Matthew holds Victoria hostage in a secret room of the Old House while Joe and Burke look for her.

Synopsis

My name is Victoria Winters. It is night at Collinwood, and I'm desperately afraid it may be the last night of my life. I'm held prisoner in a secret room of a deserted old house by a half-crazed, desperate man, a man who once attempted to kill me. At Collinwood, the only three people in the world who could rescue me have just discovered I'm nearby.

Burke thinks Victoria's disappearance may have something to do with Matthew's. He orders Elizabeth to call the Sheriff. Burke and Joe team up to search the grounds after Elizabeth arms them with Roger's guns.

Matthew scolds Victoria after tying up the young lass; she tries to convince him she was not tricking him. She is confident that she will be found and he will be brought to justice; he believes they shall never be found.

Elizabeth remembers that Victoria was on the way to the Old House when last seen. Joe and Burke stick together (and work well together). They find a piece of cloth from Victoria's dress and head the quarter-mile from the fence to the Old House.

Matthew begins to abduct Victoria and plans to take it one step at a time as they flee, he plans to use her as a shield should the eventuality arise. Joe and Burke arrive at the Old House, forcing Matthew and Victoria back into the secret room. Joe searches upstairs, while Burke searches downstairs. When the drawing room is empty, Josette's portrait takes on an eerie glow that disappears when Joe comes back down the stairs.

Matthew listens as Joe and Burke discuss the Sheriff's men. Joe tells Burke that he and Carolyn used to explore the Old House as kids. Burke wants to look over the house again; he sends Joe to ask Elizabeth about secret rooms or closed-off sections that they might not know about. Elizabeth knows of a room that is sealed off. Josette's portrait glows again while Burke is in the foyer, but goes dark as he walks back in the main room. Joe comes back and tells Burke about the Storm Cellar, which Burke has already searched. Outside the room, they discuss how they've looked everywhere everybody knows about. They agree to join the sheriff's men elsewhere. Victoria manages to scream moments after Burke and Joe depart, infuriating Matthew. He tells her it was a "real dumb" thing to do.

Memorable quotes

Joe: (to Burke) Don't get trigger happy.

Dramatis personae

• ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard →
• ← Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin →
• ← Thayer David as Matthew Morgan →
• ← Joel Crothers as Joe Haskell →
• ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →

Background information and notes

Production

• This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 116.
• Matthew nervously smokes a cigarette; this is the first time we've seen him do so.
• Burke and Joe arm themselves with Roger's shotguns. They are double-barrel, break-open, over-under shotguns (as in one barrel mounted on top of the other), of the kind commonly used for hunting and skeet shooting, which is fitting for an aristocratic family with a large property.

Story

• GHOSTWATCH: Josette's portrait glows twice.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• Squeaking camera equipment continues throughout the episode.
• The initials on Vicki's suitcase are really upside down. Such initials are meant to be read while the suitcase is standing up, but when the suitcase is standing up, the initials are upside down.
• Someone in the studio coughs as Burke takes shotgun shells out of the box.
• When Joe and Burke are searching for Vicki and are at the fence where she said she had lost her wallet, Burke asks how far the Old House is from there. Joe says about a quarter mile. Also note that this route past the fence is supposedly a shortcut between the Old House and Collinwood, according to David. A few episodes ago, it was noted that the Old House was only a five-minute walk from Collinwood.
• Just before Matthew re-enters the Old House, a technician's hand can be seen briefly to the right of the screen to signal Thayer David when to open the door (after the insert shot of the moon).
• Boom microphone shadows can be seen when Victoria and Matthew are in the foyer of the old house. Also, the mic doesn't pick up Matthew's question "Did you hear something?" very well.
• While being held captive in the secret room and Burke is in the living room, Victoria makes no noise. As soon as Burke leaves, she breaks away from Matthew and screams for Burke...why couldn't she have done that while Burke was still in the living room?  :-) [Addendum: Victoria really didn't "break away" from Matthew; he took his hand off her mouth and loosened his grip on her after Burke left.] Vicki still could have made some noise. Matthew was holding her very close to the entrance to the room, and they could hear Burke and Joe just on the opposite side of the bookcase. While Vicki couldn't scream, she could have made a loud moan that might have been heard. Additionally, her legs were not restrained. She could easily have kicked against the back of the bookcase and be heard. For that matter, she could have kicked back, kicking Matthew's legs, startling him, and maybe escape that way.
• Ohrbach's is misspelled in the credits as Orhbach's.

End credits announcements

• "ABC Stage 67" turns its attention to the pop music scene, present and future, when Rick Nelson and Joanie Sommers star in an offbeat musical, "On the Flip Side," tonight at 10, 9 o'clock Central Time on ABC.
• Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.

External Links 

Dark Shadows - Episode 118 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 118: Last chance to get away

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 118: 12/7/66