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244 |
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| Broadcast | |
| Recorded |
May 25, 1967 |
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| We have 4 images of Dark Shadows 248 | |
A furious Barnabas recaptures Maggie and imprisons her in a coffin in the mausoleum's secret room in punishment for her disobedience.
Synopsis
Teaser
- My name is Victoria Winters. A stillness hovers over Collinwood tonight, but there is no peace in the silence, for it is the silence that precedes a great storm, peace that holds a promise of terror. Far away from Collinwood, one man knew a moment of hope on this night only to have that hope withdrawn, and despair and further confusion follow in its wake.
At the Evans cottage, Sam insists to Burke that he saw Maggie outside the window. They are waiting for Sheriff Patterson to arrive and help them search. But Maggie has wandered into Eagle Hill Cemetery and is caught by a furious Barnabas.
Act I
Sheriff Patterson finally arrives at the cottage, and Sam explains what happened. Maggie appeared to be deathly pale and wearing a long white flowing gown, like something from "another century." Patterson believes Sam might have been drunk when he caught a glimpse of Maggie, but promises that he and his men will search all the same. Elsewhere, Barnabas leads Maggie into the Collins family mausoleum.
Act II
Barnabas opens the secret room behind Naomi Collins' tomb and bids Maggie to follow him inside. Maggie tries to run, but Barnabas--intent on punishing "Josette" for leaving him--catches her. All he wants is for "Josette" is to stay with him and be his forever. It seems as if Josette's persona imprints itself on Maggie's mind once more, and Barnabas is too overcome to hurt her. However, he finds Sam's pipe on her person and Maggie cries out for her father. She faints, and an enraged Barnabas carries her into the secret room. Inside, he places Maggie in a coffin and seals her in it.
Act III
Morning; Willie goes to the mausoleum to free Maggie from the coffin. She can barely breathe and is absolutely terrified out of her mind. Willie, who obviously cares a great deal for Maggie, is gentle with her as he returns her to the Old House. Maggie is hysterical as she remembers what Barnabas did to her. Willie tries to calm her, but Barnabas' brainwashing has worn off and Maggie no longer believes herself to be Josette Collins. Willie plays the music box for her, and Maggie falls under the spell again.
Act IV
Sheriff Patterson returns to the Evans cottage with bad news: there's no trace of Maggie. All that was glimpsed was a big, ugly beast of a dog wandering Eagle Hill Cemetery. Sam concludes that his sighting of Maggie was all in his imagination. Meantime, Maggie wakes and plays the music box; entranced, she repeats to herself that she is Josette Collins. However, when she sits at the dressing table and sees her reflection in the mirror, her true identity returns and Maggie tries to escape from Josette's room only to find the doors are tightly locked. She collapses in tears, telling herself she is Maggie Evans.
Memorable quotes
- Sheriff Patterson (to Sam): "Before you saw Maggie out there, had you been drinking?"
Dramatis personae
- Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
- Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin
- David Ford as Sam Evans
- Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans
- Dana Elcar as George Patterson
- John Karlen as Willie Loomis
Background information and notes
Production
- Final appearance of actor Mitchell Ryan. Ryan was fired from the show in 1967 because of his alcoholism. He will be replaced in the role of Burke Devlin by Anthony George in 262.
- During rehearsal of this episode, photographs were taken which were used in the first series of Dark Shadows trading cards, known as 'The Red Set'.
Story
Bloopers and continuity errors
- Where did the second coffin inside the Collins mausoleum secret room come from? In the previous episode, Barnabas' coffin which occupied the room had been moved to the Old House cellar. [It's possible that the coffin in the Old House cellar is not the same one that Barnabas was in when Willie found him in the secret room of the mausoleum. Maybe Willie built another one in the cellar.]
- During the scene when Sheriff Patterson is standing behind Sam Evans questioning him at the Evans cottage and both are facing the camera, the set lighting dims although the scene is not finished yet.
- When Sam is telling Sheriff Patterson what happened when he saw Maggie, he says Burke was in the kitchen, though he points to Maggie's room.
- Someone speaks in Act II as Barnabas tells Maggie that she (Josette) looks beautiful in the moonlight when they are in the secret room. At other points movement in the studio can be heard and someone snaps their fingers before Maggie discovers Sam's pipe.
- In the scene when Maggie is placed into the coffin in the mausoleum secret room, the final shot of the scene of Barnabas closing the coffin lid is seen from Maggie's perspective inside the coffin. Since the scene is being shot live to tape (that is, no editing was done), in order to accomplish this, Jonathan Frid has to actually be somewhere else in the room closing another lid different from the coffin Maggie is lying in (with a camera shooting straight up at him). So in order to do this, the hands that first start closing the coffin lid when we still see Maggie belong to a stand-in. It appears that the stand-in is not wearing a Barnabas ring on either of his hands. Also, the stand-in starts closing the lid with his arms straight out, so he is standing straight beside the coffin. However, when we switch to the final shot of Jonathan Frid closing the lid, he seems to be using only one hand and is standing slightly turned from the coffin.
- In Act IV when Sam asks Sheriff Patterson if they searched the graveyard, the Sheriff asks, "The graveyard?" as if he couldn't imagine why Sam would ask that. Then he almost immediately says that yes, they did search the graveyard.
End credits announcements
- Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
External links
Dark Shadows - Episode 248 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 248 - Damsel in This Dress
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 248: The bride of Barnabas Collins