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29
Number

29

Timeline

1967

Narrator

Alexandra Moltke
(as Victoria Winters)

Writer

Art Wallace

Director

John Sedwick

Broadcast

August 4, 1966
(Thursday)

Recorded

July 21, 1966
(Thursday)

Video

Complete: Disc 4
Beginning 1: Disc 4

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David hides the bleeder valve in Burke's room at the Collinsport Inn.

Synopsis[]

My name is Victoria Winters. The hours tick by in the great house on Widows' Hill and there is still no word. The boy I had been brought here to tutor has not yet been found, and the faint whisper of fear is slowly becoming louder...fear that grips the heart of a woman who suspects a truth she cannot bear to face.

Carolyn returns to Collinwood after searching for David. She says to her mother that she covered everything, including all the places she used to hide as a kid. Carolyn also mentions that she had Matthew go down to the main road to see what he could find. She talks to the boy's aunt about what a "horror" he is and how he tampered with the brakes. Elizabeth, who is completely in denial, refuses to listen to Carolyn and swears she will never forgive Miss Winters if anything happened to David.

David shows up at Burke Devlin's hotel room, telling the man he has been waiting for two hours and insists on talking to him. He's surprised that Devlin knows his name. Burke gets David to confess that he was hiding from his father in the phone booth at the diner (28). The elder is cordial with the boy and offers to make him a drink. When Burke steps into the kitchen, David hides the bleeder valve in the couch cushions when he's not looking.

Back at Collinwood, Victoria comes downstairs, checking on any word about David. Elizabeth states that Matthew hasn't returned to his cottage yet. When Vicki suggests that Mrs. Stoddard call the police, the elder woman gets angry and blames the governess for the boy's disappearance. Victoria tries to defend herself but Elizabeth firmly tells her to leave.

Carolyn goes to Victoria's room and they have a talk. Vicki is pensive and moody, so Carolyn tries to lift her spirits with some humor. She also assuages her feelings, assuring that David will come back and all will be forgiven. As thunder rumbles outside, Carolyn is confident that "he'll come chasing home." Victoria wants to be left alone, but Carolyn reminds her that if she didn't find the valve, Burke would still be on the hook for something he didn't do.

As David has a "Burke Devlin Special", Burke tells David that he, Laura, and Roger were friends before Roger married Laura. David tells Burke he's not what he had expected based on Roger's horror stories. Burke declares a friendship and asks David if he wants to be friends. The boy doesn't answer right away and his expression is hesitant.

Meanwhile, Carolyn scolds her mother for blaming Miss Winters for David running away and for not believing Vicki when she discovered that David had tampered with the brakes. Elizabeth is still in denial, insisting that children don't deliberately injure or kill their parents. To which Carolyn retorts that she had dreamed of killing her own father, who left her mother before she was born. Elizabeth finally admits she doesn't think Victoria is responsible. Maggie Evans calls from the restaurant about David, reporting that she had seen him about forty-five minutes prior. Elizabeth dispatches Carolyn with the car to continue the search. She also goes upstairs to apologize to Victoria.

David and Burke talk about Roger's hatred and fathers in general. David wishes his father was more like Burke. During their conversation, David reveals that his parents were "always fighting" and that it was mainly about Burke. When David goes to wash up, Burke finds the bleeder valve that the boy had hidden under the couch cushion.

Memorable quotes[]

Elizabeth: If anything happens to him...Carolyn, I love David.

Carolyn: He's a horror, and you know it.


Burke (to David): What are you supposed to be, a doorstop?


Burke: David, let me tell you something. I've broken lots of promises in my time. To doctors, lawyers, firemen, even an Indian chief. But to a nine-year-old boy, never.


Carolyn: We haven't had a real storm since you've been here, have we?

Vicki: No.

Carolyn: Well, prepare yourself for an education. You think this place is spooky now? Wait till the power fails. Collinwood by candlelight...with all the ghosts waiting to pounce.


Elizabeth: He [David] belongs to this house, Miss Winters. And there's no peace here...not for me, not for Carolyn, not for poor little David. And I'm not sure there ever can be peace.

Dramatis personae[]

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

  • This episode is one of the rare ones that required a second take.
  • This is the first episode when Carolyn can be heard whining, "But why?" This will become something of an unofficial catchphrase for her.
  • This is the first episode with a thunderstorm (which will become extremely frequent as the series progresses).

Story[]

  • Burke makes David a "Burke Devlin Special" (two kinds of fruit juice).
  • Carolyn's father walked out before she was born.
  • The Collins family has survived for almost 300 years.
  • TIMELINE: David has been waiting for Burke for almost two hours. David was last seen by Maggie Evans at the diner forty-five minutes ago.

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

  • Joan Bennett stumbles over her lines a couple times in this episode.
  • As Vicki and Elizabeth walk into the drawing room after Elizabeth returns from Matthew's cottage, the shadow of a camera or boom mic can be seen moving on the foyer wall.
  • It is established here that Carolyn's father left Elizabeth before Carolyn was born. However, this would not be the case in later storylines in which it is stated he left two years after she was born.
  • Mitch Ryan flubs a line when talking to David: "We both know where we want, and we go and get it."
  • A camera lens struggles to come into focus as Burke sits with David near the end of the episode and again when Burke looks out the window at the approaching storm.

End credits announcements[]

  • Share the color and pageantry of Lucy Johnson's wedding day as ABC News brings you live color coverage starting Saturday morning at eleven thirty, ten thirty Central Time on ABC.
  • Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis production.

External Links []

Dark Shadows - Episode 29 on the IMDb

The Collinsport Historical Society - Dark Shadows Diary - Episode 29

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 29: The Burke Devlin Special

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 29: 8/4/66

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