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| Number |
307 |
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| Broadcast |
September 4, 1967 |
| Recorded |
August 22, 1967 |
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| We have 13 images of Dark Shadows 311 | |
Joe and Carolyn search for David, who has been missing for several hours.
Synopsis
Teaser
- There is a stillness in the darkness that envelops Collinwood. But fear stalks the great house on this night, for a small boy has disappeared. And unknown to him or to those who would protect him, his life is in great danger.
David Collins continues his search for Sarah Collins. He goes inside the mausoleum, thinking that she must be hiding in the secret room behind Naomi Collins' tomb. However, there is no trace of her inside. As David starts to leave, he hears voices approaching. Barnabas Collins and Willie Loomis have arrived at Eagle Hill Cemetery and are also searching for the elusive Sarah. David hides in the coffin in the secret room.
Act I
Barnabas and Willie search the secret room. Willie, who is clearly frightened, is anxious to leave and accuses Barnabas of being scared of Sarah. Barnabas denies this because Sarah loved him more than anyone else, and would never harm him. They decide to leave and return to the Old House. But Willie pauses, thinking he has heard something. Barnabas chalks it up to his servant's overactive imagination. He takes one last look around the room before he and Willie depart.
Once he's sure it is safe, David emerges from the coffin... only to find himself trapped inside the secret room.
Act II
The clock in the Collinwood foyer chimes 10:45 PM. Carolyn Stoddard, worried about David's whereabouts, nervously paces the drawing room. Joe Haskell's search of the house has proved fruitless. Both take the blame for David's disappearance. Carolyn wishes Victoria Winters would return home. The subject of Victoria's engagement to Burke Devlin arises, and Joe wonders how Carolyn feels about it. Carolyn admits to having made a fool of herself over Burke and that she is truly happy for Victoria. Her main concern at present is David.
Still trapped, David cries for help.
Victoria comes home and is alarmed to learn of David's disappearance. She agrees to stay in case David returns, while Carolyn and Joe search outside.
Meanwhile, David takes a penknife from his coat pocket and tries to open the sealed door with it. Having no luck, he sinks to the floor, despondent and in tears.
Act III
Carolyn and Joe are searching the woods; Carolyn, who has been plagued with nightmares and feelings of doom, believes something terrible has happened to her cousin.
David, sensing Sarah's presence in the secret room, calls out to her. But she doesn't appear.
Joe and Carolyn happen upon Willie during their search and tell him of David's disappearance. Joe wonders if David might be at the Old House. He and Carolyn decide to look there, only to have Willie explode at the pair and refuse them entry. His actions rouse both Joe and Carolyn's suspicions; it's almost as if Willie is hiding something.
Meantime, David, remembering hearing Barnabas ordering Willie to open the panel, searches for the way out of the secret room.
Act IV
Barnabas finds Victoria distressed and anxiously awaiting news about David. He comforts her, offering to stay and keep her company. Barnabas notes how devoted Victoria is to David, and she admits to thinking of David as her little brother. Victoria breaks down in tears, and Barnabas embraces her. Baring his fangs, the vampire is suddenly overcome with the urge to bite her.
Memorable quotes
- Barnabas: She (Sarah) was a gentle creature. Totally incapable of harming anyone. Especially me because she loved me more than anyone else. She never wanted harm to come to a single living creature. Once we had a dog, a pet dog, he grew old and had to be put out of his misery. She was inconsolable. I had to comfort her. Night after night, she would fall asleep in my arms and I would dry her tears.
Dramatis personae
- Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
- John Karlen as Willie Loomis
- David Henesy as David Collins
- Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard
- Joel Crothers as Joe Haskell
- Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters
Background information and notes
Production
- The teaser footage is reused from the prior episode's ending.
Story
- This is one of the few episodes in which Barnabas wears his ring on his left hand.
- Carolyn, Joe, and Victoria talk as if they are the only ones at the house. In the next episode, it is explained that Roger and Elizabeth are in Boston. But Mrs. Johnson should be there, albeit probably in bed asleep. She could easily be awakened to listen for the phone or a knock on the door while Victoria joins the search. Julia is also supposedly staying at Collinwood. Where is she?
- GHOSTWATCH: David hears Sarah's flute playing "London Bridge."
- TIMELINE: 10:45pm: Joe and Carolyn in the drawing room. Day 118 begins and will end in 316. 12am: Victoria returns to Collinwood. Carolyn has been experiencing nightmares about an impending disaster for weeks.
Bloopers and continuity errors
- In the teaser, as David is opening the coffin, he looks off-stage, probably waiting for his cue to close the coffin and get out of camera range before Barnabas and Willie enter. This appears for be recycled footage from the previous episode.
- As he's exiting the secret room, John Karlen hits his head on the top of the passageway.
- The stagehand responsible for closing the door to the secret room has a little trouble. It closes, opens a little bit, and then closes tight again.
- Nancy Barrett and Joel Crothers step on each other's lines at the beginning of Act II as Carolyn is at the drawing room windows.
- During Act II, there is a lot of off-stage shuffling and squeaking as Carolyn and Joe talk about Victoria and Burke's engagement.
- When Joe and Carolyn are in the woods searching for David, Carolyn stands up from sitting on a rock, but the camera is delayed in following her movement.
- While Carolyn and Joe are out searching for David, who has sneaked off from Collinwood to find Sarah Collins, Nancy Barrett is speaking to Joe but calls him "David."
- Jonathan Frid had his ring on his right hand when he was in the secret room of the Collins mausoleum early in the episode, but when he's spying on Victoria on the terrace, towards the end of the episode, it's on his left hand again.
- Victoria was told that it's important that she remain inside the house in case the phone rings or that someone should come, yet she decides to stroll outside on the terrace, where she can hear neither the phone nor a knock on the front door (and while on the terrace, she even tells Barnabas she's supposed to be listening for the phone and waiting for David to return home). [There is no reason to assume the phone can't be heard from the terrace]
End credits announcements
- Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
External links
Dark Shadows - Episode 311 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 311 - A Tomb of One's Own
The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 311