The Dark Shadows Almanac: Millennium Edition
Page 16
Second Assistant Director: Allan Wertheim
DGA Trainee: Mike Haley
Script Supervisor: Norma Goodman
Sound Boom: John Bolz
Sound Mixer: John Gleason
Sound Recordist: Ed Abele
Sound: Al Gramaglia
Gaffer and additional lighting: Lou Gerolomi
Best Boy: Charles Meere
Electrician: Salty Meyerhoff
Key Grip: Jack Volpe
Dolly Grip: Tom Volpe
Outside Prop Man: Ronald Ottesen
Standby Prop Man: Dick Tice
Set Dresser: Robert Wilson
Local Helper: Robert Neilson
Local Helper: W. Siegel
Local Helper: W. Maloney
Local Helper: P. Dente
Chief Construction Grip: Joseph Bauman
Construction Grip: Jack Kanaplue
Chief Carpenter: Gilbert Gertsen
Carpenter: Richard T. Allen
Scenic Artist (Chargeman): John Hughes
Scenic Artist: Joseph Novak
Scenic Artist: Murray P. Stern
Costume Designer: Domingo Rodriguez
Wardrobe: Yvonne David
Make-up: Reginald Tackley
Hair Stylist: Edith Tilles
Production Secretary: Helene Spinner
Production Assistants: Dennis Murphy / Carl Serbell / William Schwartz
Still Photographer: Charles Moore
Additional Still Photography: Lilo Raymond
Transportation Captain: James Fanning
Stunt Coordinator: Alex Stevens
Dog Handler/Trainer: Art Haggerty
Assistant Dog Handler: Eric Martinez
Publicist: Baird Searles
Casting: Lindo Otto
Extra Casting: Sylvia Fay
Location Auditor: Charles Ogle
Editor: Charles Goldsmith
Assistant Editor: Aviva Slesin
Lyndhurst Location Administrator:
Gerald L. Fiedler
Technical Advisor: Hans Holzer
Metrocolor 93 minutes. Released: September 1971
Filmed in its entirety on the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, NY.
James Storm as Gerard Stiles in Night of Dark Shadows.
Shedding Light on Night of Dark Shadows
by Darren Gross
IN AUGUST 1999 IT WAS MY SUPREME PLEASURE TO UNCOVER DAN Curtis’ legendary, lost director’s cut of the 1971 feature film Night of Dark Shadows. I’d been passionately crusading for this film’s restoration for several years and being an instrumental part of its discovery was an almost indescribable thrill. Most of Dark Shadows’ die-hard devotees are aware that the film’s original cut was chopped down from 129 to 97 minutes in an unreasonable and incredibly short period of time (stories vary as to whether the recutting period lasted two days or just under twenty-four hours, but the latter is most likely) and then released to a frequently baffled public. While the film did have its admirers (primarily due to its wonderfuly atmospheric photography and the Gothic location of the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, NY), many viewers were surprised at Night of Dark Shadows’ seemingly slapdash story construction and character development.
At the time of the motion picture’s release in September of 1971, many fans were aware that several important scenes were missing (MGM’s original package of publicity photographs for the press included several shots of deleted scenes, and the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland featured a synopsis which was based on the script, not on the final cut. 6) However, the audience was not aware of how severely the film had been recut or the reasons why. In the years since its premiere, unauthorized copies of the script (most of which were made from an earlier draft and are missing some rewritten dialogue and a few crucial scenes) were distributed amongst fans and revealed a much more lucid and involving story.
I felt that there was a supportive, albeit modest fan following for the film that had been growing steadily through the years. It was my goal to give Night of Dark Shadows and the story of its studio-imposed recutting some greater exposure in order to increase appreciation for the finished product and Dan Curtis’ accomplishments. Towards that goal, I wrote a 1996 article on Night of Dark Shadows which was published in Video Watchdog magazine (issue # 40), detailing exactly what had been cut from the film, approximately how long the scenes lasted and where the film had been restructured. In 1998, on the strength of the earlier article I was asked by Jim Pierson to contribute two chapters to the Dark Shadows Movie Book. This assignment granted me full access to Dan Curtis’ notes and his final director’s scripts. I also conducted around a dozen interviews with production personnel in order to accurately relate the detailed stories of the making of both Night of Dark Shadows and its 1970 predecessor, House of Dark Shadows.
At the time of the publication of Pomegranate Press’ Dark Shadows Movie Book, the most current information on the state of Night of Dark Shadows was that the footage cut from the film was eventually discarded and would apparently never see the light of day again. When MGM/UA announced that the two Dark Shadows films were to be released on video in 1990, the company was reportedly overwhelmed with letters from Dark Shadows fans who requested that the uncut versions of both films be issued on video. (House of Dark Shadows had been trimmed of several crucial (and now infamous scenes) but those sequences were cut by Dan Curtis, not by MGM. The existing print is for all intents and purposes Curtis’ final cut.)
I’d been told by Dan Curtis Productions that MGM/UA searched for the missing footage to both films but their efforts turned up nothing. The released video and laserdiscs were gorgeously presented but frustrating to fans who were hoping for much more. (Especially frustrating was the soundtrack for the video release of Night of Dark Shadows, which featured a terribly undermixed sound effects track. Dan Curtis’ involving sound effects (rain, footsteps, wind etc.), which strongly contributed to the film’s presence and involved the viewer in the story, were almost completely inaudible.7) Any hopes for a restored version of either film were quashed.
However, over the insuing years, a rumor spread that a slightly longer print of Night of Dark Shadows existed and occasionally reappeared in revival movie theaters. At first, this seemed like groundless hearsay 8 but the clarity
Night of Dark Shadows candids: John Karlen; David Selby, Kate Jackson and Nancy Barrett
and detail of one fan’s account convinced me that the claim was genuine. In 1999, I made the acquaintance of Michael Miozza, who produced indesputable evidence that a longer print was indeed circulated as far back as 1971.9 That year, Miozza had seen Night of Dark Shadows several times and had made an audio recording of the film at a drive-in theater. He provided me with a copy of the audio that proved once and for all that a 97 minute print was indeed distributed.
I contacted Dan Curtis Productions in order to inform them of the discovery and received authorization to continue my efforts to recover the missing footage. MGM’s pre-1986 library, including the pair of Dark Shadows movies, had since been sold to Turner Entertainment Company and was now owned by the new conglomerate of Turner. and Warner Brothers. After literally dozens of letters of introduction and hundreds of persistent phone calls, I made several contacts at Turner/Wamers. I contacted several 35mm and 16mm rental houses to ascertain whether they had longer prints of either of the films. I also examined Wamers’ sole 35mm rental print for Night of Dark Shadows. Though one 16mm print was listed as 97 mins, I had it measured and the Warners print and found they were both the standard 93.5 min version.
Following months of negotiating with Wamers and the archive, I was able to gain authorization to examine the original negative for the film. As most video transfers are made from various intermediate 35mm prints, I figured the original negative probably hadn’t been touched since 1971 and might yield the 97 minute version. The only condition Warners stipulated was that (understandably) negative film materials were not to be handled, because they were fragile and
irreplaceable. In order to inspect the negative, a union editor would be required to do the examination. Though initially deflated by this hurdle, I mentioned this to a film-editor-friend, Glenn Erickson (responsible for restoring Kiss Me Deadly), who was between assignments and willing to examine the material.
At Warners’ Burbank studio, we examined the negative under fairly close scrutiny. Unfortunately, it was the 93.5 min version and the archive records indicated there were no longer versions currently being held. I then asked the clerk to search the inventory database to double-check and see if anything further could be located, eventually yielding a computerized printout of the various materials on deposit for both films.
The form was almost all in code and listed over one hundred items for both Night of Dark Shadows and House of Dark Shadows. Every item in the archive was given an abbreviation and code number and provided very little detail of the materials. After combing through it a few times I came to the same conclusion that every one else at the archive had: the 97 min version of the film apparently no longer existed.10 There was one item, though that presented an anomaly and it haunted me: every print listed in the records ran 12 reels. Buried down the list were 45 cans labeled “Night of Dark Shadows 1-15”. I discussed the item with the Tumer/Wamers archivists and they offered little light on the mystery. It became an obsession as I began to think, ”If the short version runs 12 reels, if there is a 15 reel version, it could be the original ‘lost’ cut!” I further deducted that since three reels roughly translates to around 30 mins, if it is the longer print the running time would match the time of the missing material (as I chronicled in the Dark Shadows Movie Book).
I was determined to examine the footage, except there was one problem: the cans of material (divided into around 45 cans) were in the studio’s safety vault, deep in a salt mine in Kansas City. I contacted the video department and tried to get them to foot the bill to have the material shipped, but as the film was considered a secondary title, they were uninterested in spending any money to evaluate the elements, especially since the contents of the mysterious 15 reels of film were unknown. I finally convinced the head of the TV department of the importance of the discovery and the value of the long version if it was uncovered. I was informed it would take a few weeks for the materials to arrive, and waited anxiously.
When the materials finally arrived, Glenn Erickson again generously made himself available for two hours one morning. We examined the cans of film and found the contents pristine and unscratched, as though untouched since 1971. As the element was probably one-of-a-kind, running it through a projector was not an option. We resigned ourselves to gently rolling through the footage on a rewind bench. I had intended to slowly roll through each reel of the picture, stopping occasionally and looking for missing scenes or shots. But knowing we had a time crunch, I grabbed reel 14 (figuring it should be close to the famous deleted seance sequence). Glenn rolled it slowly forward and stopped at the first few shots which revealed Quentin (David Selby) and Tracy (Kate Jackson) exploring the basement. In the recut version, Tracy is attacked by Angélique’s ghost in the basement, Alex confronts Carlotta who jumps to her death from the tower, then Quentin forces the basement door open and cradles Tracy. Carlotta’s jump from the tower isn’t supposed to occur until about ten minutes later after the seance sequence. In the original version, Alex is supposed to enter the basement running and he helps Quentin pry the door open. As they open the door, light from their candelabra banishes Angélique’s ghost away and saves Tracy. Claire then enters as Tracy regains consciousness. Alex and Claire had been edited out of the scene in the recut version.
Glenn rolled through the basement sequence slowly as I examined each shot over the light board on the table. Suddenly I let out a gasp, made a quiet whoop and whispered in a conspiratorial stage whisper to Glenn, “This is it, we found it. This is the uncut version!” Right in front of my eyes, in beautiful 35mm, Alex (John Karlen) appeared in the basement scene and ran to help Quentin. With only around 90 minutes left in our viewing session I had Glenn measure all fifteen reels so a 100% accurate running time could be calculated. As we measured reel 14, I requested that Glenn stop a few times so that I could review shots from the seance. Being able to finally see all the shots from this legendary sequence was such a thrilling revelation I had to stifle any yelps of joy. We finished measuring the film just in time to restock the materials and say our thanks and goodbyes to the archive personnel.
Since I wasn’t going to be handling negative print materials anymore and had proven myself to be professional, I was allowed to make several return trips to the archive to examine the trailers for extra footage and to listen to all available audio materials to see if we had a complete soundtrack. It was devastating to discover that while a complete 129 minute version exists on film, only approximately 100 minutes of soundtrack (audio) survives. The longest remaining audio material is the original soundtrack which had been physically cut and spliced in order to create the shorter 97 minute soundtrack. This had been the actual track cut during Dan Curtis’ legendary frantic re-edit session. Unfortunately, nearly all of the sound material that was trimmed was eventually disposed of and destroyed. 11
During the last few months, attempts have been made to get the restoration off the ground. A budget has been created and studio locations and facilities have been chosen. The cast required to re-record dialogue have all responded with excitement and enthusiasm. The late Grayson Hall will need to be redubbed by a very good imitator. All that’s needed is the official go-ahead. With hard work and a bit of luck, Dan Curtis’ 129 minute version of Night of Dark Shadows may finally be unveiled.
DARK SHADOWS MOVIES FOREIGN TITLES
Both films were dubbed into foreign languages and released world-wide. They were mostly likely subtitled in Japan, Holland and Scandanavian countries whose audiences are more accepting of subtitled films
House of Dark Shadows
Country Foreign ReleaseTitle English Translation
Italy La Casa dei Vampiri The House of the Vampire
Germany Schloss der Vampire Castle of the Vampire
Mexico Sombras en la Obscuridad Shadows in the Darkness
France La Fiancee du Vampire The Fiancée of the Vampire
Japan Lips of Blood
Belgium La Broid de Noir The Bride of Night
Night of Dark Shadows
Country Foreign Release Title English Translation
Italy La Casa della Ombre Malladette The House of the Cursed Shadows
Spain La Maldacion de Sinestra The Sinister House
FILM PROMOTIONS
To promote House of Dark Shadows, Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott and Nancy Barrett participated in separate press tours. These trips consisted of newspaper, television, and radio interviews. Jonathan went to Philadelphia (August 16-18), Indianapolis (August 18-19) and Chicago (August 19-20). Kathryn went to Boston (August 17), Detroit (August 17-18), Cincinnati (August 18-19), St. Louis (August 19-20). Nancy went to Charlotte (August 16-17), Atlanta (August 17-18), New Orleans (August 18- 19), Dallas (August 19-20), and Washington, D.C. (August 20-21).
MGM sponsored a nationwide “Miss American Vampire Contest” to promote House of Dark Shadows. Regional winners from ten cities received an all-expenses paid trip to New York for the national finals. Contestants were required to appear in appropriately ghoulish costumes and makeup, and be between the ages of 18 and 25. Jonathan Frid and Nancy Barrett presented the national award at a ceremony at the Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. The winner of the contest was Christine Domaniecki. As a prize, she received a non-speaking role in episode 1126 of Dark Shadows, portraying a barmaid in the 1840 storyline.
To promote Night of Dark Shadows, Grayson Hall and her husband Sam Hall, the writer of the film, went on a press tour.
The Lyndhurst Estate
The Lyndhurst mansion and estate, at the edge of the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, was used as Collinwood in the movies House of Da
rk Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows.
Seaview Terrace, the Newport, Rhode Island location that was used for the exteriors of Collinwood in the daytime television series, could not be utilized in the films because Seaview’s interior had been converted into classrooms and dormitories for a girl’s school.
Tarrytown was also a more convenient location for the New York based Dark Shadows personnel, requiring approximately one hour of travel time compared to three hours travel to Newport.
The Lyndhurst mansion represents the culmination of Gothic Revival architecture in America. It was designed in 1838 by Alexander Jackson Davis, one of America’s most influencial architects. Originally called Paulding Manor, the house was built for William Paulding, a general in the War of 1812 and a mayor of New York.