Night of Dark Shadows
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Night of Dark Shadows is a 1971 horror film by Dan Curtis. It is the sequel to House of Dark Shadows. It centers on the story of Quentin Collins and his bride Tracy at the Collinwood Mansion in Collinsport, Maine.
David Selby, Lara Parker, John Karlen, Kate Jackson,Grayson Hall, and Nancy Barrett star.
Night of Dark Shadows was not as successful as House of Dark Shadows, but it did fair box-office business.
Source:Leonard Maltin's 2003 Movie and Video Guide
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[edit] Production
After the success of House of Dark Shadows, the feature film version of Dan Curtis' Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, MGM were ready to back a follow-up film in 1971. Curtis originally wanted to do a direct sequel and revive the vampire Barnabas Collins. However, actor Jonathan Frid refused to play the role again for fear of type-casting. Realizing it would be a mistake to recast the popular character, Curtis worked with writer Sam Hall to concoct an all-new storyline.
The story they created was very loosely based on the "parallel time" sequence of the TV show, and was centered around the show's other popular male lead Quentin Collins, played by David Selby. The film, Night of Dark Shadows, was shot in six weeks on a budget of $900,000 and released in 1971, after the TV show had left the air. It was not unsuccessful, but less successful than its predecessor, despite its chilly atmosphere and intriguing plotline. One reason often sited for the film's lack of performance is that MGM forced Curtis to cut over 35 minutes from his finished film, and gave him only one day to do the job. So the film went from approximately 129 minutes to about 94 minutes, needless to say losing much of its coherence. The excised footage was recovered in 1999.
[edit] Synopsis
Handsome young artist Quentin Collins arrives at his newly-inherited estate of Collinwood with his beautiful wife Tracy. They meet the housekeeper, Carlotta Drake, and the caretaker, Gerard Stiles. The Collins' friends, Alex and Claire Jenkins, who are both novelists, move into a cottage on the estate.
Quentin soon begins to be troubled by startling visions and haunting dreams about one of his ancestors, Charles Collins, and his ancestor's mistress Angelique, who had been hung as a witch in a past century. Carlotta eventually reveals to Quentin that she is the reincarnation of Sarah Castle, a little girl who had lived at Collinwood over 150 years ago, and that Quentin himself is the reincarnation of Charles Collins. Charles had had an affair with Angelique, wife of his brother Gabriel, resulting in her being hanged and Charles being sealed alive in the family crypt.
On a trip to New York, the Jenkinses discover a painting of Charles Collins, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Quentin. Convinced that their friends are in grave danger, the couple hurry home to Collinwood. They are attacked by the ghost of Angelique.
Meanwhile, Quentin has become possessed by the spirit of Charles Collins and attempts to drown Tracy in a disused swimming pool on the estate. Alex and Claire arrive in time to revive her, but Quentin, having no memory of his actions, refuses to believe their wild tale.
Carlotta and Gerard conspire to eliminate Quentin's loved ones. Quentin, seeing the scratches on his wrist where Tracy had tried to fend him off, realizes the truth of Alex's warning and rushes to rescue his friends. Gerard has managed to take Tracy prisoner (despite his having been shot in the face by Claire), and Quentin fights with him high atop a train trestle. Quentin defeats Gerard, who plunges to his death.
The group rush to confront Carlotta, but she jumps from the top of Collinwood when the ghostly Angelique beckons her from below.
In the end, Quentin and Tracy are about to leave Collinwood when Quentin goes back inside the house. Tracy follows to find him now completely possessed by Charles Collins, and Angelique reborn in the flesh. The camera freezes on Quentin's face as he advances menacingly toward Tracy.
A newspaper caption at the end reveals that Alex and Claire Jenkins have been killed in a car accident.
[edit] Trivia
- The film was originally titled Curse of Dark Shadows, and some publicity stills exist with that title printed on them.
- This was the first big screen appearance of Kate Jackson, who had also appeared on the TV series as Dapne Harridge. Jackson went on to TV success in series like The Rookies and The Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and of course most famously on Charlie's Angels.
- Virginia Vestoff, who played Quentin's wife Samantha in one of the TV show's storylines, was originally to have played the wife of Charles Collins in the movie. However, she was unavailable for filming and was replaced by Diana Millay, who played Laura Collins on Dark Shadows. In the film she is a different Laura.
- Similarly, Jerry Lacy was supposed to play his TV character Reverend Trask in the movie. He was replaced by Thayer David, and the character's name changed to Reverend Strack.
- The haunting Quentin's Theme, taken from the TV show for use in the movie, was originally written by Robert Cobert as music hall fodder for the Dan Curtis-produced TV movie The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
[edit] Cast
- David Selby (Quentin Collins/Charles Collins)
- Grayson Hall (Carlotta Drake)
- John Karlen (Alex Jenkins)
- Nancy Barrett (Claire Jenkins)
- Lara Parker (Angelique)
- Kate Jackson (Tracy Collins)
- James Storm (Gerard Stiles)
- Diana Millay (Laura Collins)
- Christopher Pennock (Gabriel Collins)
- Thayer David (Reverend Strack)
- Monica Rich (Sarah Castle)
- Clarice Blackburn (Mrs. Castle)
[edit] Credits
- Produced and directed by Dan Curtis
- Screenplay by Sam Hall
- Story by Sam Hall and Dan Curtis
- Director of photography: Richard Shore, A.S.C.
- Music composed and conducted by Robert Cobert
Metrocolor, MGM production # 1896
[edit] Sources
The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection, edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott, Pomegranite Press Ltd., 1990, ISBN 0-938817-25-6
Dark Shadows Memories: 35th Anniversary, by Kathryn Leigh Scott, Pomegranite Press Ltd., 2001, ISBN 0-938817-60-4
The Dark Shadows Movie Book: Producer/Director Dan Curtis' Original Shooting Scripts from "House of Dark Shadows" and "Night of Dark Shadows", edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott and Jim Pierson, Pomegranite Press Ltd., 1998, ISBN 0-938817-48-5
Night of Dark Shadows, VHS, MGM/UA Home Video, 1990, Product # M201195
