Dark Shadows (1966-1971): Starring Alexandra Isles, Jonathan Frid, Joan Bennett, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Grayson Hall, David Henesy, Joel Crothers, Thayer David, Lara Parker, Mitch Ryan, Roger Davis, David Ford, John Karlen, Humbert Allen Astredo, Robert Rodan, Clarice Blackburn, Diana Millay, David Selby, Bob O'Connell, Don Briscoe, Anthony George, Jerry Lacy, Denise Nickerson, Dennis Patrick, Sharon Smyth, Addison Powell, Robert Gerringer, Terrayne Crawford, Timothy Gordon, Craig Slocum, Alex Stevens, Betsy Durkin, Vince O'Brien, Duane Morris, James Shannon, Natalie NOrwick, James Hall, Paula Laurence, Gene Lindsey, Ken McEwen, Michael Stroka, Mary Cooper, Keith Prentice, David Hurst....Director John Sedwick, Sean Sullivan, Henry Kaplan, Jack Sullivan, John Weaver, Pennbery Jones....Screenplay Art Wallace, Ron Sproat, Gordon Russell, Sam Hall.
When "Dark Shadows" came to television from 1966 to 1971, audiences had never seen anything like it before. It was a combination of daytime soap opera, supernatural horror drama and Gothic mystery/romance. It was said that children, despite being frightened of the show, did not miss the episodes which they were able to see after school, that nuns in certain convents which have TV sets found the show to be their guilty pleasure and that this TV series garnered such a huge following that they made a film of it "Night Of Dark Shadows" in 1971. Filmed on location in the coastal town of Newport, Rhode Island and the historic Carey mansion, the series followed Victoria Winters (Alexandra Isles and in later seasons played by other actresses), the governess to the Collins family, a distinguished, old money family whose estate, Collinwood, has a history of witchcraft, hauntings, murders, suicides, and other strange, unexplained phenomena. Through the eyes of Victoria Winters, we learn of the family's dark secrets. Throughout the evolving series, the Collins fight for inheritance of the estate, even if it means murder, betray one another, fall in love, scheme, rage, curse and basically destroy themselves till they are no more. Dark Shadows was essentially a sort of Edgar Allan Poe-inspired, Grand Guignol Gothic melodrama in a whose powerful theme was that of humanity's wickedness toward each other. Because it was horror, the humans often encountered ghosts, werewolves and possibly the world's most famous vampire before Anne Rice's Lestat - Barnabas Collins played by Jonahtan Frid. Barnabas was despicable, murderous, money-hungry and yet experienced a tragic romance. The first seasons (1966-1968) were shot in dull, black and white, and the slowly unfolding mystery of the Collins was the focus. The latter seasons from 1969 to 1971 were in color and the series picked up momentum. The horror was toned up a notch, though tame and campy by today's standards. The looming shadow of the vampire Barnabas was all over the latter episodes but to spice things up, the series also featured time travel and parallelism from the Victorian Era to the late 1960's. The show was filmed mostly inside a studio set and it shows, except for the few exterior shots of the Rhode Island coast and the Carey mansion. The teleplays, written by various writers, suffered from excessive melodrama and was unmistakably corny but for some reason, this show was popular and well-received by TV audiences. The show's original music was by Bob Cobert, including a subtle but haunting main theme and Victorian as well as 1960's costumes by Mary McKinley, Hazel Roy and Ramsey Mostoller. All the episode of the show's six seasons are available on DVD. It has also appeared on the Sci-Fi channel and elsewhere on television. This was a wonderful series full of intrigue, suspense, danger, and genuine moments of fear and enjoys a huge cult following to this very day.
When "Dark Shadows" came to television from 1966 to 1971, audiences had never seen anything like it before. It was a combination of daytime soap opera, supernatural horror drama and Gothic mystery/romance. It was said that children, despite being frightened of the show, did not miss the episodes which they were able to see after school, that nuns in certain convents which have TV sets found the show to be their guilty pleasure and that this TV series garnered such a huge following that they made a film of it "Night Of Dark Shadows" in 1971. Filmed on location in the coastal town of Newport, Rhode Island and the historic Carey mansion, the series followed Victoria Winters (Alexandra Isles and in later seasons played by other actresses), the governess to the Collins family, a distinguished, old money family whose estate, Collinwood, has a history of witchcraft, hauntings, murders, suicides, and other strange, unexplained phenomena. Through the eyes of Victoria Winters, we learn of the family's dark secrets. Throughout the evolving series, the Collins fight for inheritance of the estate, even if it means murder, betray one another, fall in love, scheme, rage, curse and basically destroy themselves till they are no more. Dark Shadows was essentially a sort of Edgar Allan Poe-inspired, Grand Guignol Gothic melodrama in a whose powerful theme was that of humanity's wickedness toward each other. Because it was horror, the humans often encountered ghosts, werewolves and possibly the world's most famous vampire before Anne Rice's Lestat - Barnabas Collins played by Jonahtan Frid. Barnabas was despicable, murderous, money-hungry and yet experienced a tragic romance. The first seasons (1966-1968) were shot in dull, black and white, and the slowly unfolding mystery of the Collins was the focus. The latter seasons from 1969 to 1971 were in color and the series picked up momentum. The horror was toned up a notch, though tame and campy by today's standards. The looming shadow of the vampire Barnabas was all over the latter episodes but to spice things up, the series also featured time travel and parallelism from the Victorian Era to the late 1960's. The show was filmed mostly inside a studio set and it shows, except for the few exterior shots of the Rhode Island coast and the Carey mansion. The teleplays, written by various writers, suffered from excessive melodrama and was unmistakably corny but for some reason, this show was popular and well-received by TV audiences. The show's original music was by Bob Cobert, including a subtle but haunting main theme and Victorian as well as 1960's costumes by Mary McKinley, Hazel Roy and Ramsey Mostoller. All the episode of the show's six seasons are available on DVD. It has also appeared on the Sci-Fi channel and elsewhere on television. This was a wonderful series full of intrigue, suspense, danger, and genuine moments of fear and enjoys a huge cult following to this very day.