Thanks again, MB, for those pages from the Dan Ross book and that unusual still of the exhumation party inside the mausoleum--I'm quite sure I never saw that shot before.  Bravo!  You'd give Diego the Explorer (if I'm remembering what some of my friends told me a few years ago about a popular children's program properly) a run for his swag.

I can see why all of this was cut.  If all of it was actually written out in some draft of the script, it does foreground how little experience the main people involved had in constructing a screenplay for a feature film, particularly in the horror genre in the early 70s.  The 90 minute running time was pretty much standard and had been for years.  Of course that was long compared to the horror films of the 30s and 40s which usually clocked in at 70 minutes or less.

I was startled to see a couple of articles posted to social media a week or two ago with this director explaining why his new film about Dunkirk is "so short."  The running time is reported to be 100 minutes.  My initial reaction was:  "that's short?"

A number of people I know have complained to me in recent years about all the big blockbuster feature films routinely running around 2 and a half hours.  That's a little too long both for children and people living in what we euphemistically call "the golden years."

G.

Thanks, MB!  I don't recall today's cut/unshot line from Liz at all.  I wonder if that was in the Dan Ross book as well.  Even though I know I read it at least 3 times, I have practically no memory of much of it.  One of the few things I do remember is Barnabas giving Julia a glass of sherry when she visited the Old House, and her appreciative comment:  "Dry!  Lovely!"  I could really hear Grayson saying that line. 

Best, G.

That's pretty cool.  Clarice is one of my favorite actresses on the show.  It was such a treat to finally see her in the 1967 CRUCIBLE production, playing opposite Thayer, recently.

G.

MB, I'm just imagining the expression on your face as you behold the crazed antics of the Z-Man! LOL.  I enjoyed BVotD but I wouldn't have said it was in any way essential viewing.  I was really surprised when a friend loaned me the big DVD release that came out several years ago.  There was an interview or commentary with Roger Ebert on it (it was before he became ill) and he gushed on and on about how great his screenplay for it was.  My jaw dropped.

I find the Strawberry Alarm Clock appearance in the movie somewhat anticlimactic, though the party sequence is fun. I actually enjoy some of the Carrie Nation songs in the movie and I have the CD--and the songs are on my iPod.

Back to topic, I know that Sam or DC re-used Carolyn's dialogue, at least one line of it, in some other project--maybe the Jack Palace DRACULA script--soon after this.  Great line so why not make use of it again.

G.

I've never seen either version of Salem's Lot and am not particularly interested.  But the actor who played the Nosferatu character in the 1970s movie (I don't really know anything about the story, but the makeup made him look like Max Schreck in NOSFERATU), Reggie Nalder, was a fascinating character in real life.  He appeared in Boris Karloff's Thriller, the famous Star Trek episode "Journey to Babylon," and many other noted genre pieces.  Great interview with Nalder here:

http://www.kinoeye.org/03/02/delvalle02.php

G.

Kosmo was kind enough to share this link with me:

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-favorite-pitch-meeting-ever.html

Because I live in a cave (and may have been either out of the country or too buried in academia when it happened to pay attention), I'd never heard about Carr's OSCAR(tm) production that featured Rob Lowe belting "Proud Mary" and dancing/duetting with Snow White (which someone says resulted in a Disney lawsuit).

Just when I think I've figured out the peculiar twilight zone of weirdness that is Hollywood, I read something like this and realize I have to recalibrate everything I think I know about tacky Tinseltown.

G.

I saw The Love Witch at a screening at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge last February or March (I can't recall specifically).  The production values are meant to recall cult films of the early Seventies such as Simon, King of the Witches and The Deathmaster.  The costumes and sets are gorgeous but the script and acting range from competent to community theater levels of stiltedness. 

The movie came out on DVD in April or May, I believe--don't know if it's available via Net flicks or other.

I give the sets and costumes an A and the rest of it a C minus.

G.

Hi Patti, no, what you are seeing is the introduction of Harry.  I really like his scene with Mrs J when he shows up.  Once the storyline revolving around 1968, "that year of insanity," really got going, there was very little time or opportunity for scenes that were character focused such as this.  Occasionally they would do them--there were a couple of good Maggie and Joe scenes during the Nicholas Blair period which is a few months away from where you are now.

Happy viewing,

G.