The six-million-plus viewers of the afternoon serial, Dark Shadows will be glad to know that a feature film in color is being made of their favorite gallery of Gothics by MGM. Incorporating many of the favorite characters (but not all; in a half-hour a day for nearly four years, there were a lot of characters), the film is adding several tons of Gothic atmosphere by shooting at Lyndhurst, a lavish estate in Tarrytown, N.Y. formerly owned by the financier, Jay Gould. Lyndhurst will portray the ancient mansion, Collinwood, where all of Dark Shadows' dire doings take place, and since it is considered the finest example of Hudson River Gothic, it should all mesh beautifully. There are other spooky houses in the script; further location shooting will take place in atmospheric houses in nearby Scarborough, and in Norwalk, Conn. The entire film, as a matter of fact, will be shot on location; no studio shots will be used at all, which will certainly give the film a far different look from the Hollywood horrors of the '40s. The priceless collection of furniture and objets at Lyndhurst alone would be impossible for any set decorator to duplicate.The film stars Joan Bennett, Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall, all veterans of the television version. They portray their original characters: respectively, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, matriach of the doomed Collins clan; Barnabas Collins, the 175-year-old family vampire; and Julia Hoffman, lady doctor. These are "original" characters in the sense that the serial has incorporated multiple plot lines in its history, and almost all the actors have portrayed several roles. Also on hand for the film are other Dark Shadows regulars Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roger Davis, Nancy Barrett, Don Briscoe, and David Henesy.
