Dark Mansions (1986 TV Movie) User Reviews

Average Thriller

[ladymidath · 8/10 · 20 June 2022]

Dark Mansions isn't bad, it's quite engaging, but it gets a little too soapy at times. If they had toned down the melodrama and upped the suspense, it could have been a creepy little thriller. It was supposed to be a pilot, but it didn't happen and that's why the ending feels a little tacked. It's your typical creepy mansion filled with wealthy and troubled family members all vying for various things. It's Dallas/Falcon Crest/Dynasty meets Dark Shadows pretty much.

I liked the various actors and they all did their jobs well, but it doesn't bring anything new to the genre.

It's an okay way to spend a rainy afternoon but all up, it's pretty forgettable.

Last night I dreamt I went to Drake Point again.....

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 21 May 2018]

In the very same year that her "Rebecca" co-star Judith Anderson got to pay homage to her participation in the film noir classic "Laura" by shooting a "Santa Barbara" character in the butt with an old rifle loaded with buckshot, the still beautiful Joan Fontaine paid homage to the film version of the Daphne DuMaurier classic with this TV movie, originally shot as a pilot for a possible nighttime soap opera produced by Aaron Spelling ("Dynasty"). When that didn't sell, the film was slightly edited to be more complete for a movie of the week. The result is mixed, and while there was some potential, I am glad it did not end up being a series. Combining the soapy structure of a family at odds and the arrival of a mystery woman (Linda Purl) whose appearance stirs everything up because of her resemblance to a dead in-law, this has elements of "Dark Shadows" as well as several other gothic novels including "Jane Eyre" which Fontaine had also appeared in.

This film is oddly plotted, with Fontaine quickly widowed shortly after Purl's arrival when her husband is suddenly struck by lightning and her two sons (Michael York, natural born son, and Paul Shenar, adopted son) go toe to toe over the will which leaves Fontaine in charge. Much of the film surrounds each of the family's remembrances of how York's wife died and their guilt over it. Shenar plays an angry character, drunkenly raping his scheming wife (Lois Chiles) who declares, "I can't stop you but I'm not helping you", as he prepares to have his way with her against her will. It's a disgusting moment that gives Shenar no sympathy, and it made me wish that it was his character who had been struck by lightning. There's a fight between cousins Grant Aleksander and Yves André Martin over Aleksander's pretty sister Nicollette Sheridan whom Aleksander thought that Martin was making a play for, as well as the observations of blind sister Melissa Sue Anderson who may not see physically, but has the gift of clairvoyance. Much of these plot developments really go nowhere, and when the film wraps up, much of the story is left unresolved.

The combination of ghost story (making the assumption that the dead in-law still roams the walls of Drakes Point) and family secrets are awkwardly developed and often over the top and unbelievable. That being said, the only reason to tune into this if you can locate it is to see Fontaine in one of her rare on-screen appearances long past her prime, only working when she wanted to and yet every inch still a star. She is commanding yet gentle, fierce when she has to be in dealing with the family, and with few other exceptions, the only element of class in this dysfunctional clan. Aleksander, a heartthrob from "Guiding Light", mixes the brutality of his embittered grandson with the brooding tenderness that made his character of Philip Spaulding so memorable, but there's no real opportunity to explore his full dynamic nor the dynamics of his hatred for his adopted cousin, his over protectiveness of his sister (a greatly underused Sheridan) and his connection with Anderson. I felt an extreme letdown at the end which utilized written narration to explain what would happen down the road, a true eye roller.

Crossing "Dark Shadows" with "Falcon Crest"

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 23 May 2009]

The opening credits leave no doubt "Dark Mansions" is patterned after "Dark Shadows" - but, surprisingly, "Mansions" isn't like the successful supernatural-dominated "Shadows" of 1967-1970. Instead, it revisits the show as it played out during the more lackluster years of 1966 and 1971. This show has the Gothic tone of writer Art Wallace's original concept, which producer Dan Curtis steered the show back toward, in 1971. Taking the vampires, werewolves, and witches out of "Shadows" proved to be fatal, so "Mansions" may seem like puzzling pilot. But, it's also a shadowy version of the then successful "Falcon Crest" (actor David Selby did "Crest" and "Shadows"; writer Robert McCullough did "Crest" and "Mansions").

So, "Mansions" begins with star Linda Purl (as Shellane Victor) arriving as an authoress, to work on the biography of reclusive matriarch Joan Fontaine (as Margaret Drake). The character's name "Shellane Victor" is likely an homage to original "Shadows" protagonist "Victoria", who was originally named "Sheila". Like legendary golden-aged actresses Joan Bennett ("Shadows") and Jane Wyman ("Mansions"), Joan Fontaine assumes the role of a wealthy family matriarch. Note, Jean Simmons fit the bill in the 1991 run of "Dark Shadows", which makes it a Joan/Jane/Joan/Jean quartet. (Play other name games at home).

Anyway, Ms. Purl is the spitting image of the dead "Yvette" (rhymes with "Josette"), who plunged to her death over the seaside cliffs, where the two "Drake" family mansions rest (but not in peace). The mystery of what really happened to "Yvette" is the ABC-TV movie pilot's main storyline. Widower Michael York (as Jason Drake) is also Fontaine's favorite son, and a potential romantic interest for Purl.

Other family members (and suspects) include: Mr. York's bratty blonde daughter Nicollette Sheridan (as Banda Drake), his bratty blonde son Grant Aleksander (as Nick Drake), adopted "old house" castaway Paul Shenar (as Phillip Drake), his sexy wife Lois Chiles (as Jessica Drake), their blind clairvoyant daughter Melissa Sue Anderson (as Noelle Drake ), and hot-blooded son Yves André Martin (as Cody Drake). Blue-collared Steve Inwood (as Jerry Mills) and Raymond St. Jacques (as Davis) are significant outsiders.

There are too many characters, and too much back-story, in "Dark Mansions" - although, admittedly, it all would have served a TV series well (had this "pilot" sold). The locations, sets, and overall setting is beautifully done; and, as photographed by Paul Lohmann and directed by Jerry London, they are the film's greatest strength. The cliff-side dwelling is how the original "Dark Shadows" might have looked, with a bigger budget. Watch for especially representative scenes as characters walk along the cliffs, with waves crashing in the background. And, if the house looks like "Collinwood", it's because it is the house (Greystone) picked to serve as "Collinwood" for both the 1991 and 2004 versions of "Dark Shadows".

***** Dark Mansions (8/23/86) Jerry London ~ Linda Purl, Michael York, Joan Fontaine

It was....an experience

[Milk_Tray_Guy · 5/10 · 12 November 2022]

Linda Purl plays a writer hired to write a biography of the matriarch of the wealthy Drake family. When she arrives at the clifftop Drake estate, every member of the family is startled by her resemblance to Yvette, the deceased wife of one of the sons - and whose ghost may be haunting the mansion.

This TV movie started out as a pilot for a show that never got picked up. The intention, apparently, was to create a cross between Dynasty and Dark Shadows. In that respect, at least, they succeeded - from the moment the opening titles begin, with shots of clifftop mansions and waves crashing on the rocks below, accompanied by dramatic, blaring horns and sweeping strings. Unfortunately, that's the best part. The movie's origin as a pilot is easily given away by unresolved plot threads, and characters that serve no purpose. The acting is typical of soap operas (surprisingly, given a good cast that features Purl, Michael York, Joan Fontaine, Dan O'Herlihy, and Nicollette Sheridan - maybe it was deliberate?), nearly every scene ends with someone storming out of a room, it shamelessly rips off one of the most famous moments of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (badly), and on top of all that, because it was a pilot, instead of a new ending that wraps everything up, we get a sudden freeze-frame and a dozen lines of text onscreen telling us what eventually happened! 😂 As much as I wanted to like it, I just couldn't. 5/10.

Dynasty goes Dark Shadows

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 26 October 2021]

Hey all - just got back from Seattle, then a week quarantine from Becca who got COVID-19, which is pretty much like me being normal because all I did was sit in my basement and write about movies and here I am, still writing about movies.

Produced by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer, Dark Mansions had the elevator speech of "kind of like Dynasty if it were Dark Shadows," which is to say, it's Dark Shadows. It was also not picked up for a series and back in the wonderful days of 1986, if that didn't happen, we got the burn off TV movie and would say, "Man, I wish that was a series." But even if it was, it would have lasted ten episodes and a bunch would have only played in Europe and I'd still be writing this article, just slightly different.

That said - Joan Fontaine as reclusive matriarch Margaret Drake! Linda Purl from Visiting Hours! Melissa Sue Anderson fromLittle House on the Prarie (and the voice of Snowbird from Alpha Flight on the X-Men cartoon and yes, that kind of information is inside my brain)! Lois Chiles, who is both Holly Goodhead and the thanks for the ride lady from Creepshow 2! Nicollette Sheridan! Dan O'Herilhy! Grant Aleksander (Phillip from Guiding Light)! Raymond St. Jacques (the street preacher from They Live)! Paul Shenar (Dream Lover, Scarface)! And a ghost haunting all of them!

Director Jerry London also did Killdozer, so there's that. The show was written by Anthony Lawrence (who speaking of shows that died before their time also created The Phoenix), his wife Nancy and Robert McCullough, who wrote for Falcon Crest and that helped with this I guess.

A lot gets set up. Nothing gets resolved. And that's how it goes for a pilot. Just think, in another reality, I'm posting the YouTube link for each episode and not just this one and done.