Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara has an undying (and undead) affection for “Dark Shadows,” that grand old gothic soap opera, and she carried her torch to a scary place this weekend — the Los Angeles Marriott at Burbank Airport.
There were, mercifully, no vampires in attendance at this weekend’s “Dark Shadows in the Sun” convention.
Sure, there were a few Victorian cape coats, at least two wolf-head canes and several “Barnabas Collins for president” T-shirts (though with Johnny Depp’s face rather than that of role creator Jonathan Frid). But nowhere to be seen were the bouncing, writhing goth-tramp girls and boys who show up for “Twilight” premieres or appearances by the “True Blood” cast. This may have been due to the convention’s location — the Burbank Airport Marriott does not scream “fetch me my plum-colored waistcoat” — or the fact that it was 110 degrees outside. It could be that all the convention-goers were saving their costumes for the competition Saturday night or even Comic-Con International. But I think it had more to do with the demographic, which was way more “Lady Madonna” than Lady Gaga.
“Dark Shadows” was, after all, a gothic daytime drama that aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971. So if you’re under 40, you may not know what you missed.
Created by Dan Curtis and centered on the denizens of Collinwood Manor, “Dark Shadows” was a highly theatrical, often time-traveling tale of ghosts, werewolves, witches and, of course, vampires, mainly Frid’s Barnabas Collins. A character with an instantly high cult quotient — not to mention an excellent collection of waistcoats — Barnabas quickly took over the show; one of his old fans, Depp, is set to play him in a feature-film version (hence the T-shirts).
All eyeliner, clenched shoulders and inner-turmoil-concealing woodenness, Frid’s Barnabas walked the high wire between high drama and camp even at the time. Seen through a modern lens, “Dark Shadows” is often simply hilarious. It was shot live and on the cheap, so actors flub their lines in almost every scene, and off-stage noise — a member of the crew coughing, something heavy falling — tests their grim professionalism on a regular basis. And since this is a daytime drama, there is a lot of talking — A Lot of Talking — and not much biting and certainly none of the extreme sex and violence we’ve come to expect from our monster shows.
But at the time, it was mesmerizing, unlike anything else on television, romantic, deep and, at times, truly frightening. Who can forget Josette’s eerie music box or the dollhouse bursting into flames? Even now the sight of young Sarah falling to the ground as the witch Angelique sticks hairpins into the child’s doll cannot fail to move. And Barnabas, oh Barnabas, with his stilted speech, reckless, cold fury and obvious desire to be loved. Back then, vampires didn’t need body glitter or a Southern shtick, they had faces.
Still, for better or worse, “Dark Shadows” is pretty much ground zero for the romantic tormented vampire: Barnabas is a man cursed by love and over the course of the show comes to grips with his humanity through his growing feelings for Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall), who does her best to save him from himself. Sound familiar? “Dark Shadows,” which at the time crowed more over its ability to draw a new generation to daytime drama than its radical shift in defining vampires, predates “Twilight,” “True Blood,” Stephen King (Collinswood is set in Collinsport, Maine, which cannot be far from Bangor) and even the queen of the humanized monster herself, Anne Rice.
Barnabas Collins is, in fact, the first pop-culture vampire with a heart, so attention must be paid.
And it was. This is not the first gathering of the faithful — Frid has been putting in appearances since the early ’80s. For a cultish show with an aging cast and fan base, “Dark Shadows” still draws a good crowd — more than 500 fans tested the strength of the Marriott’s air conditioning by cramming into a ballroom to see Frid host a series of “best scenes” chosen by fans via his website.
And if anyone was disturbed by the frail appearance of the 86-year-old Frid or the fact that he was miked so the audience could hear (and wait for) every exhalation, they did not show it — he received standing ovations upon his entrance and exit and scattered cheers for any comment, even those clearly read from a prepared text.
Although “Dark Shadows” helped launch the careers of other actors who would become better known for future roles — Kate Jackson, Marsha Mason, John Karlen, Thayer David and David Selby — Frid, despite other films and a successful Broadway run in “Arsenic and Old Lace,” will always be Barnabas Collins. “Good thing I got the role,” he said, above the din of applause as he took the stage.
He was followed by the younger (69) and loquacious Selby, who played Quentin Collins and has a novel and memoir to tout. Swinging between self-promotion and political analysis— “the ’60s did not fail,” he said repeatedly as if someone were arguing with him, which they certainly were not — he offered a cultural context for “Dark Shadows.” Though often kind of crazy — he dragged in Eldrige Cleaver and Angela Davis and several times seemed to be comparing the show with the works of Bob Dylan — it was equally astute. “Dark Shadows,” he said, recognized the issues of the time — feminism, civil rights, gay rights, even a rising consciousness about addiction — and dealt with them through fantasy.
All of which is true, if also taking full benefit of hindsight, and has been said repeatedly of the current fascination with monster culture. More interesting perhaps was Selby’s praise of Curtis, whose mantra, through all the flubbed lines and falling scenery, through all the weird, cheesy time-travel scenes, the endless monologues and the crazy soft-porn-spooky music, was: “Keep going.” His belief was the flubbed lines didn’t matter, that sets would fall and story lines make no sense, but the fans were there; they loved the show because they loved the characters, so all the cast had to do was keep the faith and keep filming.
Thereby, “Dark Shadows” is a template not only for our current crop of vampire tales or even “Lost,” but also for all of television. Not bad for a vampire soap.
– Mary McNamara
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Worth mentioning is the Top 15 hit, "Quentin's Theme" from 1969. Quentin was David Selby's character, much removed from David's West Virginia roots.
I THINK THAT DAVID SELBY A.KA.(quientin COLLINS)DOES A GOOD SINGING SONG FROM HIS POEMS AND STILL THINK THAT HE DOES A GREAT ACTING ROLE AS QUIENTIN COLLINS BUT ALSO WITH JONATHAN FRID ALSO DOES GREAT POETRY SONGS THAT I LIKE VERY MUCH AND AS FOR THE REST OF THE CAST OF MY FAVORITE PROGRAM OF DARK SHADOWS WILL ALWAYS BE MY FAVORITE PROGRAM BECAUSE I THINK THAT JONATHAN FRID AND DAVID SELBY ARE GREAT ACTORS AS WELL FROM WENDY SELLS A FAN.
Dark Shadows didn't even have vampires (or ghosts or werewolves) in the beginning. They added those when the show began to fail in the ratings.
Ratings went up as a result of their addition, but finally, even this very different soap opera failed, ultimately coming back in the form of reruns on the (then) SciFi Channel several years ago.
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr Frid portray the elder brother on the stage in the classic "Arsenic and Old Lace", opposite Larry Storch as his henchman.
It was a delight.
I'm pleased to see that Mr Frid is still up and about.
Dark Shadows filled a void in time of 60's kids coming home from school. Brain dead from classed and sports we needed a little down time once home from school. Dark Shadows filled the void in it's own odd way. We who had grown up on Late Night monster flicks of the 1960's easily slipped into this new mode of day time soap. It was natural to watch. It was fun and dark. The world we were coming into. Frid was perfectly cast in an almost Spock like teenage angst of facing ones dark side or unknown side. The hidden world still forming in a teens mind and soul. Dark dreams and fears of youth came true with each dark tale. Breaking into the cripts stealing bodies. Finding the unknown. All things we were soon ready to explore in the 60's and early 70's. Things your parents did not talk about or tell you. Dark Shadows was an early escape from the tension of Viet Nam and the war. The riots in the inner cities. And the killing of JFK, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King just to mention a few. How could we not dwell on death and an afterlife.
And let us not forget the myriad Dark Shadows novels (horror romance mysteries) that were sold. They came in a hideous off green binding with a still from the show in an oval on the front of the book.
Just as campy as the show, and of course, just as fun.
You can sometimes find them in used book stores, as I believe they have long been out of print.
I've enjoyed the Dark Shadows convention in the past (they used to be at the LAX Marriot). I didn't attend this year, so i especially appreciate the coverage. Dark Shadows was the ultimate "mood" show, and yes, a precursor to the present-day vamp mania. We Dark Shadows fans "got it" long ago. Long Live Dark Shadows!!
Thank you for your article and more the better because it was written by a fan. I attended the convention the last time it was held in Los Angeles and the best part for me was meeting other fans and visiting with friends. I am not an original fan but discovered DS as a teenager when reruns were aired. I love Barnabas and Johnathan Frid made Barnabas Collins! Ben Cross's Barnabas, and Tom Cruise's Lestat are week in comparison. I am looking forward to the seeing if Johnny Dep will be able to hold a candle to Johnathan Frid. DS rules!
Not likely because their movie is a spoof of the series and not serious at all. Hardcore fans will not like it I suspect. I don't plan on going to see it because they turned it into a joke. I didn't consider Dark Shadows to be campy at all but I guess some did or that happened a little later with other generations. It was from a different time and that was how they did things in the 60s besides it was actually a TV soap opera, just gothic in nature with a rather unknown actress, Alexandra Moltke playing Victoria Winters. As the show progressed it became spookier. Then the vampire came into the story about a year into it and other things over time. I think it was to get more audience viewing but it was the addition of Barnabas Collins that made the soap popular and Lara Parker as Angelique who was my favorite character and still is.
Veronica, I too was a fan of the original series and the re-runs a few years later. Mr. Frid was my first crush and I only had eyes for him. And the cheesy-ness only made my older siblings and I love it all the more.
Excepting the "balls" jokes, I really think Mr. Depp and Tim Burton tried their best at a labor of love. I don't see how they could have made a movie less than four hours long to capture the entire series. If you see it's on cable in the future, you might forgive them if you watch it. Take care.
The remake from 1991 was actually very good too and had some great actors: The wonderful Barbara Steele as Julia, the totally hot Ben Cross as Barnabas, "Invaders" star Roy Thinnes, Jean Simmons as Elizabeth. Much better acted and written than the old series I too ran home to watch every day after school. Too bad it only lasted one season. That being said, the old series will always have a special place in my heart. I still have an old set of those paperback novels based on the show and remember going with my best friend to see House of Dark Shadows. Glad to hear that Jonathan Frid is still with us. Can't wait for the Johnny Depp movie!
Many thanks to both Susan King and Mary Mc for covering the "original" Vampire/Werewolf/Maggie/Josette trio! I too was a visitor to Collinswood everyday after school until the last scene, which sadly brought the show full circle. I'm grateful there were 500 plus to greet the lively Mr. Frid and still hot Mr. Selby-plus all the other actors and contributors who honor the fans every year.
I look forward to Johnny Depp's take on Barnabas Collins (although Ben Cross was a very worthy successor) and only hope that Dark Shadows will live forever!
Although I was not present at this very special "DARK SHADOWS In the Sun" July 2010 Festival Event my Heart was surely with the legendary-Iconic "Cast & Crew/Writters" that brought much Life to DARK SHADOWS Gothic-Horror Classic TV Series and Movies. I grew up watching this much beloved Gothic TV Soap with all it's Mysteries of The Haunting-Rich COLLINS Family and other legendary characters. My sister & I used to run Home after school to catch "Dark Shadows" 3:00 pm Slot right after "General Hospital" and I will never forget it's ghostly wind music as it enraptured so many of us DS fans Hearts into their spellbinding/haunting storylines! The original 1966-1971 DARK SHADOWS will always be a big part of my Heart Life: Elizabeth, Rodger, Carolyn, David, Maggie, Willie, Victoria-her on that Train going to "Collinwoods" is ingrain in my mind for her adventure there as we know is just the start of a "deeper" c-h-i-l-l-s & Parellels twist to come, which is Barnabas, Chris, Quentin, Angelique, Rev. Trask, Jeb Hawks, Yaeger, etc.,. the list is "amazing" of such Iconic characters and Acting legends Jonathin Frid, David Selby, Lara Parker, Nancy Barrett, Kathy Leigh-Scott, John Karlen, Jerry Lacy, David Hennesy, Chris Pennock, etc.,. that brought those characters to vivid Life! I will never forget you DARK SHADOWS original Classic Cast & Crew and Writters/Creator Dan CURTIS that brought The DARK SHADOWS Family into our Homes with a unforgettable chilly-bite. I look forward to Director Tim BURTON's with Author/Scripter Seth Grahame-Smith haunting storyline for the new major filming of DARK SHADOWS Starring Johnny DEPP for an hopeful Winter 2011 release…'I can't wait! HAPPY 4OTH Anniversary DARK SHADOWS and many more to come!!!
…'And of course how could I possibly forget the Doctor of the legendary Iconic DARK SHADOWS-Gothic TV Classic 1966-1971 Dr. Julia Hoffman played by Grayson Hall and the Wolf Chris Jennings played by Don Biscoe whom both have passed on/I "missed them" so and may they rest in sweet harmony & peace. Like I mentioned/said above the origional Classic DARK SHADOWS is my Heart and I love the whole legendary Cast & Crew "always" their incrediable, unforgottable and very "special" to me! Love you DARK SHADOWS and "thanks" for making my childhood an lively one filled with mysterious adventures. Happy haunting-bite 40th Anniversary and "many" more!!! I also "enjoyed" very much the DARK SHADOWS 1991-Revival TV series that Starred Ben Cross/Barnabas, Joanna Goings/Victoria, Jean Simmons/Elizabeth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt/David…'the Cast did a "wonderful" job with the remake of bringing our beloved DS Family back to us DS fans. Looking forward to the new DARK SHADOWS 2011-Winter Movie release Starring fame Actor Johnny DEPP, can't wait!
Out of all the actors, here is who I think should be cast.
Barnabas Collins – Johnny Depp (it's official)
Josette DuPres/Maggie Evans – Rachel McAdams or Keira Knightly
Victoria Winters – Christina Ricci
Dr. Julia Hoffman – Sigourney Weaver or Meryl Streep or Emma Thompson
Angelique Bouchard – Charlize Theron
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard – Susan Sarandon or Helen Mirren or Raquel Welch
Willie Loomis – Jake Gyllenhaal
Carolyn Stoddard – Reese Witherspoon
Burke Devlin – George Clooney
Roger Collins – Michael Keaton
why are the last 4 letters of Reese Witherspoon blocked out?
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