Happy 50th Anniversary, Night of Dark Shadows

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And wrepping up revisiting the subtitles/closed captioning for the end of Scene 21 and for Scene 22:

...

Soon afterward Tracy delivers an unscripted "It's gonna rain" (it actually did begin to rain on the day that parts of this sequence were shot) - and the subtitles get that line correctly -

- though of course the closed captioning must correct the grammar -

- and then rather than how her line is scripted Tracy actually says "I still can't believe it's really Collinwood" - and both the subtitles and closed captioning get that perfectly - though Quentin's line about getting the directions right is dropped - and Tracy's last line for Scene 21 is another reworking of something scripted and she actually says "You can't even see the house from here" - and the closed captioning gets that correctly - but the subtitles have -

- and soon after Scene 22 begins Quentin stops the car and says an unscripted "Here it comes. I'm gonna put the top up" with regard to it beginning to rain - and while the subtitles acknowledge that perfectly -

- the closed captioning has -

- once again insisting on correcting the grammar - and Tracy's reaction "Oh...Quentin!" at first seeing the front of Collinwood is also dropped in the film.

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting a still related to Scene 22:

And speaking of Quentin putting the top up, here's a fairly rare still associated with that part of Scene 22 -

(Click here for a 700X476 version)

 - though a somewhat cropped version has been shared as the back cover of the Fest's 1999 Movie Calendar and a small B&W and cropped version appears on page 22 of the Movie Soundtracks' booklet...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 23 is scripted to play:

...

23     EXT - COLLINWOOD PORTICO                          23        as the car ENTERS THE SHOT and pulls up in front        of the house.  Quentin and Tracy both get out and        starts to unpack the back seat.

And that's when Friday's first quote -

Page 7/Scene 23 - Tracy: 'What do you bet I turn into one of those women you see in House & Garden.'

- comes up, followed by Friday's second quote -

Page 7/Scene 23 - Quentin (still busily unpacking): 'I can see it now, Mrs. Quentin Collins in her fashionable jeans at her 18th-century rosewood desk making out the menus for the week.'

- coming up, followed by the script continuing with:

She starts laughing.

And that's when Saturday's first quote -

Page 7/Scene 23 - Quentin: 'Oh, there is a housekeeper, you know.'

- comes up, followed by Saturday's second quote -

Page 7/Scene 23 - Tracy: 'Oh, great! I bet she looks just like Mrs. Danvers.

- coming up, followed by the script continuing with:

QUENTIN I'm sure she does.

And that's when Sunday's first quote -

Page 7/Scene 23 - Tracy: 'Well, at least it solves one problem. She can probably do everything and I'll just simply lounge around arranging flowers.'

- comes up, followed by Sunday's second quote -

Page 7/Scene 23 - Quentin: 'And loving me.'

- coming up, followed by the script continuing with:

23     CONTD                                    CONTD    23                              TRACY                  And loving you.        Quentin starts for the rear of the car to open        the trunk.

End of scene.

And so far there are still no differences between the way DC's and Grayson Hall's scripts are written. However, in DC's script he has added a notation that the opening of Scene 23 where the car pulls up to the house will be shot from the interior of the car and through the window.

And so far as any differences in the dialogue go, in the delivered lines there are a few words dropped or added, but nothing significant. However, Tracy's "And loving you" was completely dropped.

And so far as the directions and descriptions go, as already indicated above, the start of Scene 23 is shot from inside the car, though because it was raining on the day that bit was shot -

- the windshield wipers are also on - and after Quentin and Tracy get out of the car, they do not unpack the backseat because at first they simply look up at the house in amazement with Tracy remaining standing on the passenger side of the car and Quentin going to open the trunk, as could be seen in -

- Friday's first capture - and after removing all the luggage and slamming the trunk closed is when Quentin says that he's sure the housekeeper looks like Mrs. Danvers as he makes his way to the passenger side of the car to reach into the backseat for more things as Tracy makes he remark about the housekeeper doing everything while she arranges flowers, as can be seen in -

- Sunday's first capture - and obviously, the end of Scene 23 doesn't have Quentin going to the rear of the car to open the trunk because he's already been there, done that, so, as can be seen in -

- Sunday's second capture, they're still standing on the passenger side of the car as the scene concludes.

   So far as "Friday's" quotes go, they were August 11th this last time around, so far as "Saturday's" quotes, they were August 12th, and so far as "Sunday's" quotes, they were August 13th.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Before we get into the differences in the subtitles and and mostly the closed captioning for Scene 23, as I'd mentioned in Reply #1166, DC added a note to his script that the opening of Scene 23 where the car pulls up to the house will be shot from the interior of the car and through the window - gee, I wonder where he got that idea:


NoDS through the windshield with the wipers going.

Rebecca through the windshield with the wipers going.

I'm sure he just pulled it out of thin air in a moment of inspiration, right? Yeah, right. But it does play even more into a "tribute" to Hitchcock's Rebecca

...

   And of course Reply #1166 is revisited in Reply #2102.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles/closed captioning for Scene 23:

...


...the dialogue for Scene 23 kicks off with Tracy actually saying "What do you wanna bet I turn into one of those women you see in House & Garden" - but the subtitles have -

- with simply the "you see" dropped - however, the closed captioning has -

- and to that Quentin's reply actually starts off with "Yeah. I can see it now" -  and the subtitles get that perfectly - but the closed captioning has -

- with the "Yeah" missing.

More to come...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the subtitles/closed captioning for the end of Scene 23:

Picking where we left off, the second part of Quentin's actual response is "Mrs. Quentin Collins in her fashionable jeans sitting at her 18th-century rosewood desk making out the menus for the week" - and the subtitles get that perfectly - and the closed captioning would have gotten it perfectly if the "18th" part of "18th-century" in the middle part of it had displayed, but it didn't -

- but it could be the case that with different settings it may display, just as different settings caused the missing "any" to show up in Quentin's line "I didn't mean any of it, though" back when we were dealing with the closed captioning for Scene 170 (I'll have to check things out when I get the chance) - then changing the subject Quentin actually mentions "We have a housekeeper, you know that?" - and again the subtitles get that perfectly - but the closed captioning has -

- and to that Tracy says "Oh, great. Bet she looks just like Mrs. Danvers" (deliberate Rebecca reference!  ) - but the subtitles -

- adds an "I'll" - and the closed captioning -

- drops the "Oh, great" but adds an "I" - and Quentin's reply as scripted is "I'm sure he does" - and both the subtitles and the closed captioning get that right - and after that Tracy actually adds "Well, that solves one problem. She can probably do everything. And I'll just sit around arranging flowers all day" -  and the subtitles -

- simply drop the "Well" from the first part- and the closed captioning -

- drops the "And" from the last part - and to that Quentin adds "And loving me" - and once again both the subtitles and the closed captioning get that right.

End of scene.

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting this post regarding a gaffe in the way the closed captioning displays:

... the closed captioning would have gotten it perfectly if the "18th" part of "18th-century" in the middle part of it had displayed, but it didn't -

- but it could be the case that with different settings it may display, just as different settings caused the missing "any" to show up in Quentin's line "I didn't mean any of it, though" back when we were dealing with the closed captioning for Scene 170 (I'll have to check things out when I get the chance) ...

Well, I tried all sorts of settings but couldn't get the "18th" to display no matter what I tried. So, I decided to see what the closed captioning decoder in the TV I'd used to shoot those videos off of might do. At first the display was even worse because not only didn't the "18th" display, but "18th-c" didn't -

- but then I reminded a bit and played it again and this showed up -

- still no "18" but that was the best. Who knows why the "18th-c" part of that caption apparently has some glitch that causes it to play games? But it's hardly something I'm going to spend more time wondering about...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scenes 24 through 27 are scripted:

...

CUT TO: 24     EXT - QUENTIN - TRACY - HIGH ANGLE                24        CAMERA THROUGH SECOND FLOOR STAIRWELL WINDOW as        if someone is watching.  From this angle, Quentin,        back is to the CAMERA so that his face is not re-        vealed.  As he turns to say something to Tracy,        revealing his face, ZOOM IN TO CLOSE-UP. 25     EXT - SECOND FLOOR STAIRWELL WINDOW - DAY         25        Angle from below reveals Carlotta observing the        scene.  ZOOM IN TO HER CLOSE-UP as she reacts. 26     EXT - COLLINWOOD - DAY - MEDIUM ANGLE             26        as Quentin closes the trunk and in one quick        motion sweeps Tracy off her feet, intending to        carry his bride across the threshold. 27     INT - SECOND FLOOR STAIRWELL - CARLOTTA - DAY     27        TRUCK IN TO HER CLOSE-UP as she watches them.

...

And so far there are still no differences between the way DC's and Grayson Hall's scripts are written - however, in DC's script Scenes 25 -27 have a box drawn around them and a big X in the box, which means that DC didn't intend to shoot them. But despite that, or more likely before she was aware that those scenes weren't going to be shot, Grayson Hall added a note in her script that reads "See that it's him at last the answer to the dream".

...

And so far as the directions and descriptions go, as can be seen in this capture -

- Scene 24 was not shot through the second floor stairwell window but through a third floor window of the tower - and because it's shot from so high up, Quentin's face is nowhere near recognizable and there is no zoom in to a close-up of him because he simply closes the door to the car and he and Tracy move toward the portico, each carrying a piece of luggage and leaving the rest of their luggage behind the car - and as already mentioned above, Scenes 25 -27 are dropped...

...

...

... there's something that's different and correct in the VHS version of the film (well, correct to a point because the color timing is still off when it comes to the VHS) but unfortunately different and not correct in every other version. And that would be Scene 24:

VHS:

Every Other Version:

At least those other versions have the sound of the car door shutting...

...

The background music is certainly correct when it comes to the VHS' version of Scene 24, but the way the scene is shot is definitely very different from how it's scripted. First off, the scene down at the car is shot from a tower window, not a stairwell window, made even more obvious by the fact that the exterior of the stairwell is actually seen in the shot. And there is no zoom to a close-up of Quentin.

And as things stand in the film, because Scenes 25 through 27 were never shot, we don't actually see Carlotta until Scene 28. However, it's not as if nothing was added to replace the missing Scenes 25 through 27 - and we'll see that in an upcoming post featuring unscripted material...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting how Scene 28 is scripted:

...

28     INT - FOYER - DAY                                 28        as Quentin carries Tracy in he gives her a big        kiss.  HOLD FOR A MOMENT and then Carlotta        interrupts them from O.S.

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

Page 8/Scene 28 - Carlotta (O.S.): 'Mr. & Mrs. Collins?'

- comes up, followed by the script continuing with:

Quentin and Tracy are momentarily embarrassed,        caught unawares.        CARLOTTA - CLOSE-UP        She is smiling and friendly.

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

Page 8/Scene 28 - Carlotta: 'I'm Carlotta Drake, Welcome to Collinwood.'

- comes up, followed by the script continuing with:

28     CONTD                                    CONTD    28        BACK TO SCENE        as Quentin puts Tracy down.                              QUENTIN                  Thank you, Miss Drake.                              CARLOTTA                  Carlotta, please.        She is looking them over carefully, in female        fashion.  Tracy offers her hand.                              TRACY                  Hello, Carlotta.                              CARLOTTA                       (taking her hand)                  It's so good to have you here --                  I do hope you'll find everything                  to your liking, Mrs. Collins.

End of scene.

...

And when it comes to anything different in the dialogue, again, there's quite a bit. After Tracy and Quentin come up to the entryway of Collinwood and Tracy peers through the glass doors, in an unscripted bit of dialogue she says "Oh no, I don't think I'm going in there", but in another bit of unscripted dialogue, Quentin says "Yes, you are" - and after they enter, Quentin says in yet another bit of unscripted dialogue "Can you believe it? It's all ours", and then they both laugh lightly - and after Carlotta greets them from off screen, once she comes on screen, she switches things up by actually saying "Welcome to Collinwood. I'm Carlotta Drake" (and Grayson made some notations in her script to be "pleasant and straight" and "almost preoccupied with looking at him + her) - and while Quentin responds to Carlotta as scripted, Carlotta's line to address her by her first name is dropped - and rather than "Hello, Carlotta", Tracy says "How do you do" - and Carlotta's greeting to Tracy and her hope that everything will be to Tracy's liking is also dropped. (And I'm surprised that Grayson didn't make a notation about Carlotta saying it's so good to have Tracy at Collinwood because as we'll definitely find out along the way, clearly that's not how she feels because she has a definite agenda in mind, so chances are the line would have been delivered with that subtext in Carlotta's mind.)

And so far as the directions and descriptions go, as can be seen in this capture -

... - and when it comes to Scene 28, as already somewhat alluded to, Quentin doesn't carry Tracy into the foyer because, as can be seen in this next capture -

- both of them simply carry their piece of luggage into the entryway, though as Quentin remarks that all of Collinwood is theirs, they do hug before Carlotta exits the foyer to greet them - and after Carlotta welcomes them and introduces herself, she shakes Quentin's hand as he thanks her, and then she shakes Tracy's hand as Tracy greets her - and it's interesting to note that DC's script has an added notation that the camera was supposed to pan to a 2 shot of Carlotta and Tracy when Tracy greats her and Carlotta is so nice to her, but given the way the scene actually plays in the film, apparently that idea was also dropped because what actually happens is, in camerawork that's unscripted, Scene 28 dissolves into the start of the upcoming Scene 29...

   And so far as "Monday's" quotes go, they were August 14th this time around.

 

[Uncle Roger]

I suppose that it's possible that Quentin was already mean and surly on his own but having it be due to the influence of Collinwood makes for a much better story.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Agreed. 

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Again for some strange reason, when I wrote up this post in 2016 -

Moving on, beginning with Scene 24:

- unlike how I normally would in latter instances, I didn't associate unscripted dialogue with its moment on screen. So to correct that, here are more examples of it from Scene 28 after Tracy looks through the vestibule's window and says -

"Oh no, I don't think I'm going in there."

- but Quentin replies -

"Yes, you are."

- and after they're inside Tracy hugs Quentin and he says -

"Can you believe it? It's all ours."

- and after Carlotta has introduced herself to them, rather than Tracy delivering the scripted "Hello, Carlotta," Tracy says -

"How do you do."

 - as Scene 28 dissolves into Scene 29...

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the start of the subtitles/closed captioning for the unscripted material that replaced never shot Scenes 25 through 27:

...

At first Tracy is seen and then Quentin as they make their way to the door to the vestibule - Tracy looks inside, and as the closed captioning reflects, she says -

- though the subtitles do not acknowledge that - and as the subtitles show, Tracy follows that up with -

- as does the closed captioning -

- but as the subtitles show, Quentin steps up to the door and says -

- and the closed captioning reflects the same -

More to come....

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting the wrapping up of the subtitles/closed captioning for the unscripted material that replaced never shot Scenes 25 through 27:

...

After Tracy and Quentin enter the vestibule, Quentin puts his suitcase down, embraces Tracy, who comes over to him, and asks -

- as does the closed captioning -

- and as the subtitles show, Quentin then says -

- and the closed captioning reflects the same -

- and the closed captioning also reflects that Tracy laughs -

- though the subtitles do not acknowledge that.

End of sequence....

...

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Revisiting a still related to Scene 28:

...

And as usual, here's a much better version of the photo -

(Click here for a 700X546 version)

And one of the many copies of that still that popped up in magazines had this caption:

"You will really enjoy seeing lots of your favorite daytime TV stars in the
full length feature film, Night Of Dark Shadows. It will be released soon."

Of course, "full length feature film" is just another way of saying theatrical film. But given how much was cut from NoDS, "full length feature film" definitely stings because who knows if we'll ever see NoDS at its full length...

...

And of course you will recall that the still is #21 in the NoDS Editor's Portfolio.