DARK SHADOWS: THE CREATION OF ADAM AND EVE

Marie Wallace, Robert Rodan, Humbert Allen Astredo

DARK SHADOWS: ADAM AND EVE ARC (1968).

When I was a kid I loved Dark Shadows, but as I got older I only caught part of some of the story arcs. One of these was the arc involving Adam and Eve, which for much of its length also included that interminable business with the "dream-curse." Now that I've caught up with this arc, here are my impressions:

Wanting to finally lose his curse of vampirism, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) works with Dr. Lang and Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) to cobble together a creature that can house Barnabas' consciousness. The idea is that when his mind occupies a new body, he will no longer be a vampire. However, things don't go quite as planned. Barnabas indeed loses his curse, but the creation, "Adam," develops his own distinct consciousness. The two are linked together so that if Adam dies, Barnabas will revert to being a vampire. To say that none of this has any kind of scientific basis is an understatement! Eventually, Adam insists that Barnabas and Julia make him a mate or all Hell will break loose.

Robert Rodan was an unusual choice to play Dark Shadows' variation on the Frankenstein Monster, for Rodan was tall, dark, and handsome and probably made the best-looking "Frankenstein" ever. They put scars and stitches on his face, which made Adam feel he was "ugly," but none of that really disguised the actor's good looks -- why not give the housewives something to look at? Even better was the fact that Rodan was a very good actor, doing his early silent scenes of pantomime in such a fashion that made it convincing instead of comical. As Adam developed the ability to speak and acquired knowledge (much of that thanks to the efforts of Professor Stokes, played by Thayer David), Rodan successfully etched a portrait of a bitter, confused, sexually -- and even romantically -- aroused man-child who, while incredibly dangerous, was searching for love.

To that end, the show created Eve (Marie Wallace), who (as in Bride of Frankenstein) has absolutely no interest in Adam. This part of the story arc also employed the considerable talents of the smooth, urbane Humbert Allen Astredo as Nicholas Blair, a demonic figure who hoped to use Adam and Eve to create a new dark race. Eve's body, also put together from corpses, was imbued with the spirit of a long-dead murderess who was supposed to be one of the most evil women who had ever lived. That certainly gave the viewers some frightful situations to contemplate.

Unfortunately, little of much interest was done with Eve. She did not really become this demoness stalking the Collins family, and didn't even murder a single person. Instead she focused on Jeff Clark (Roger Davis), who was actually a displaced person she had known in a previous century and whom she wanted for her own. If they were going to turn Eve into a mere love-smitten kitten, one has to wonder why they gave her the spirit of a thoroughly degenerate and remorseless female in the first place. (In one of the series funnier moments, Angelique the witch, has the gall to say of Eve: "She is evil!" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.) In retrospect there seemed little purpose in even introducing the character, but at least the actress playing her was cast in other roles on the series later on.

I thought the writers missed the boat on another potential development: someone recognizing Adam's face, now being worn by a body of spare parts. What if the man that face belonged to had had a wife, family, parents, people who would recognize him even though he was dead? Not only did this never happen, there was never any interest in determining whom Adam may have been in his past life, nor did we even know if the brain currently residing in his cranium was the same one that had originally been inside his head. Who was "Adam?" Adam seemed to not only have a completely separate personality but no recollection of past events.

In the end, Adam goes off to Europe with the professor, who tells him there are things they can do about his scars. Professor Stokes eventually shows up again sans Adam, so one can assume the two did not live happily ever after. The policeman that Adam killed during a shoot out is never mentioned, and Adam -- whoever the hell he was -- is never seen again. Now that Frankenstein was gone, the Wolfman was next!

Verdict: Essentially a low-brow "borrowing" from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, but fun, and with some good actors to boot. ***.

NOTE: It's interesting to note that in season two of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful, the notion comes up that the dead woman, Lily, revived by Henry Frankenstein, will mate with his male experiment, John, and create a new dark race. Sound familiar? Later, however, she decides to mate with Dorian Gray instead, creating an even darker new race? .

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS

Kate Jackson and David Selby

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (1971). Produced and directed by Dan Curtis.

"Mrs. Collins, did you ever stop to think that perhaps you don't belong here?" -- Carlotta.

Painter Quentin Collins (David Selby) and his wife Tracy (Kate Jackson) move into Collinwood with their spooky housekeeper Carlotta (Grayson Hall). Quentin is fascinated by a portrait of long-dead Angelique (Lara Parker), who was hung as a witch. But her spirit still haunts the place, and Quentin finds himself possessed by his lookalike ancestor, Charles Collins, who was Angelique's lover even though she was married to his brother, Gabriel (Christopher Pennock). Quentin imagines that Tracy is Charles' wife Laura (Diana Millay) and tries to kill her. John Karlen and Nancy Barrett, who played Willie and Carolyn on the TV show, herein are cast as writer-couple Alex and Claire Jenkins, friends of Quentin and Tracy. Thayer David has a small role as a witch-hunting reverend, and Jim Storm is the unpleasant handyman, Gerard. Night of Dark Shadows was hastily cobbled together to cash in on the success of the previous big-screen version of the show, House of Dark Shadows, but it is in no way in the same league. The story is weak, the production (despite the grand house that stands in for Collinwood) cheapjack, the direction equally slipshod, badly scored (with what sounds like tin cans on occasion) and poorly photographed. The actors do the best they can, with Selby [Falcon Crest] and Jackson [Making Love], who was "introduced" in this picture (first appearing on the TV show), doing reasonably well, although John Karlen gives the liveliest performance. Millay is also good but hasn't enough to do, which is also the case with Parker. Grayson Hall is, well, Grayson Hall.

Verdict: Simply terrible. *.

THE EIGER SANCTION

Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy

THE EIGER SANCTION (1975). Director: Clint Eastwood.

"Sorry about this, but twice a year all of my blood must be replaced." -- Dragon

"With what?" -- Hemlock

Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) collects art treasures and can afford to pay for them by taking on assassination assignments for a strange agency headed by the bizarre "total albino," Dragon (Thayer David). Hemlock wants to retire but he's importuned into going after one last target, but all he's told is that it's one of the men on an international team attempting to scale the Eiger. Sounds intriguing? -- alas, the leisurely-placed Eiger Sanction takes forever to get going, and doesn't amount to much even when it finally gets to the mountain. Eastwood, who both stars and directs and is only passable at both, supposedly risked his life with location filming, so it's a shame that the results aren't more felicitous, as the movie has hardly any excitement or suspense. A type of semi-spy movie, Eiger not only has secret organizations but something about a germ warfare formula that comes to nothing. The supporting cast includes George Kennedy [Strait-Jacket] as a friend of Hemlock's; Gregory Walcott [The Steel Jungle] as Pope, a tough agent; Jack Cassidy [Richard Diamond] as an idiotic gay character who calls his dog "Faggot;" -- Hollywood's idea of a proud gay man? -- and Vonetta McGee as a lady spy who plays various games with Hemlock. Walcott is good, and McGee manages to retain her dignity despite the dumb proceedings.

Verdict: Macho meatheadedness is one thing, but at least make it entertaining! Stick with Play Misty for Me. *1/2.

HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS

Grayson Hall and Thayer David

HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS (1970). Director: Dan Curtis.

In this first theatrical feature based on the popular Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, the storyline that introduced vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) is retold, although it ultimately goes off in its own direction separate from the series. Looking for treasure, Willie Loomis (John Karlen) stumbles across a coffin containing the centuries-old Barnabas and inadvertently releases him. Barnabas introduces himself as a cousin to the American branch of the Collins family, and is struck by the resemblance of Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott) to his lost love, Josette. While Barnabas feeds upon young ladies in the vicinity, and even turns Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett) into one of the undead, two people figure out his secret: Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) and Professor Stokes (Thayer David). Julia discovers that there's a cell in Barnabas' blood that may be responsible for his condition and begins to cure him, falling in love with him as well. But when she discovers that the person he's committed to is not her but Maggie ..uh oh!  Like the series, House of Dark Shadows benefits from some good acting, with Karlen, David and Scott being especially notable; Don Briscoe as Carolyn's boyfriend and Grayson Hall as Julia are also effective, as is Louis Edmonds as Roger Collins. Joan Bennett shows up now and then as Elizabeth Collins, wringing her hands and looking worried. Roger Davis is fine as Maggie's boyfriend, Jeff, and Dennis Patrick (Dear Dead Delilah) appears as a sheriff. While Dan Curtis [Curse of the Black Widow] could never be considered a great stylist, he keeps things moving and manages to build up some tension toward the end. Certain sequences are especially atmospheric and there is some good art direction, most memorably in a climactic sequence in Barnabas' misty basement. The tune that Josette's music box plays is evocative and the old age make up used on Frid is quite convincing. There are some unintentionally comical moments, and this hasn't the visceral impact of the best of the Hammer horrors, but it really isn't at all bad. Followed by Night of Dark Shadows.

Verdict: About a hundred times better than the Tim Burton version. ***.

THE WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON

THE WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON (1973). Writer/director: Milton Moses Ginsberg.

Jack Whittier (Dean Stockwell) is a Washington D.C. reporter on assignment in Budapest when he is bitten by a werewolf. Back home he becomes the buffoonish president's (Biff McGuire) press agent, turns into a shaggy wolfman periodically, and murders mostly women. He sees the mark of the pentagram in the palms of his future victims, and a running "joke" has people he talks to confusing pentagram with pentagon. One suspects this was meant to be a hilarious satire, but it's more pitiful than funny. Thayer David and Michael Dunn [Dr. Loveless of The Wild, Wild West] have small roles, and were probably grateful they weren't on-screen in this mess for too long. Stockwell manages to escape unscathed, although he probably hoped few people would actually see the movie. It looks like it cost about 56 cents. Poorly done and dull to boot. Ads for the video say this is in the "tradition" of An American Werewolf in London, which was actually made nearly a decade later. While I don't think much of American Werewolf, it's an Oscar-contender compared to Washington.

Verdict: Atrocious! 1/2 *.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1959). Director: Henry Levin.

"Oh, goose, goose, goose!" Professor Lindenbrook when his daughter impatiently tells him to come to supper.

One could easily quibble and say that Journey is sometimes too silly for its own good, goes on too long, and that we still haven't gotten the ultimate film version of Jules Verne's fascinating novel, and while all this is true, it is also true that Journey is a very entertaining picture. Professor Lindenbrook (James Mason) is accompanied on the title journey by a student Alec (Pat Boone), a big Icelander named Hans (Peter Ronson), and the widow of a rival professor, Carla (Arlene Dahl). The bickering between Mason and Dahl is amusing (courtesy of screenwriters Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett), and the film works up suspense as our team tries to stay ahead of yet another rival scientist, Count Saknussem (Thayer David) who thinks of himself as the King of the Underworld. One of the most exciting scenes has the expedition encountering gigantic and hungry prehistoric dimetrodons (essentially big lizards) that nearly snack on Dahl. They also come across a section of the lost city of Atlantis [there were monsters in Verne's novel, but no Atlantis.] There are some wonderful sets and art direction; the special effects work is uneven but much of it is quite well done. Mason is excellent; Dahl, snappy; Boone, boyish and perky; and David marvelous as the villain of the piece. Leo Tover's cinematography is first-rate and Bernard Herrmann's beautiful and expressive score is nigh onto perfection. Diane Baker is lovely in a small role as Mason's daughter, Jenny. Verne's basic premise is one of the most compelling in fiction. Very handsome production and even a couple of pleasant tunes sung by Boone.

Verdict: Flawed but fascinating fantasy. ***.