Johnny summons gypsy spirits, including Sandor, for a trial against Magda.

Synopsis

The walls of Collinwood are thick and high, but they have not kept Magda Rakosi safe from gypsy vengeance. Now Magda is a prisoner, hoping desperately for freedom. Before the night is out, she will learn that freedom can be far more terrifying than her chains.

King Johnny commences the trial against Magda at the Collins mausoleum, acting as prosecutor and judge. He summons the spirits of gypsy murderers and thieves to serve as the jury, including Sandor, whom King Johnny is revealed to have killed.

Magda is found guilty of murdering Julianka, Jenny's infant son, and trying to pull "the bajour," the big trick of substituting a counterfeit Hand, thereby betraying the gypsy people. King Johnny sentences Magda to play "hunt the weasel", Magda is to be released and hunted down and killed.

Magda succeeds in banishing the spirits of the dead who are pursuing her, but King Johnny and Istvan corner Magda and prepare to kill her.

Memorable quotes

Magda: I got...I got the feeling that...that there ain't too many surprises in King Johnny's court.

Dramatis personae

• Grayson Hall as Magda
• Thayer David as Sandor
• Paul Michael as King Johnny
• Henry Baker as Istvan (uncredited)
• Joseph Della Sorte as Sergio Kodash (uncredited)
• John LaMotta as Marco (uncredited)
• Victor Mohica as Stefan (uncredited)
• Norman Riggins as Pedor (uncredited)
• Ray Von Orden as Andreas (uncredited)

Background information and notes

Production

Story

• The ghost trial is based on "The Devil and Daniel Webster," the 1936 short story by Stephen Vincent Benét.
• GHOSTWATCH: Johnny summons Andreas, Marco, Stefan, Pedor and Sergio Kodash for the gypsy jury, along with Sandor as a witness. Later, Sandor appears to Magda.
  • The members of the gyspy jury are all murderers. Andreas strangled his wife twenty years ago, and Marco killed his brother.
• INTERNAL MONOLOGUE: Magda: I've got to hide.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• As the teaser opens, when Istvan is tying Magda up, the camera pulls back a bit too far, revealing King Johnny's lantern before he is to enter the scene.
• In the Collins mausoleum, before Johnny tells Magda to open the secret door, there is a bang and a flash from off camera, as if a light bulb exploded. The loud sound happens just as King Johnny says, "Open the door, Magda," and then King Johnny repeats the line.
• When Magda says she thought Johnny was going to take her to Boston for her trial, Johnny says, "You thought wrong." But in fact Johnny did originally tell her he was taking her to Boston.
• As Magda, Johnny, and Istvan enter the secret room, there is a lot of noise off-stage. (There is quite a bit of noise off-stage throughout the scene.)
• As Johnny is telling Magda who her jury members are, Henry Baker walks right past them in front of the camera, obscuring them completely for a moment.
• During King Johnny's prosecution argument, Paul Michael turns to the teleprompter several times.
• Paul Michael flubs a line: "Ask him something sh..he knows!"
• Magda's match goes out too early when she is invocating against Sergio.
• Magda picks up some leaves and/or grass off the ground for her incantation to send Sandor back to the grave, but she drops it almost immediately. Throughout her incantation, though, she continues to rub her fingers that were holding the earth materials as if she still holds them.
• When the gypsy ghosts surround Magda in the cemetery, you can see the edge of the "grass carpet" and the studio floor.

External Links 

Dark Shadows - Episode 826 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 826 - Hungarian Crime Story

The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 826

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 826: King Johnny's court

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 826: 8/25/69