121

David has a moral crisis and is warped by Matthew.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: My name is Victoria Winters. There is grave concern at Collinwood, for my whereabouts are still unknown. The searchers move farther and farther away from where I'm hidden. But there is one who, unsuspecting, has come very close to finding me.
Act I
David's near-discovery of Victoria is aborted by Matthew, who says it's a ghost the boy heard.
Act II
Mrs. Johnson talks morbidly about Victoria and meanly about Matthew. Elizabeth feels awful about the whole mess, and partially responsible. Sheriff Patterson drops by, but he has no news of Victoria. Elizabeth wants to turn back time and make everything right, but doesn't say why. Being brutally frank at Elizabeth's orders, the Sheriff admits he doesn't hold out much hope of finding Victoria.
Act III
At 11:07, Mrs. Johnson is humorously jabbing at the Sheriff while attempting to interrogate David about her missing cigarettes. Later, at 12:45, David talks to the Sheriff and there's an actual punchline that constitutes one of the extremely few moments of actual comic relief in the series thus far. Also, David learns that the Sheriff believes that anyone who helped Matthew would be in danger from the killer and then face jail.
Act IV
The Sheriff gets a picture of Victoria which he promises to return after sending a copy to Missing Persons. David asks Elizabeth about the Sheriff's claim; he thought it was good to help people. David asks if there are any secrets about the walls of the Old House. Mrs. Johnson continues to suspect David of mischief. David goes back to the Old House, where an increasingly psychotic Matthew increases his psychoses. David tells Matthew that the Sheriff's only leaving a few men around here. Matthew continues to warp David's mind. David doesn't want to go to jail.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Mrs. Johnson: (to Sheriff Patterson) What a police department! You could have a hundred clues and fifty eyewitnesses and you wouldn't solve the case!
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: Mrs. Johnson: (to David about Sheriff Patterson) When the cannery whistle blows at noon, he knows it's time for lunch. That to him is a clue and accounts for the size of him!
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: David: What does it mean when the cannery whistle blows?
: Sheriff Patterson: Lunch.
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: David: Mrs. Johnson, if I wanted cigarettes, I wouldn't steal them. I'd buy them.
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: Elizabeth: I wish that someday you'd ask an important question.
: David: Like about schoolwork?
: Elizabeth: That would help.
: David: Not me!
== Dramatis personae ==
* ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard →
* ← Thayer David as Matthew Morgan →
* ← Clarice Blackburn as Sarah Johnson →
* ← Dana Elcar as George Patterson →
* ← David Henesy as David Collins →
* ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters (uncredited) →
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
=== Story ===
* TIMELINE: Mrs. Johnson's cigarettes went missing this morning.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* Someone in the studio coughs when David asks Elizabeth if she knows all the secrets about the Old House.
== End credits announcements ==
* Under oath, Hannah Cord swears she saw Ann Howard murdered and names the guilty party. Watch "Peyton Place" tonight at 9:30, 8: 30 Central Time, in color here on ABC.
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 121 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 121: Ghosts and ghosts-to-be
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 121: 12/12/66
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