm lost,                  man!  I'm lost!        Hold on the Hippy as the SOUND OF THE TRUCK SLOWLY        FADES TO NOTHING and once again all that can be        heard is the RAGING STORM.  Suddenly, there is a        flash of lightning and for a moment the country-        side comes to life.  It is then that the Hippy        sees it. 4      OMITTED                               OMMITTED    4 5      EXT - COLLINWOOD MANSION - HIPPY'S P.O.V.         5        High above the river road, situated atop a hill        surrounded by towering trees, the weird-looking,        forbidding Collinwood dominates the scene.  Then        all is darkness again. 6      HIPPY - MEDIUM ANGLE                              6        As he makes his decision and starts up the hill        toward the house.  PAN WITH HIM AND HOLD HIM WIDE        as he starts his climb.        UP MAIN TITLES. 6      CONTD                                    CONTD    6        Credits will continue over the following: 7      EXT - COLLINWOOD GROUNDS - NIGHT - HIGH ANGLE     7        From one of the parapets the Hippy can be seen        approaching the house.  The storm is still raging.        HOLD ON HIM until he climbs on the veranda, EXITING        THE SHOT. 8      EXT - COLLINWOOD VERANDA - HIPPY                  8        as he comes toward CAMERA, going from window to        window trying to peer inside.        EXT - ANOTHER PART OF THE VERANDA - LOW ANGLE        Hippy comes toward CAMERA and stops to examine a        pair of French doors.  He jiggles the handles        and then tries to force them.  One of them opens        inward. 9      INT - COLLINWOOD DRAWING ROOM - NIGHT             9        as the hippy ENTERS.  The house is in total dark-        ness.  Most of the furniture is covered with dust        sheets.  The Hippy, obviously impressed, moves        around the Drawing Room, lifting a dust sheet        here, touching a piece of statuary there, and        then walking to the center of the room, he throws        back his head and starts laughing hysterically. 10     HIPPY - LONG SHOT                                 10        Shooting from the Dining Room at the far end of        the main corridor, the Hippy is a small figure        dancing with joy.  Suddenly, with a whoop, he runs        along the marble-floored corridor and, taking one        leap, slides along the slippery surface, smashing        to pieces an expensive vase as he falls into        CAMERA.  Giddy, he gets to his feet and starts        sauntering back down the hall, making believe he        is the lord of the manor.                              HIPPY                       (in affected manner of                       speech)                  Poole!  We'll have brandy in                  the drawing room and do prepare                  bedrooms for the week end's guests

11     HIPPY - HIGH ANGLE                                11        CAMERA set on third floor shooting down stairwell.        Hippy is a small figure as his voice takes on the        CAVERNOUS ECHOES of the huge house.  HOLD until he        EXITS FRAME.        SUPER FINAL CREDIT                                              DISSOLVE TO: 12     OMITTED                               OMMITTED    12 13     EXT - FRONT OF COLLINWOOD - NIGHT - WIDE ANGLE    13        It is later now.  The storm has dissipated.  There        is only a LOW MOANING OF THE WIND.  HOLD ON THIS        for a moment as a faint glow appears in the windows        of the Tower Room.  Then disappearing, it reappears        in the windows below, as it descends toward the        main floor.                                              CUT TO: 14     INT - TOWER STAIRS - NIGHT - WIDE ANGLE           14        HAND-HELD TRUCKING CAMERA descends the stairs        as if it were the eerie light.        INT - SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT        Continue TRUCKING to the stairs and start down. 15     INT - DRAWING ROOM - NIGHT - LOW ANGLE            15        Shooting through the doors down the corridor, a        faint glow of light begins to appear near the base        of the stairs.  Now the CAMERA SLOWLY PANS LEFT to        reveal the Hippy sound asleep on the sofa.  The        fire has burned low, an empty bottle of brandy        lies on the floor.  SLOWLY TRUCK IN TO HIS CLOSE-UP        as he suddenly opens his eyes.  Sensing a presence,        he sits up and looks toward the corridor.  Then        rising, he crosses to the doors.  TRUCK IN TO        EXTREME CLOSE-UP as he reacts. 16     INT - CORRIDOR - HIPPY'S P.O.V.                   16        There is a strange iridescent glow at the foot of        the stairs.  It has no particular form but has        that same pulsating quality that we saw in the tower. 16     CONTD                                    CONTD    16                              HIPPY (O.S.)                       (calling)                  Hey!  Who's there?  I got                  company?        HIPPY - REVERSE ANGLE - LONG LENS        Shooting from the Dining Room at the opposite end        of the hall through the pulsating glow.  The Hippy        starts drunkenly toward CAMERA.                              HIPPY                       (again calling)                  Hey, who's there?  Where's that                  light coming from?        As he gets closer to the foot of the stairs, the        glow begins to diminish, disappearing completely        as he reaches the foot of the stairs. 17     HIPPY - HIGH ANGLE                                17        as he looks up toward CAMERA.                              HIPPY                       (calling)                  Where did you go?  Who's up                  there?        He starts up the stairs.  When he reaches the        landing, PAN WITH HIM, revealing the glow now at        the far end of the upstairs corridor silhouetting        the Hippy in its light.                              HIPPY                       (muttering to himself)                  There it is again!  What the                  hell is going on?        He starts toward it. 18     INT - UPSTAIRS CORRIDOR - HIPPY - REVERSE ANGLE   18        Through the glow the Hippy comes toward CAMERA as        once again it begins to diminish. 19     INT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT                      19        Through the doorway of the Master Bedroom the glow        has disappeared as the Hippy ENTERS THE SHOT.        Then looking TOWARD CAMERA, he mounts the three        stairs that lead into the room.  TRUCK INTO AN 19     CONTD                                    CONTD    19        EXTREME CLOSE-UP as he suddenly reacts to some-        thing in back of CAMERA.  Whatever it is, it is        terrifying.  He starts to inch backward when in a        lightning-like movement, something blurs IN FRONT        OF THE CAMERA, striking him in the face.  His hands        go to his face as he SHRIEKS WITH PAIN.  Again and        again, whatever it is strikes as he staggers back-        ward, tripping and falling down the three stairs        to the main corridor. 20     INT - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT               20        HIPPY - CLOSE-UP        as he stares back in terror, his face is a mass        of bloody claw marks.  Staggering to his feet, he        lurches crazily AWAY FROM CAMERA as suddenly the        silhouette of a man carrying a blinding flashlight        appears at the far end of the hall.  The figure        approaches CAMERA, flaring out at the LENS with        his light.                              HIPPY                       (screaming)                  Help me, man!  Help me!  Help me!        HIPPY - TRUCKING SHOT        CAMERA TRUCKS IN FRONT OF HIPPY as he reaches        toward the on-coming figure, then in to EXTREME        CLOSE-UP as his face registers extreme shock.        THE MAN - HIPPY'S P.O.V.        With the light shining directly into the LENS, the        figure looms over him.  In his raised arm is a        vicious-looking club, and in one violent movement        he brings it down directly into the Hippy's face,        crushing the life out of him.  HOLD FOR A MOMENT        and then SLOWLY PAN to the figure of a WOMAN who        stands near him.  As the man raises his flashlight,        we see the rain-soaked figure of the HOUSEKEEPER,        CARLOTTA DRAKE.  He is GERARD STILES.

  And, yes, in Scene 10 weekend is spelled as two words in the script.

And, yes, when it comes to Scenes 4 & 12 the second omitted is spelled as "OMMITTED." I have no idea why.

In DC's script Scene 14 has a box drawn around it and a big X in the box, which, given similar notations in DC's copy of the hoDS script where he didn't shoot individual scenes within sequences that were shot, means that even if DC had shot the Hippy sequence, Scene 14 still wouldn't have been shot...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I've mentioned several time that I'm happy the hippy sequence was never shot, but I actually love what was supposed to take place - though only up to a point. Before that point I love how some sort of supernatural presence at Collinwood is established by having a strange pulsating iridescent glow appear in the windows of the tower as it descends down to where the hippy can see it and follow it to the Master Bedroom. And I really love how the hippy gets attacked, his face "a mass of bloody claw marks," foreshadowing something similar that will happen in an upcoming sequence. But after that the sequence reaches the point where I object to events, and that point comes in Scene 20 when Gerard shows up and bludgeons the hippy to death with a club and Carlotta is shown to be with him and apparently sanctioning the action. As I said back in 2003, that tips the audience off way too early that Carlotta and Gerard are pretty much a pair of homicidal maniacs when it comes to protecting the "secrets" at Collinwood. I think it's much better that without the hippy sequence in the film that fact evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace. Sure, if the scene had been shot/included as scripted, from the outset the audience would have certainly feared for Quentin and Tracy's safety, but again, I think it's much better that without the hippy sequence in the film the danger Quentin and Tracy are in at Collinwood evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace. But the things is the hippy sequence could have gotten a lot of its points across if the ending had been tweaked a bit, and it's not like other scenes weren't tweaked from the ways they were written in the script. One perfect example of that is Angelique's attempt to kill Alex at the cottage.

So, with tweaking in mind, what I think could have been done is rather than have Gerard bludgeon the hippy to death, Angelique could have attacked and successfully killed the hippy in the same manner that she'll try to kill Alex later on by enveloping him in her ghostly white mist - without actually showing Angelique herself, only showing the mist, it could have been the perfect thing to happen after the hippy had been clawed and fallen to the floor. And rather than Gerard committing murder and Carlotta being complicit in that murder, they could have simply arrived on the scene to discover the aftermath of Angelique's handiwork. And if Gerard's introduction still wanted to be established with him holding the club, it could have still been done without it giving so much away as actually seeing him use it does. But alas, I guess no one thought of that tweak, or if someone did, it was rejected in favor of opening the film with what I like to think of as DC's tribute to the opening of Hitchcock's Rebecca (rather than a ripoff of the opening of that film ).

And before I close this post, I want to address two things that I'm not sure ever struck me before until I read the hippy sequence today:

• 1) Scenes 1, 2 & 3 establish that a car comes upon the hippy and engulfs him in a wave of water. Then why does the script say at a later point in Scene 3:
  
  

  Hold on the Hippy as the SOUND OF THE TRUCK SLOWLY        FADES TO NOTHING

  
  Truck? Did the car somehow mutate after it drove through the puddle that splashed the hippy? But if it really was supposed to be a truck all along, wouldn't it have been interesting if it had been Gerard driving his truck that splashed the hippy. If it had, why do I suspect Gerard would have done it deliberately just to amuse himself? And if it had been Gerard driving, if he was shown driving it could have been an interesting call back when Gerard is revealed at Colliwood.
• 2) And Scene 13 establishes:
  
  

  It is later now.  The storm has dissipated.  There        is only a LOW MOANING OF THE WIND.

  
  So why then is Carlotta described in her introduction in Scene 20 as:
  
  

  As the man raises his flashlight,        we see the rain-soaked figure of the HOUSEKEEPER,        CARLOTTA DRAKE.

But I guess we're not supposed to ask those questions...