211

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Number	208
Timeline	1967
Narrator	Alexandra Moltke (as Victoria Winters)
Writer	Ron Sproat
Director	John Sedwick
Broadcast	April 18, 1967 (Tuesday)
Recorded	April 14, 1967 (Friday)
Video	Complete: Disc 25 Collection 1: Disc 1
We have 3 images of Dark Shadows 211

While Jason and Elizabeth argue over the whereabouts of Willie, a mysterious cousin pays a visit to Collinwood, one with an uncanny resemblance to an 18th century ancestor...

Synopsis

Teaser

My name is Victoria Winters. The dawn will soon come to Collinwood, and bring with it the unresolved troubles of another day. A man, a frightening and violent man, has disappeared. But the fear he has created has not disappeared with him. Wherever he is, some violence is surely taking place.

Willie has entered a secret chamber in the Collins Family Mausoleum and found a solitary coffin, wrapped in thick, sturdy chains. Convinced that this is the resting place of the coveted family jewels, he gets to work on prying the chains loose. Willie opens the coffin. A look of terror passes across his face as a hand reaches out of the coffin and grabs him by the throat!

Act I

Jason is arguing with Elizabeth in the drawing room at Collinwood. They are both concerned about the recent disappearance of Willie. Elizabeth's concern stems mostly from the fact that she wants to be sure whether or not Willie is gone for good. Jason, convinced that Willie is embarking upon some scheme without him, is not willing to let Willie flee town without answering to him first. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth goes upstairs to retire. Mrs. Johnson enters the foyer and has a conversation with Jason. She tells Jason that she saw Willie taking supplies from the tool shed before he left Collinwood last evening.

Act II

Mrs. Johnson further reveals that Willie had grown uncharacteristically infatuated with the portrait of Barnabas Collins hanging in the foyer. Mrs. Johnson elaborates that she in fact told Willie about a legend concerning a treasure trove of family jewels that had been buried with the 18th century family matriarch, Naomi Collins. Jason now has a sneaking suspicion about where Willie may have gone. Meantime, at the Collins Family Mausoleum the Caretaker enters and senses an evil presence in the air.

Act III

A short while later, Jason arrives at Eagle Hill Cemetery. He gets into an uncomfortable discussion with the Caretaker concerning the three primary occupants of the mausoleum. The Caretaker, being intensely superstitious, drones on about how the place is cursed and that there is evil afoot. Jason inspects the inner chamber and finds the remains of one of Willie's cigarette butts on the lip of Joshua Collins' coffin (though the Caretaker mistakenly identifies it as "the chid Sarah's"). Saying nothing more to the Caretaker, Jason races back to Collinwood.

Act IV

Upon arriving, he argues some more with Elizabeth. Elizabeth complains that Jason has been ineffectual at finding Willie. He doesn't tell her about his sojourn to Eagle Hill Cemetery. Jason worries that his friendly Willie might be dead and someone wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be found. Jason questions himself is Willie really dead, who killed him, and what would he tell Elizabeth, but he keeps his fears to himself and doesn't say a word. A short while later, there is a knock at the front door. Mrs. Johnson answers, and is greeted by a well-dressed gentleman who introduces himself as being a cousin to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, visiting from England and wishing to pay his respects. Although clearly stunned, by the man's resemblance to the portrait, but as yet we don't know this, Mrs. Johnson lets him in and goes to fetch Mrs. Stoddard. The gentleman removes his hat and cloak and stands next to the portrait hanging in the foyer. Coincidentally enough, the man in the portrait and the man standing next to it appear to be the spitting image of one another. This is Barnabas Collins.

Memorable quotes

Jason: (regarding Willie's disappearance) But I've looked for him! Every place conceivable!

Elizabeth: Well, I suggest you look for him in a few inconceivable places! Knowing Willie that's probably where he'll be.

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Caretaker (about Willie): Criminal! That's what he is... criminal!

Jason: What do you mean by that?

Caretaker: He pretended to be someone he wasn't.

Jason: Huh, if that were a crime, we'd all be in jail.

---

Mrs. Johnson: I know what I see when I see it.

---

Barnabas: (to Mrs. Johnson, smiling malevolently) Oh, madam, if you would, you may tell her that it's Barnabas Collins...

Dramatis personae

• ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard →
• Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins →
• ← John Karlen as Willie Loomis →
• ← Daniel F. Keyes as Caretaker →
• ← Clarice Blackburn as Sarah Johnson →
• ← Dennis Patrick as Jason McGuire →

Background information and notes

Production

• This is the first appearance of Jonathan Frid playing the role of Barnabas Collins. Although Barnabas makes a cameo appearance in 210, his hand reaching out from his coffin to grab Willie, Frid was not involved with the character until this episode. Barnabas' hand was that of regular series double Timothy Gordon, not Frid.
• This is the first appearance of Barnabas' silver-handled, Wolf's-head cane. The cane is likewise depicted in the portrait of Barnabas that hangs in the Collinwood foyer, but this is the first time that it makes a physical appearance. Barnabas carries this cane wherever he goes, and is almost never seen without it. The style and purpose of the cane was inspired by a prop used by Lon Chaney's character Larry Talbot in the 1941 film The Wolf Man. In the Marilyn Ross series of Dark Shadows novels, it is revealed that the cane actually conceals a sword tip, which Barnabas is known to wield in times of crisis. This alternative facet of the cane's purpose is exclusive to the novels; Barnabas has never been seen to use his cane as a weapon in this manner throughout the course of the actual television series. Fans of the show have affectionately taken to calling the cane the Willie-beater thanks to its alternative use, though he also used the silver wolf's-head handle to bludgeon a werewolf.
• John Karlen as Willie Loomis appears in a flashback to the closing scenes from episode 210, but otherwise does not appear in this episode.
• This episode was long believed to survive only as a kinescope copy; however, a restored version was released on TB C6D4. This version is taken mostly from the master videotape, with original 1967 commercials reinserted from the kinescope. Act IV and the closing credits, which are cut off by a commercial for The Joey Bishop Show, appear to have been digitally restored to near-videotape quality from the kinescope as well.

Story

• Mrs. Johnson relates the Legend of Naomi Collins in this episode. The legend states that Naomi received a large quantity of expensive jewelry from an overseas pirate. It is rumored that she is buried with these valuables at the time of her death. Later episodes will prove that Naomi was not buried with a wide array of finery. Whether or not she in fact received such gifts from a pirate has never been confirmed or denied.
• This is one of the few times in the series that Barnabas is seen wearing a hat. He wears it again in episode 218.
• How does Barnabas manage to get a set of modern clothing so quickly? Willie is unlikely to have gone to buy a set for him, given his severe blood loss from Barnabas' attack, as seen in the next few episodes, and the fact he is virtually persona non grata in Collinsport. Did Barnabas find a local tailor and "persuade" them to give him the outfit gratis earlier that evening?
• When Barnabas first arrives at Collinwood, he must wait at the threshold until Mrs. Johnson invites him inside. (While this follows the belief that vampires (and evil spirits in general) may not enter a dwelling until invited by the owner to do so - and later, Barnabas pauses at the Evans threshold until Maggie invites him in - Collinwood was Barnabas' home in 1795, and he shouldn't need permission to enter it)
• TIMELINE: Day 58 begins, and will end in 212. It was last night when Jason said Willie was leaving Collinsport for good, and when Willie got the tools from the shed.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• Joan Bennett stumbles over her lines slightly during her opening conversation with Jason.
• In the Collins mausoleum, Dennis Patrick points to the wrong grave markers as he reads the names aloud. When he verbally indicates Naomi and Joshua's coffins, he is pointing to the plaques that correspond to Sarah and Naomi Collins. Daniel F. Keyes points to the coffin of Joshua and mistakenly claims that its occupant is a child.

External Links 

Dark Shadows - Episode 211 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 211: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner