209
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| ← Dark Shadows (1966) episode 209 → | |
| Episode number | 206 |
| Timeline | 1967 |
| First aired | April 12, 1967 |
| Tape date | April 14, 1967 |
| Narrated by | Victoria Winters |
| Written by | Ron Sproat |
| Directed by | Lela Swift |
| Home video | VHS: Dark Shadows Collector's Series DVD: TB C6D4 |
Willie makes plans to leave and is further enthralled by the portrait of Barnabas Collins, both for its jewelry and its other characteristics.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Teaser
- My name is Victoria Winters. Strangers have come to Collinwood, strangers who threaten to uncover secrets that could destroy the Collins family. But unknown to one of them, he has stumbled onto the darkest and strangest secret of all.
Whilst gazing at the portrait of Barnabas Collins, Willie hears a heartbeat as the eye of the painting come alive. Jason comes in and a frightened Willie appears entranced. Willie asks if Jason heard the sound from the portrait. McGuire looks suitably perplexed.
Act I
Jason thinks Collinwood must be getting to Willie. Willie questions whether or not he really heard the sound. McGuire pulls him into the Drawing room, but Willie's attention is elsewhere. Jason tells Willie he is to leave today, and Liz is procuring the cash now. Again McGuire promises more money later on. Willie agrees to leave in a couple of days because he's taking McGuire's advice, not because he wants to steal more jewels. Vicki enters and McGuire prevents Willie from molesting her. She asks if Willie's really leaving; McGuire confirms it. Vicki asks if he's leaving as well; he says he plans to stay on for awhile.
Act II
Jason apologizes for Willie and hopes that his own stay at Collinwood hasn't caused Vicki any troubles. He likens himself as a father figure to Willie, a poor fatherless lad. An uneasy truce is formed between them.
In the Study, Willie continues to dig through Collins family volumes, causing a clutter for Mrs. Johnson. Willie doesn't strike Mrs. Johnson as the reading type; Loomis got interested in history thanks to David. They speak of the legend that Naomi Collins received jewelery from a pirate and was buried with them. Mrs. Johnson doesn't concern herself with the dead, she leaves them in peace at the Eagle Hill Cemetery, where Naomi and her family are the only Collins buried (the rest are in a Collins family cemetery). A slick Willie gets the location of Eagle Hill.
Act III
Later that night, Willie encounters the Caretaker at Eagle Hill Cemetery, where he claims to be a distant relative planning to pay his respects to Naomi Collins before skipping town. There is an evil force in the tomb; Joshua (the husband of Naomi) Collins stated so and passed the secret down. The tomb was to be sealed forever. Even the Caretaker doesn't go near the tomb. The old man points out the tomb but warns Willie away, especially at night. Willie promises to return in the morning.
Act IV
Back at Collinwood, Mrs. Johnson complains to McGuire that Willie didn't pick up his books. He's surprised as he's never known Willie to read a book. She tells him of her conversation with Willie. Back at the graveyard, Willie is attempting to break into the tomb and is stopped by the Caretaker, who successfully shoos him off. As he's leaving, Willie hears the heartbeat again, but the Caretaker can't hear it. The Caretaker convinces Willie that his ears played tricks on him. They leave; the heartbeat continues.
[edit] Memorable quotes
- The Caretaker: "There are stories about the Collins Tomb. Legends about an evil force that exists there."
[edit] Dramatis personae
- Dennis Patrick as Jason McGuire
- Daniel Keyes as The Caretaker
- John Karlen as Willie Loomis
- Clarice Blackburn as Mrs. Johnson
- and Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters
[edit] Background information and notes
- Eagle Hill Cemetery is 5 miles north of Collinwood per Mrs. Johnson. The Collinsport Cemetery is about a mile south of Collinwood.
- Naomi Collins is stated to have had several children who are buried in the tomb and is stated to have died a very old woman, in her sleep.
- We are told that only Naomi Collins and her immediate family in the mausoleum are the only members of the Collins family buried at Eagle Hill, but this will be changed later as we will see many Collins graves at Eagle Hill, many just outside the cemetery.
- "Many men" were in love with Naomi Collins, including the pirate who gave her the jewelery she was buried with.
[edit] Continuity and mistakes
- Abigail is now called Naomi Collins.
- Whilst the fact that Naomi died an "old woman" is explainable as the cover story given to the world by Joshua Collins at the end of the 1795 sequence, "several children" seems a bit much. Also consider that the average life expectancy for a woman in that time period was much lower than it is today.
