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Number |
9 |
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Recorded |
June 23, 1966 |
Video | |
We have 2 images of Dark Shadows 9 |
Carolyn tells Victoria the legend of Widows' Hill. Carolyn goes to the Collinsport Inn and asks to see Burke.
Synopsis[]
- Opening narration
- My name is Victoria Winters. In the short time I've been here, Collinwood has made me a part of its strangeness. A strangeness that seems to reach out and touch everyone and everything that lives within its walls, for the past can be a prison, not only for me but for others, for all those driven by fears of the future.
Teaser
At the Collinsport Inn, Bill Malloy calls Burke and gets hung up on, so he goes to visit Elizabeth. Elizabeth is surprised because they had spoken that morning (8) and wants to put away her tea service, but Bill pulls out a folder and tells her it is urgent. Elizabeth looks concerned and they adjourn to the drawing room and close the doors.
Act I
Inside the drawing room, Bill asks Elizabeth if he can use her telephone while she looks over some contracts which need her signature. He calls his secretary and tells her he will be there for about a half hour while Elizabeth looks at the contracts, setting them aside. Elizabeth asks Bill why he really came over and he uses an excuse that they need to raise the price of sardines, but she doesn't believe that is the real reason. She tells him she thinks he is there because of Burke and asks what he is up to. Bill tells Elizabeth that he saw Burke last night as Carolyn enters.
Carolyn and Bill have a friendly (uncle-niece-like) chat and she learns she's already met the mysterious and, according to Carolyn, handsome Burke Devlin (3). Carolyn leaves and Bill tells Elizabeth that Carolyn should marry Joe and get Carolyn out of Collinwood. His main premise appears to be that bad things are gonna happen at Collinwood which will cause Carolyn to see things she shouldn't have to see. Elizabeth says Burke can't hurt Carolyn or her, but Bill wonders what kind of revenge he has planned after spending time in prison. Bill admires Elizabeth and is full of fishing and sea-like analogies.
Act II
Upstairs in Victoria's room, Carolyn tells Victoria that it's 100 feet from the top of Widows' Hill to the sea, and that three people (Josette and two governesses) leapt from it. In an overly-dramatic voice, Carolyn tells Victoria there's a legend that a third governess will join them. Carolyn's surprised, but thrilled that Victoria hasn't been fired. Carolyn admires Victoria her strength and admits she’s scared of people and hateful toward Collinwood. Carolyn tells Victoria about Joe's marriage proposal (8) - far from the first one, and her cold feet whenever he proposes. Carolyn envies Victoria her knowledge of Burke, whom Carolyn sees as the polar opposite of Joe. Bill tells Elizabeth that Burke’s bitter and angry, but will consider himself poor until he's bought out the Collins Family. Elizabeth hears knocking on the door, which frightens her for a moment, but she turns down Bill's offer to accompany her to the door.
Act III
No one is at the door when Elizabeth opens it, but in the foyer she finds a broken teacup. Elizabeth blames the knocks and breaks on the 9-year-old Poltergeist, David. Elizabeth is "delighted" at the broken teacup and the knock and when Bill asks why she admits that she's scared of Burke, but that the teacup incident has grounded her. Bill reads Elizabeth the riot act and tells her Burke is too dangerous to ignore. Upstairs, Carolyn says that Burke sounds marvelous. Victoria says that Burke was always asking questions about Elizabeth and Roger while telling stories of growing up in Collinsport. Carolyn recalls Burke threatening to paddle her and believes he would have, which only fascinates her more. Carolyn asks Victoria to finish her letter and offers to mail it in town.
Act IV
Downstairs, Bill is on the telephone making arrangements while Elizabeth listens from the couch. He has cooked up a scheme to get Carolyn to go on a trip with his niece. Bill tells Elizabeth it is her responsibility to get Carolyn out of the house and this is the best way, but Elizabeth thinks he is wasting his time.
Victoria finishes the letter and gives it to Carolyn who tells her not to put a stamp on it, she will pick one up at the hotel. Victoria questions Carolyn's intentions and when Carolyn says she is only going to the hotel to get a stamp, Victoria very slowly and purposefully puts one on it, and tells her she now has no reason to go to the hotel.
Meanwhile, Bill tells Carolyn he wants her to go on a trip around the country with his niece and grand-niece, to keep the teenage daughter company. Carolyn wants to know why they want to send her away and tells them she will not go, correctly suspecting it's a ruse to keep her away from Collinwood and Burke. Bill admits he cooked up the failed scheme. Carolyn asks Bill to give her a ride to town.
At the Collinsport Inn, after dropping Vicki's letter in the mail slot, Carolyn goes to the phone booth to call Burke's room, then asks if she can come up for a visit.
Memorable quotes[]
- Carolyn: How are things at the fish factory?
- Bill: Swimmin' along, Princess, just swimmin' along!
- Elizabeth: There are no ghosts here.
- Bill: You can say that? You who haven't stepped foot off this hill in 18 years?
- Bill: Liz, I like you. I think you're the greatest woman on the face of this Earth.
- Elizabeth: Why? Because I'm not afraid of Burke Devlin?
- Bill: Because you plant your feet firm on the deck when the gale blows. Because you hold your head up high and damn the Devil. Because you don't know how to run scared. Well, Liz, we'll stop him...you and me, no matter what Burke tries to do.
Dramatis personae[]
- ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard →
- ← Frank Schofield as Bill Malloy →
- ← Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard →
- ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →
Background information and notes[]
Production[]
- This is the only episode where a telephone is seen on the clerk's desk at the Collinsport Inn.
- Bill Malloy's first name is given for the first time.
- This is the first mention of the fact that Burke Devlin spent time in prison. Previously we have just been told he left ten years ago and has returned, having made his fortune. Elizabeth says he committed a crime, but the nature of that crime is still undisclosed.
Story[]
- Three people have jumped off Widows' Hill to their deaths. Josette Collins, the wife of the "madman" who built Collinwood, was one of them, along with two others who were both governesses. The legend goes that the body of a third governess will be found dead. It would eventually turn out to be Victoria Winters herself, as revealed in 967.
- It's 100 feet from the edge of Widows' Hill to the water below.
- GHOSTWATCH: There is a knock at the main doors of Collinwood; however, no one is there. A broken teacup is found on the floor.
Bloopers and continuity errors[]
- After Bill leaves the hotel, the camera pulls back and hits a plant sitting near the counter.
- Elizabeth finds the broken teacup on the floor of the foyer, but she should have heard it break in a fall, even with the doors of the drawing room closed. A broken teacup but no pieces on the floor.
- Actress Joan Bennett stutters through her line: "I'm not going to worry, wonder and plan until I'm sure - absolutely sure he means us no harm".
End credits announcements[]
- Enjoy a refreshing new fun show 'The Newlywed Game'. Through a check and double check system of questions and answers, attractive young couples find out how well they know their mates. Laughs come fast. Watch the premiere of 'The Newlywed Game', Monday afternoon on ABC.
- Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis production.
External Links []
Dark Shadows - Episode 9 on the IMDb
The Collinsport Historical Society - Dark Shadows Diary - Episode 9
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 9: There are no ghosts here
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 9: 7/7/66