"Dark Shadows" (1966)TV series 1966-1971

Creator:

Dan Curtis
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

27 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

The rich Collins family of Collinsport, Maine is tormented by strange occurrences.

Plot Keywords:

Grave Robber | Atmospheric | Marriage | Good Versus Evil | Jekyll And Hyde

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Jonathan Frid	...	Barnabas Collins / ... (593 episodes, 1967-1971)
Grayson Hall	...	Dr. Julia Hoffman / ... (474 episodes, 1967-1971)
Nancy Barrett	...	Carolyn Stoddard / ... (402 episodes, 1966-1971)
Joan Bennett	...	Elizabeth Collins Stoddard / ... (386 episodes, 1966-1971)
Alexandra Isles	...	Victoria Winters / ... (335 episodes, 1966-1968)
Louis Edmonds	...	Roger Collins / ... (320 episodes, 1966-1971)
Kathryn Leigh Scott	...	Maggie Evans / ... (308 episodes, 1966-1970)
David Selby	...	Quentin Collins / ... (305 episodes, 1968-1971)
David Henesy	...	David Collins / ... (276 episodes, 1966-1970)
Lara Parker	...	Angelique / ... (269 episodes, 1967-1971)

(more)

Series Directed by
Lela Swift		(585 episodes, 1966-1971)
Henry Kaplan		(294 episodes, 1967-1971)
John Sedwick		(252 episodes, 1966-1968)
Sean Dhu Sullivan		(49 episodes, 1968)
Dan Curtis		(20 episodes, 1968-1969)
Jack Sullivan		(12 episodes, 1968)
John Weaver		(6 episodes, 1968)
Pennberry Jones		(5 episodes, 1968)
Dennis Kane		(5 episodes, 1969)

Series Writing credits
Dan Curtis		(1,225 episodes, 1966-1971)
Art Wallace		(1,155 episodes, 1966-1971)
Gordon Russell		(371 episodes, 1967-1971)
Sam Hall		(315 episodes, 1967-1971)
Ron Sproat		(218 episodes, 1966-1969)
Violet Welles		(82 episodes, 1969-1970)
Malcolm Marmorstein		(81 episodes, 1966-1967)
Joseph Caldwell		(62 episodes, 1967-1970)
Francis Swann		(36 episodes, 1966)
Ralph Ellis		(2 episodes, 1969)

Series Produced by
Dan Curtis	....	executive producer (1,225 episodes, 1966-1971)
Robert Costello	....	producer (843 episodes, 1966-1969)
Peter Miner	....	producer (235 episodes, 1969-1970)
Lela Swift	....	producer (126 episodes, 1970-1971)
Sy Tomashoff	....	associate producer (64 episodes, 1971)
George DiCenzo	....	associate producer (8 episodes, 1969)

Series Original Music by
Bob Cobert		(1,224 episodes, 1966-1971)

Series Production Design by
Sy Tomashoff		(1,224 episodes, 1966-1971)
John Dapper		(unknown episodes)

Series Costume Design by
Ramsey Mostoller		(1,093 episodes, 1966-1970)
Mary McKinley		(131 episodes, 1970-1971)
Hazel Roy		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Irene Hamalin	....	hair stylist (2 episodes, 1966)
Vincent Loscalzo	....	makeup artist (1 episode, 1966)
Dennis Eger	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Jack LeGoms	....	hair stylist (unknown episodes)
Dick Smith	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Edith Tilles	....	hair stylist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Michael Brockman	....	unit manager (4 episodes, 1966)
Joe Adams	....	unit manager (unknown episodes)
Gary Blohm	....	unit manager (unknown episodes)
Patrick Plevin	....	unit manager (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Ream	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Milt Honig	....	graphic artist (unknown episodes)
Trevor Williams	....	set designer (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Frank Bailey	....	sound (5 episodes, 1966)
Ed Blainey	....	sound effects (5 episodes, 1966)
Tom McCue	....	sound (5 episodes, 1966)
Anthony Amodeo	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Neil Bobrick	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Nick Carbonaro	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Bernard Fambrough	....	sound effects (unknown episodes)
Leonard Hirshfield	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Jack Kelly	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Henry Plimack	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Fred Ripple	....	sound (unknown episodes)
Terry Ross	....	sound effects (unknown episodes)
David Thuesen	....	sound (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Alex Stevens	....	stunt coordinator (1 episode, 1968)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Mel Handelsman	....	lighting director (5 episodes, 1966)
Felix Trimboli	....	first assistant camera / assistant camera (4 episodes, 1968-1970)
Nicholas Besink	....	video engineer (unknown episodes)
Roz Bigelow	....	lighting director (unknown episodes)
Alan Holden	....	lighting director (unknown episodes)
Tom McCue	....	lighting director (unknown episodes)
Everett Melosh	....	lighting director (unknown episodes)
Howard Sharrott	....	lighting director (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
June Puleo	....	wardrobe mistress (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Sybil Weinberger	....	music supervisor (1,224 episodes, 1966-1971)
Arthur De Cenzo	....	music supervisor (5 episodes, 1966)

Series Other crew
Ken McEwen	....	associate director (511 episodes, 1969-1970)
Gloria Banta	....	assistant to producer (5 episodes, 1966)
John Devoe	....	stage manager (5 episodes, 1966)
J.J. Lupatkin	....	technical director (5 episodes, 1966)
Ed Pontorno	....	video (5 episodes, 1966)
Harriet Rohr	....	production assistant (5 episodes, 1966)
John Sedwick	....	associate director (5 episodes, 1966)
Amber Brie	....	stand-in (2 episodes, 1970)
George DiCenzo	....	stand-in (2 episodes, 1970)
Syd Andrews	....	stage manager (unknown episodes)
Andy Balint	....	video (unknown episodes)
Patricia Bannon	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
Bill Degenhardt	....	technical director (unknown episodes)
Melissa Foster	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Deet Jonker	....	technical director (unknown episodes)
Karen Kayser	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Hector Kicelian	....	video (unknown episodes)
Robert Livingston	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
Edward Melton	....	stage manager (unknown episodes)
Michael Michaels	....	video (unknown episodes)
Dick Moller	....	video (unknown episodes)
Pat Moran	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Bill Morris	....	technical director (unknown episodes)
Murdock Pemberton	....	stage manager (unknown episodes)
Rudy Piccirillo	....	video (unknown episodes)
Alan Pultz	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
Indra Sadoo	....	video (unknown episodes)
Ross Skipper	....	video (unknown episodes)
Al Smith	....	technical director (unknown episodes)
Michael Stanislavsky	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
Jack Sullivan	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
John Weaver	....	associate director (unknown episodes)
George Whitaker	....	technical director (unknown episodes)
Dave White	....	video (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Dan Curtis Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1966-1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MPI Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• MPI Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Junior Sophisticates  miss scott's clothes
• Ohrbach's  fashions
• Screen Time Images  DVD authoring and encoding

Also Known As:

Shadows on the Wall (USA) (working title)
The House on Storm Cliff (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (1225 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1966-1967) | Color (1967-1971)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Essex, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Dan Curtis Productions

Trivia:

Kathryn Leigh Scott was one of the first people hired for the show. A screen test was shot of her wearing a filmy, ghostlike costume-and it was later used on the air, with the explanation that she was the ghost of Josette Collins. They didn't let it die there. When Barnabas was introduced, it was further explained that Josette was his long-lost love, and Scott played that part when the storyline jumped back to the year 1795. They had her coming and going, so to speak.

Quotes:

Barnabas Collins: For most men, time moves slowly, oh so slowly, they don't even realize it. But time has revealed itself to me in a very special way. Time is a rushing, howling wind that rages past me, withering me in a single, relentless blast, and then continues on. I've been sitting here passively, submissive to its rage, watching its work. Listen! Time, howling, withering!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dark Shadows on Location (1999) (V)

American Gothic Classic.........

Originally airing in the afternoon in 1966 as a half hour "gothic" soap opera then a few months later morphing into pure supernatural story telling, Dark Shadows is unique in American television. Though not 'run' live, the show was taped with almost no interruptions so it 'felt' live. Only the most catastrophic of events would cause producers to re-shoot a scene. The show is famous for the occasional slip-up: crew visible on screen, a boom-mike shown above the actors' heads, actors struggling to remember their lines or actors calling another character by their wrong name. Still , this only helped to give the show a theatrical feel, as if you were sitting in the audience watching a live piece of theatre which consequently endowed the show a certain prestige that typical soap operas never achieved. Former movie star Joan Bennett, headlined the show as the Collin's family matriarch, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Ms. Bennett's 'old' Hollywood trained voice & poise gave the show glamour. Many of the jeweled baubles Ms. Bennett wore on the show were the real thing from Ms. Bennett's private collection. Closing credits of the shows always had.."Fashions by Orbachs.." The show is great for, if nothing else, a study in late 60s early 70s fashion sensibilities. From Ms. Bennett's upswept hairdos & flowing chiffon dresses or tailored skirt/blouse 'sets' to the younger womens' minis & long flip hair styles, the show's a veritable time capsule of retro chic. But the show is so much more than its fashion. The show is a true American Gothic original.

The Collins family live in the coastal town of Collinsport, somewhere on the coast of Maine. The Collins have money & breeding. The initial modern Collins family was not a traditional nuclear family. There was Elizabeth Collins Stoddard & her grown, 20something daughter Carolyn, played by Nancy Barrett who lived on the family estate/mansion Collinwood. Mr. Stoddard, mysteriously missing for twenty years or so, is presumed dead. They share the estate with Mrs. Stoddard's brother, Roger Collins, played by Louis Edmonds & his young pre-teen son, David, played by David Henesy. Roger Collins's wife, Laura (Diana Millay) has recently died in a fire. As the series opens, we are introduced to the character Victoria Winters, played by Alexandra Moltke, raised an orphan on her way to her new position as governess to young David at Collinwood. Each show would begin with a shot of the impressive mansion Collinwood, bathed in moody lighting, while Victoria Winters' voice eerily introduced themes of mystery & secrets hopefully to be revealed on that day's episodes while Dark Shadows' famous theme music played in the background. As the shows progressed over the first few months from mystery gothic to supernatural suspense we are introduced to the character of Barnabas Collins played by Jonathan Frid. Mr. Collins represents himself to the family as a distant cousin newly arrived from England. Hanging in the entry hall, is a portrait of the original Barnabas Collins from the 1700s, which bears a striking resemblance to the newly arrived cousin. We as the audience know that they are one in the same & that Barnabas Collins is a member of the undead, a vampire who has been imprisoned in a chained coffin for over two hundred years & who has only just recently escaped. Storylines would go back in time, revealing how Barnabas became a vampire by an evil curse from witch Angelique (Lara Parker), a maid of French Caribbean descent. Angelique, in the service of Josette Dupres (Kathryn Leigh Scott), Barnabas's true love, was jealous of the love Barnabas had for Josette. So she cursed Barnabas with the curse of vampirism. Josette herself would reach an untimely death at the edge of Widow's Hill overlooking the rocky shoreline hundreds of feet below. Later back in modern time, Roger Collins will bring home as his new bride, Cassandra, a woman who looks amazingly like the Angelique from the 1700s. Soon we learn that it is in fact the immortal Angelique still seeking either love or revenge from her spurned lover Barnabas. Meanwhile, Barnabas has met a young woman in the village of Collinsport, a Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott) who reminds Barnabas very much of his beloved Josette. He soon kidnaps Josette and tries to turn her into his long lost Josette. Along the way Collinwood becomes haunted by the spirit of long lost relative Quentin Collins (David Selby). Completing the major characters of the show was Dr. Julia Hoffman, (Grayson Hall), a woman committed to transforming Barnabas by scientific (or supernatural if necessary), means back to a normal man. Their friendship (and her secret love for Barnabas) would form one of the shows' main plot lines.

The show moved slowly and deliberately & revelled in it's gothic, supernatural feel. It was in no hurry to move from storyline to storyline. Instead, it relied on shadows, mysteries, lightening, candlelight, vampires who longed for the brightness of the sun and witches pining for love. In an era of MTV and commercials, Dark Shadows is our television equivalent to Jane Austen & Edgar Allen Poe.