Night of Dark Shadows

1971
PG
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

1.9K

YOUR RATING

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A painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.A painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.A painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

1.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews56

Featured review

5/10

Better on paper then on film

The film that was released as NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS doesn't begin to do justice to the screenplay penned by Sam Hall. The screenplay moves forward with intriguing clues scattered throughout (in the form of Quentin's daydreams and nightmares, as well as Carlotta's sometimes cryptic comments) as to the source and reasons for the haunting. As shot, the film basically followed the script--but MGM's forced butchery in the editing room, to achieve a 90-minute running time, turned the final product into a sometimes incomprehensible second-rate ghost story. I long for the day when the cut footage may be restored and a pristine new print (with Dolby Surround sound--or am I wishing for too much?) appears on DVD. ..

bekayess
May 17, 2001
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Trivia
Feature film debut of Kate Jackson.

Goofs
Near the beginning, Quentin goes to bed wearing gold (or yellow) pajamas. Then in his nightmare sequences that follow the pajamas are blue.

Quotes
Carlotta Drake: There is no longer any place for Mrs. Collins.

Alternate versions
The original director's cut of Night of Dark Shadows was screened for MGM executives at 128 minutes. Unhappy with the running time, studio head James Aubrey ordered director Dan Curtis to cut around 40 minutes out of the picture, as it was considered a B-programmer. Curtis was given only 24 hours to re-cut the picture, and the 97 minute version was approved by Aubrey. The picture was press screened at that length, but afterward an additional 4 minutes were cut from the picture without Dan Curtis' consent, probably in order to guarantee a GP rating (1971's PG equivalent) as all of this material cut was violent or sexually suggestive in nature. During release some of the preview (97 mins) prints were accidentally circulated and still show up today, probably through private collectors as the 97 min prints are no longer held in MGM's archive. Dan Curtis' 128 min original version has been considered lost and presumed destroyed for decades, but film historian Darren Gross unearthed the sole existing material for this version in August 1999. Plans for restoration and release of this version are currently being formulated.