The Dark Shadows Almanac: Millennium Edition
Page 14
SAM HALL Has written for the daytime soap operas One Life To Live, Another World and Santa Barbara. For primetime television, he has written for The U.S. Steel Hour, and the 1991 Dark Shadows revival series.
MALCOLM MARMORSTEIN Has written for other daytime soaps and the nightime serial Peyton Place. Has also written stage plays and films, including Escape to Witch Mountain.
GORDON RUSSELL Has written for the daytime soap operas One Life to Live and A Time For Us. He was originally a stage actor appearing in summer stock productions and wrote a play, Art Forgers, performed in London.
RON SPROAT Has written for the daytime soap operas Capital, Love of Life, and Never Too Young, in addition to the syndicated serial Strange Paradise. He’s also written plays, including Ravenswood, a Dark Shadows parody.
FRANCIS SWANN Has written mystery novels in addition to being a contract writer for Warner Brothers in the 1940s, when he wrote screenplays for such films as The Time The Place and The Girl and Two Guys From Milwaukee.
ART WALLACE Has written for the daytime soap opera All My Children. He also wrote two episodes of the original Star Trek and an episode of The Goodyear Playhouse which inspired some of the characters he created for Dark Shadows.
VIOLET WELLES Has written as a ghost writer with Gordon Russell on several projects, but has spent most of her career as a theatrical press agent.
Shadows Influences
The following were all influenced by Dark Shadows:
Anne Rice’s famous novel and film Interview With the Vampire, was preceded several years by a strikingly similar subplot on Dark Shadows. During the 1970 Parallel Time story, writer William H. Loomis entraps vampire Barnabas Collins so that Loomis may interview Barnabas for a book he’s writing entitled The Life and Death of Barnabas Collins.
Dark Shadows writer Ron Sproat’s Ravenswood, a theatrical play with musical numbers set behind the scenes at a daytime soap opera which features a vampire. The play was first presented in Cincinatti in 1988.
Producer Aaron Spelling’s 1986 television film Dark Mansions was a pilot for a weekly prime-time soap opera which had more than a few similarities to Dark Shadows. The supernatural story centered on a wealthy shipbuilding family in Seattle. Veteram film actress Joan Fontaine starred as the matriarch and an “old house” was located on the family’s estate. The family’s main house was, ironically, the same mansion used for Collinwood in the 1991 Dark Shadows revival.
The 1969-70 syndicated soap opera Strange Paradise. Made in Canada, this program ran for 195 episodes. Three Dark Shadows alumni—producer Robert Costello and writers Joe Caldwell and Ron Sproat—worked on this show, “a supernatural horror story of possession, witchcraft and voodoo that makes a prison of the castle and captives of all who reside on a mysterious island.”
Group W’s proposed 1987 syndicated soap opera, Salem’s Children. Jonathan Frid was even rumored to have been offered a part, but the program never sold despite a completed half-hour pilot, taped in Canada. The story was set on Salem Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Promotional materials promised “contemporary drama in Gothic style replete with strange phenomena ... time travel ... an enduring conflict of good vs. evil ... strange forces ... and dark secrets.”
John Lutz’s novel Shadowtown (1988; Mysterious Press) is a mystery centering around a murder on the set of a soap opera entitled Shadowtown. The only witness claims that the murderer is a vampire.
Dead of Night, a Dan Curtis pilot for a proposed weekly primetime series about the supernatural, was commissioned by ABC-TV due to the success of Dark Shadows in the daytime. With the help of several Dark Shadows personnel, including writer Sam Hall and director Lela Swift, the program was videotaped at NBC-TV studios in Brooklyn, New York, in the fall of 1968.Dead of Night starred Kerwin Matthews as a psychic investigator and Marj Dusay as Angela Martin, who inherits a haunted mansion, complete with a mysterious caretaker—portrayed by Dark Shadows’ Thayer David, reminiscent of his portrayal of Matthew Morgan. Louis Edmonds was also seen as the ghost of Commodore Nicholas Blaise. The pilot, titled A Darkness at Blaisedon, was the only episode produced and aired on August 26, 1969.
Dan Curtis’ TV production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which aired on CBS-TV in 1974, borrowed a theme that had been so integral with Barnabas and Josette in Dark Shadows. In Curtis’ Dracula, Lucy Westenra is identical to the vampire’s lost-love. Another Josette connection in this critically accalimed version is the use of a music box. Director Francis Ford Coppola would later “borrow” these elements in his 1992 theatrical film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Many network daytime soap operas, such as: As the World Turns, showcased a ghost story in a castle, revolving around a portrait and a family curse. One Life to Live offered a time travel story which sent a major character back to the nineteenth century and several actors played dual roles in the past and present. Days of Our Lives included a story involving Satanic possession.
Above: Marj Dusay, Kerwin Mathews, Thayer David and Cal Bellini in Dead of Night (1969); Upper right Jack Palance as Dracula (1974).
1991 Dark Shadows cast, clockwise from top left Barbara Blackburn, RoyThinnes, Michael T. Weiss, Barbara Steele, Ely Pouget, Joanna Going, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Veronica Lauren, Jim Fyfe, Jean Simmons and Ben Cross.
Shadow Spin-offs
Theatrical Motion Pictures
Dark Shadows was the first daytime series to spawn a pair of theatrical films—House of Dark Shadows in 1970, and Night of Dark Shadows in 1971. Both movies were released by MGM.
Newspaper Comic Strip
From the spring of 1971 until the spring of 1972, an original serialization of Dark Shadows was produced by Newspaper Enterprise Association, appearing in daily and Sunday newspapers across the United States. This newspaper comic was not related to the Gold Key/Whitman Dark Shadows comic books.
Off-Off-Broadway Play
In September and October of 1988, Dance Theater Workshop presented Dark Shadows on stage at the VIA Theatre in New York City, adapting the 1795 storyline into two acts.
Primetime Revival
From January through March of 1991, a new weekly, hour-long version of Dark Shadows aired on NBC-TV. The revival featured an entirely new cast and offered many recreated portions of the House of Dark Shadows film along with the early Barnabas and 1795 storylines from the original ABC-TV daytime series. All twelve episodes were subsequently released on MPI Home Video, with additional footage being added to the first and last shows. The program has also been reaired several times on the national Sci-Fi Channel cable outlet. Pomegranate Press published Dark Shadows Resurrected, a book about the 1991 series.
STAGE MUSICAL
In early 2000, Dan Curtis announced plans to collaborate with Tony award-winning writer and composer Rupert Holmes and composer Robert Cobert on a Dark Shadows stage musical, with an eye on Broadway. As this book goes to press, the trio have just begun their work and there is not yet a guarantee that the show will actually be produced.
Jonathon Frid, Robert Costello, Grayson Hall, Roger Davis, WEST-AM’s Ron Barry, Robert Rodan and Humbert Allen Astredo.
Shadows Satires
SPOOF Magazine, published by Marvel Comics, includes a six-page take-off entitled Darn Shadows, as well as a spoof of The Mod Squad television series. (October 1970)
Dumb Shadows Radio Drama-Easton, Pennsylvania D.J. Ron Barry produced a series of short parodies of Dark Shadows heard on his daily WEST-AM radio program. (1968-69)
Comedy Tonight CBS-TV summer program with ensemble member Jerry Lacy (Reverend Trask from Dark Shadows) appears as Count Drago and bites Tonya the witch, played by Madeline Kahn, in a vignette called Strangest Shadows, part of a satire on TV soap operas. (August 9, 1970)
Bloopers
Like other daytime dramas of its period, Dark Shadows was shot “live” on videotape, usually without stopping the cameras. With a few exceptions, each day the entire episode would be videotaped in proper sequence and in real time—just like a st
age show in a theater. As a result, many mistakes were telecast since modern videotape editing was not commonly available.
This is a partial list of bloopers, containing a few of the dozens of mishaps which occured during the run of Dark Shadows. These bloopers were all part of the episodes as broadcast, and most can be seen collected together on the MPI Home Video release Dark Shadows Bloopers.
EPISODE 242
While talking to Dr. Woodard in 1967, Burke Devlin calls the microscope a “microphone.”
EPISODE 252
While Carolyn and Buzz embrace in the foyer below, Elizabeth is unable to open the door on the landing.
EPISODE 276
During a Collinwood drawing room scene in 1966, a camera loses its balance, causing it to tilt to the ceiling and revealing stage lights above the actors.
EPISODE 291
In 1967, Barnabas is tormented by a pesky fly in the drawing room of the Old House while Willie and Julia watch.
EPISODE 343
While Julia works in her laboratory at the Old House, loud coughing noises are heard from off camera.
EPISODE 411
When Barnabas confronts Angélique in the secret room of the mausoleum in 1795, a crew member can be seen in one corner.
EPISODE 448
In 1795, Nathan Forbes becomes entangled with his jacket as he enters Collinwood.
EPISODE 451
In 1795, when Bathia Mapes attempts to exorcise Barnabas, the actress forgets her lines, and producer Robert Costello can be heard supplying her lines to her off-camera.
EPISODE 477
In 1968, while attempting to hypnotize Tony Peterson, the flame in Cassandra’s cigarette lighter goes out, forcing her to restart it.
EPISODE 486
In 1968, as he is dying, Doctor Lang dictates into his reel to reel tape recorder—even after the actor mistakenly turns off the machine.
EPISODE 495
Adam knocks over a fake bush when David finds him in the woods in 1968.
EPISODE 522
In 1968, Willie thinks aloud and talks to himself as he bricks up the wall where Trask broke free. Simultaneously, a crew member accidentally walks on screen.
EPISODE 585
In 1968, while aiming a rifle at Adam, Barnabas cannot initially remember Julia’s name, instead calling her “Vicki” and “Maggie.”
EPISODE 635
In 1968, while Adam restrains Victoria in the old house basement, Barnabas is seen picking his nose through the window of the basement door.
EPISODE 703
During the closing credits, Jonathan Frid accidentally walks on screen carrying his wardrobe across the Collinwood foyer.
EPISODE 779
In the cemetery in 1897, Angélique’s dress tilts an apparently styrofoam tombstone.
EPISODE 852
In 1897, Lady Kitty Hampshire is repeatedly bothered by a fly while resting in her bed.
EPISODE 863
When Pansy visits Charles Delaware Tate at his studio in 1897, the window shade crashes to the floor after she enters.
EPISODE 915
In 1969, Barnabas struggles to put out persistent candle flames in the Old House drawing room.
EPISODE 935
When Sheriff Davenport visits Jeb at the Collinsport Antique Shop in 1970, the bell falls off the top of the door.
EPISODE 964
In 1970, Quentin pulls a sword off the wall in the Collinwood drawing room and the crashing sound of breaking glass is immediately heard—making it apparent that the container holding the sword has fallen off the wall and knocked over the table lamp.
EPISODE 1010
In 1970 Parallel Time, a nervous John Yaeger has difficulty in rehanging a painting over a wall safe in Cyrus Longworth’s laboratory.
EPISODE 1028
While menacing Sabrina Stuart in 1970 Parallel Time, John Yaeger attempts to reassemble his cane when it falls apart.
EPISODE 1064
In 1995, a supposedly dead Mrs. Johnson is seen blinking her eyes as she lies against a tree.
EPISODE 1190
When Gabriel abducts Daphne in 1840, he gags her with a handkerchief, but fails to properly tie it, forcing Kate Jackson to bite into the handkerchief to keep it from falling off.
Kate Jackson, Michael Stroka and Chris Pennock visit a Tiger Beat magazine writer (1971).
Outside the Shadows
Many of the Dark Shadows actors have appeared in other films and television programs with supernatural and horror themes. Here is a list of some prominent examples.
JOHN BEAL The Vampire aka Mark of The Vampire (1957 Film); Amityville 3-D aka Amityville:The Demon (1983 Film)
JOAN BENNETT The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972 TV Movie); Suspiria (1977 Film); This House Possessed (1981 TV Movie)
CHRIS BERNAU The Passion of Dracula (1980 TV Special)
CLARICE BLACKBURN Pretty Poison (1968 Film)
BARBARA CASON Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977 Film)
KATHY CODY Charley & the Angel (1973 Film)
THAYER DAVID Dead of Night aka A Darkness at Blaisedon (1969 TV Pilot)
ROGER DAVIS The Twilight Zone (1964 TV Episode); The Sixth Sense (1972 TV Episode); Killer Bees (1974 TV Movie); Ruby (1977 Film);
LOUIS EDMONDS Dead of Night aka A Darkness at Blaisedon (1969 TV Pilot)
HUGH FRANKLIN Curse of the Living Corpse (1964 Film)
JONATHAN FRID The Devil’s Daughter (1972 TV Movie); Seizure aka Queen of Evil (1974 Film)
ROBERT GERRINGER The Exorcist (1973 Film); The Sentinel (1977 Film)
GRAYSON HALL Gargoyles (1972 TV Movie); Night Gallery (1970 TV Episode); The Two Deaths of Sean Doolitle (1975 TV Special)
JOHN HARKINS Amityville 3-D (1983 Film)
BARNARD HUGHES The Lost Boys (1987 Film)
KATE JACKSON Satan’s School for Girls (1973 TV Movie); Killer Bees (1974 TV Movie); Death Scream (1975 TV Movie); Death at Love House (1976 TV Movie); Topper (1980 TV Movie), Satan’s School for Girls (2000 TV Movie, remake)
Joan Bennett in Suspiria; Lara Parker with Peter Fonda in Race With the Devil; Roger Davis and Kate Jackson in Killer Bees; David Selby in The Norming of Jack 243; John Karlen with Shone Briant in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
JOHN KARLEN Daughters of Darkness (1971 Film); The Sixth Sense (1972 TV Episode); Frankenstein (1973 TV Special); The Picture of Dorian Gray (1974 TV Special); The Invasion of Carol Enders (1974 TV Special); Trilogy of Terror (1975 TV Movie)
JERRY LACY Bloodbath (1974 Film)
JOHN LASELL Twilight Zone (1961 TV Episode); One Step Beyond (1961 TV Episode); Night Gallery (1972 TV Episdoe)
KENNETH McMILLAN Salem’s Lot (1979 TV Movie)
GEORGE MITCHELL The Twilight Zone (1960 & 1963 TV Episodes)
LARA PARKER The Night Stalker (1975 TV Episode); Race With the Devil (1975 Film)
DENNIS PATRICK One Step Beyond (1960 TV Episode); Dear, Dead Delilah (1972 Film)
CHRISTOPHER PENNOCK Tucker’s Witch (1983 TV Episode)
ADDISON POWELL The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975 Film); Doctor Franken (1980 TV Movie/Pilot)
LOVELADY POWELL The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972 Film)
KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT The Turn of the Screw (1974 TV Special)
Witches’ Brew (1980 Film); Hammer House of Horror: Visitor From The Grave (1982); Shadow Chasers (1986 TV Episode)
DAVID SELBY The Norming of Jack 243 (1975 TV Special); Doctor Franken (1980 TV Movie/Pilot); Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive (1992 TV Movie)