Filmed on the grounds of the Gothic estate Lyndhurst on the Hudson River in New York State in the same location where House of Dark Shadows (1970) was filmed the previous year. In contrast to 'House...' which had several location scenes filmed in nearby Tarrytown as well as Connecticut, this film takes place entirely on the grounds of Lyndhurst as the backdrop for the Collingwood mansion. The estate was once owned by railroad magnate Jay Gould (1836-1892). It was donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by Gould's daughter in 1961, and is open to the public for tours and events, such as weddings.
It is reported that MGM forced Dan Curtis to cut over 35 minutes from the completed film, and gave him only 24 hours to do the job. So the film, which was meant to be approximately 129 minutes, was shortened about 94 minutes, which according to some caused the film to lose its coherence. Much of the excised footage was recovered in 1999, but unfortunately, without sound.
This was originally intended to to be a sequel to House of Dark Shadows (1970), and was to star Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). Frid however turned down the role as he feared being typecast as Barnabas a crazy decision, as Frid is only listed in four acting performances after the series), so "Dark Shadows" creators Dan Curtis and Sam Hall made a new story which starred Quentin Collins and was based on the "Parallel Time" saga of the show (an alternate version of the story).
Shot in 6 weeks on a budget of $900,000.
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