267

Victoria continues to fear for Elizabeth's state of mind.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: My name is Victoria Winters. There is a cliff near Collinwood that by legend was created for those who lost all hope because their existence has become intolerable. It is a place of the dividing line between life and death. There is one who has come to this place, seeking an escape from problems that have become insurmountable.
Elizabeth has wandered back to the cliff at Widows' Hill after having heard the widows calling to her. She moves closer to the edge, distraught as she gazes between the ocean waves crashing on the jagged rocks below and to the moon above partially obscured by clouds. Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, Barnabas is watching her from the trees. Cautiously, he moves up behind her and grabs her shoulders. Elizabeth screams.
Act I
Barnabas, afraid he would have startled her if he called out, has saved Elizabeth from falling over the edge of the cliff. He is surprised to find her at such a forlorn place, and Elizabeth claims she was out walking and was drawn to this spot of serenity and rest. Barnabas explains he visits the same spot quite often, and perhaps it is because he is searching for the same thing as Elizabeth. He tells her it is a place where decisions were once made, where life ended and death began. Death's wide opportunities fascinate him, as it could bring peace or torment. Barnabas can sense how deeply troubled Elizabeth is, and he offers to help ease her suffering. Elizabeth thanks him; she can solve and terminate her problems anytime she wishes to. Barnabas has made the solution clear in her mind, and soon everyone will understand.
Act II
Barnabas escorts Elizabeth back to Collinwood, and she expresses how strengthened she feels due to their talk. As she heads upstairs, David emerges from the drawing room and calls to her, but Elizabeth doesn't answer. After she has gone to her bedroom, Barnabas speaks to David about the little girl he's befriended near the Old House. David finds her strange and "behind the times", singing London Bridge. This disturbs Barnabas; he requests that David tell his friend not to play around the Old House next time he sees her. Whilst David goes into the kitchen, Barnabas visits Victoria in the drawing room. She's finished grading one of David's test papers, and confesses how much she enjoys her job. Barnabas finds her attitude wise and mature. He flirts with her, expressing how lucky the Collins family is to have her. Alarmed by Elizabeth's state of mind, Barnabas confides in having found her on the edge of the cliff at Widows' Hill to Victoria - it seemed to him she was preparing to jump!
Act III
Barnabas fears for the melancholy Elizabeth, worrying that the pressure she has been under may be too much for her. He is familiar with the desperation and hopelessness he saw in Elizabeth, and urges action. Victoria thinks that Elizabeth is far too strong to do something so drastic, but Barnabas suggests she cannot endure more. Barnabas apologizes for placing the burden of this information on Victoria, but she is the one person with whom he feels he can communicate. Flirting some more, he is anxious to spend more time with Victoria. But he is disheartened to learn she has a date with Burke tonight; it seems he has a rival for Victoria's affection. Later, at the Blue Whale, Burke takes a drag on his cigarette as he waits for the governess. As he tries to call Collinwood on the pay phone, it refuses to return his dime as Victoria arrives. Grateful to see her, Burke doesn't give her a chance to take off her coat as he pulls her into a dance. In dire need of a change of scenery after recent events, Victoria thanks him for asking her out. She admits the thought of returning to Collinwood and all its troubles makes her want to break down and cry. Burke urges her to forget about Collinwood and just dance with him.
Act IV
Victoria is feeling better and shares a drink with Burke, who doesn't like the things she's exposed to at the great house. He urges her to quit and to work for him as his special assistant. Victoria insists that the Collinses need her more now than ever before. They are the only family she's known, and she feels close to them. She can't be selfish and think of herself, and she informs Burke of Elizabeth's strange and frightening behavior. Burke can't believe that Elizabeth would contemplate suicide. But Victoria insists she's afraid Elizabeth might do something to harm herself. Burke reports that he's having Jason McGuire checked out by a private investigator and hopes it will be of some help. Victoria feels it won't do any good, and Burke realizes that she knows something. But she can't tell him because of the promise she made to keep such knowledge a secret. Anxious to return home and check on Elizabeth, Victoria refuses Burke's offer of a lift and departs on her own. Back at Collinwood, Elizabeth barely acknowledges David as he enters the drawing room and she heads upstairs to bed. Victoria finds David and learns that Elizabeth was reading the Collins Family Bible. It seems that the page Elizabeth was looking at has her name on it.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Barnabas: Death is the most fascinating and unknown prospect man has.
----
: Barnabas: Death - I wonder... No one has clearly defined death. The state of death could bring peace, or it could bring torment...eternal torment.
: Elizabeth: But life itself can be a torment, which is something we can be sure of.
: Barnabas: It still remains to be seen which of the least contains the least torment.
----
: David: (to Barnabas about Sarah) Would you believe she goes around singing "London Bridge"?
: Barnabas: (Reflectively) "London Bridge"? Well, it's a song that most children sing.
: David: I don't!
: Barnabas: Well, you're quite a young modern man, aren't you?
== Dramatis personae ==
* Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Anthony George as Burke Devlin
* David Henesy as David Collins
* Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters
* Tom Gorman as Blue Whale Bartender (uncredited)
* Joy Nicholson as Blue Whale Customer (uncredited)
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 268.
* A voiceover plays over the title sequence, which states that "the part of Burke Devlin is being played by Anthony George". The previous actor in the role, Mitchell Ryan, had been sacked due to his alcoholism.
* Sarah's theme of London Bridge plays when Barnabas knocks on the drawing room doors, but Sarah does not appear in this episode.
*Tom Gorman plays the Blue Whale bartender in one of the three times he played that role; interestingly, he also plays a Blue Whale customer three times.
=== Story ===
* The Collins Family Bible offers the following birthdates: 
:: Roger Collins: September 14, 1925
:: Elizabeth Collins: February 28, 1917
:: Carolyn Stoddard: July 16, 1946
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* When Jonathan Frid is talking to Elizabeth on Widows' Hill, he flubs a line, and it comes out "It still remains to be seen which is the least contains the least torment."
*Two lines between Barnabas and Elizabeth don't match up. On Widows' Hill, Barnabas says, "Well, this isn't the sort of thinking that a woman about to be married should have." Elizabeth replies, "But they are nonetheless." Liz's "they" refers to Barnabas's "thinking," which doesn't make grammatical sense. More than likely Jonathan Frid's original line was "these aren't the sort of thoughts...," which would make Joan Bennett's line match.
*When Barnabas and Elizabeth are talking on Widows' Hill, there is a loud off-stage jingling noise after Barnabas says "Elizabeth, I usually don't involve myself in the lives of others." It sounds like someone dropped some keys. A moment before this someone in the studio snaps their fingers.
*In Act II after Barnabas asks David "London Bridge?" someone in the studio snaps their fingers a single time. 
*Victoria, on her own, visits and departs the Blue Whale late at night. This would seem to be a bit remiss on the writers' part as it has been established that there is a curfew on Collinsport and that no women should be out alone at night with the madman still on the loose. It's also odd that Burke would allow her to do this. 
*It is extremely unusual for a family bible to list a younger sibling's birth before the older sibling's birth, since family bible entries are written contemporaneously.
== End credits announcements ==
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
==External links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 267 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 267 - The Least Torment
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 267: No one has clearly defined death
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 267: 7/4/67
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