I really have only vague memories of that 2005 screening.  I do remember that I found the ending ridiculous.  So it was a surprise when I watched it again and actually thought the ending now worked.  It certainly works a hell of a lot better this way than what I recall from the unfinished edit that was screened over a decade ago.

I would guess that there was going to be a different theme for Josette's music box.  It's amazing just how much they crammed into this.  There were originally going to be more scenes for Angelique. I've wondered if those were actually filmed.

The most significant difference between this and the Burton-Depp film, for this viewer, is that Alec Newman is outstanding as Barnabas.  I thought Depp was a disaster in the role. Obviously, we are all at liberty to agree to disagree.

G.

Ah OK it's yet another comic book adaptation.  Last year a UK fan sent me an interesting short comic based on Kronos that appeared somewhere or other back in the early or mid 1970s.

I suddenly feel much less excited... though I'm less than optimistic now whenever a "re-boot" of a classic character or story from the "old days" is mooted.

G.

MB, thanks for all those pages of material from the script that was cut, plus the long passage from the Ross book.  I read that 47 or so years ago but have no memory at all of this scene and this answers another question I've wondered over the years--why was Professor Stokes over at the house that evening?  Odd to see that Stokes fancied himself some sort of Miss Marple to the family.  His words have a sadly ironic ring given how it all ended.

Best,  G.

I enjoyed Crawford in her films, but she would have been disastrous casting as Liz.  In the original film MOMMIE DEAREST in which Legendary Faye Dunaway portrayed the no-holds-barred diva, they re-staged the time Joan decided to substitute for daughter Christina when the latter was hospitalized while appearing on a soap opera at some point in the mid to late 1960s.  It's a hilarious sequence.

Subsequently, an audio tape of Joan doing one of these scenes was uploaded to Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG-DkuB1V28

I've known a number of people who criticized Joan Bennett's acting on DS.  I thought Joan B was superb.  She had the grit and the professionalism to carry off a scene even when she was unable to get the script down.  And when she was on... she was ON.  Joan C could also be excellent but not all actors can do the kind of act-on-your-feet work required in something like DS.

G.

Fans,

A friend of mine bought a CD of rare recordings by Claudine Longet.  I think some (possibly all) of the material came from TV broadcasts.  He mentioned that there's a track where Claudine covers "Shadows of the Night."

For those who have no idea who I am talking about, Claudine became a celebrity back in the Sixties mainly in her role as the wife of Andy Williams, who would now be described as an "adult contemporary" lounge singer.  Andy had a hugely popular "family friendly" TV series from sometime in the 60s through to the 1970s.  I think Andy Williams is largely forgotten and that is even more the case for Claudine.  Claudine did appear in a 1967 film starring Peter Sellers, THE PARTY.

Claudine did a really spooky cover of the theme song from Rosemary's baby, a kind of Satanic lullaby.  And Claudine later made international headlines due to an unfortunate "accident" involving a ski star named Spider who was her extramarital lover.

I didn't find Claudine's recording of "Shadows of the Night" but I did find this one with husband Andy Williams.  It sounds like the kind of thing you'd have heard in a bus station coffee shop back around 1974 (yes, this is a little in-joke for those of us who are card-carrying members of Halloholics Anon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RvC4jiKD_g

G.

KMR, that sounds excellent.  I'm already thinking of some imagery but we're not allowed to post even fic snippets here so I will forebear...

My guess is that Seth and Todd had a "history."

Best, G.

Hmmm. Clearly, Todd was in the mood for cake that evening.  No wonder he was so anxious to get Miss Stoddard safely stowed away with Mother at home.

MB, many thanks for printing extracts here of the "Marilyn" Ross novelization.  They brought back the feeling of bafflement as to just what was going on when characters, incidents and dialogue showed up in the book I had no memory of seeing either in the film, or in the profuse coverage of it we enjoyed in our monster mags back in '70.

Best,

G.

I think I posted this one back in October 2015, but in case anyone didn't see it then, here's nephew Jonathan Vincent commenting upon Thayer David's love of doing DS:

He did really love Dark Shadows. It only took a few hours a day-- an hour or so for rehearsal, an hour for makeup and wardrobe, and an hour for shooting. He was very fond of his colleagues. He was a reserved person, but he really thought the show was a gift to try out different personalities as an actor. He savored the gothic, so it was a great fit for him. He'd go over to a club on Fridays with the adventurous actors and crew for the weekly wrap party-- maybe the Gramercy Hotel bar? He was quite shy, but with his friends I think he was very entertaining. There are rumors that he had lung cancer before he died. If he did, he kept it close. He was having diabetic induced health issues-- he lost a toe. But he was happy. He was planning a re-marriage to (former wife) Valerie French. She was around a lot, and she was so interesting. With Valerie back and Nero Wolfe-- he was at a high-point. I apologize if I've mentioned this before. I often lament we didn't intersect more. He died only a few years before I could have really interacted with him as a peer. He was almost what I'd call agoraphobic. Only the stage could pull him into the world.... All those folks on Dark Shadows were really wonderful. My uncle was a mad spokesman. He'd hypnotize you with history, science, politics. I just wish he lived longer. Much I'd love to chat with him about, now. He was very much like Stokes... But maybe more accessible and funnier. Stokes was a little more uptight. David was super smart. A Harvard boy. He was Stokes with some whimsy."

Best,  G.