MovieChat Forums > Dark Shadows (2012) Discussion > Old Housekeeper

Old Housekeeper

posted 10 years ago by radrobd
12 replies | jump to latest

I never watched the original series before my time or the 1991 remake, but what was the point of the old housekeeper (forgot her name)? She had no lines and I didn't find her scenes that funny. Was she in the original series? Was she related to the family? I didn't get it.

[–] Sauvage_98 10 years ago

She was just a housekeeper lol !

~Never Forget. Never Forgive."

[–] Mhjm6 10 years ago

The joke was she was the only other housekeeper besides Willie who was basically useless. "She's about as useful as a bucket without a bottom."

[–] oneiroi 10 years ago

Was she in the original series? Was she related to the family? I didn't get it.

Yes, Mrs. Johnson was in the original series and the initial reason why is somewhat intricate. Very early on in the show, her employer, Bill Malloy (who was a manager at the cannery), mysteriously died. Malloy had agreed to help Burke Devlin prove he was innocent of an old manslaughter conviction. Burke wanted to ruin the Collins family, so he and Mrs. Johnson conspired together. She managed to get a job as housekeeper at Collinwood and made regular reports to Burke as to what was going on in the house, for which he paid her. Eventually, once the Malloy story arc was resolved, her character had changed a bit. She cared about the family, especially young David. She was not an ancient, blind cliche like in the movie.

Also, in the original show, Willie didn't work for the Collins family. He was a con-man, thief and drifter, in town with his friend, Jason McGuire, to blackmail Liz. His harassment of Vicki and Carolyn got him tossed out of Collinwood. Having heard the legend about where jewels were buried, he accidentally unleashed Barnabas. He was Barnabas' first victim and when Barnabas moved into the Old House, he kept Willie around as a servant/handyman.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] ElectricWarlock 9 years ago

In the original series she was in her mid 40s. I would describe her as being set in her ways. I'd say she had a rather old fashioned attitude and was a bit on the stubborn side. I liked her anyways though. In the 1991 remake she was Willie's mother. She was a little bit older there. The actress who played her would've been 61 or 62, but she did speak and wasn't inept as a housekeeper. Neither of those Mrs. Johnsons acted anything like the one in this movie. I think her presence in this movie was just to joke about how useless, old, and senile she is.

[–] noirgirl 9 years ago

In the 91 reboot, Willie was her nephew, and she was more of the cook than a housekeeper. I think the joke in this one is that every time she opens a linen cabinet or makes a bed, she never see Barnabas hanging or sleeping there. And she's not blind, because she's reading a book during the concert; just out of it.

[–] AccidntlTourist 9 years ago

what was the point of the old housekeeper

I seem to be one of the few who grew up with the original Dark Shadows soap opera and who is not really that disappointed with this treatment.

Others have mentioned the role of the previous housekeeper.

I kept expecting to see her come out with more of a cameo spotlight, but there were many, many characters that never even made it into this film. Keep in mind that this was a soap that ran (as I recall) 5 days a week for years so the cast of characters was large and well defined. A film can only do justice to just so many characters.

I think we see the housekeeper - because a house / household this large would have at least one housekeeper and more time given to her would distract from the rest of the story.

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[–] mark.waltz 9 years ago

The two original actors to play Mrs. Johnson on both series were long-term soap opera actors. Clarice Blackburn appeared on at least half a dozen soaps, most recently in the 1990's as the hospital administrator at Cedar's on "Guiding Light". Julianna McCarthy is best known as Jill's mother, Liz, on "The Young and the Restless", that show's original matriarch. She was a regular on the show for over a decade, made infrequent appearances over the years, the last in 2012 when Liz Foster died after revealing information about Jill's true paternity.

"Great theater makes you smile. Outstanding theater may make you weep."

[–] Journeyman1 8 years ago

I think we see the housekeeper - because a house / household this large would have at least one housekeeper

Mrs. Johnson was completely useless in the movie...she's even referenced as such. Willie did more work around the house than she did. The most that she did was at the end of the movie during Barnabas' fight with Angelique...When Angelique vomits on him, Mrs. Johnson comes up to him and cleans off his face. She had no dialogue. She just laid around.

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[–] oneiroi 8 years ago

I think we see the housekeeper - because a house / household this large would have at least one housekeeper and more time given to her would distract from the rest of the story.

When the show first started, there was no housekeeper. In the second episode, Liz tells Vicki it's just her, Carolyn, and the recently returned Roger and son David, and that they handle the chores themselves. There was a caretaker though, Matthew Morgan. He did more handyman type work, but he lived in a separate cottage on the estate.

[–] bsantosu (159) 7 years ago

Did she make it out of the fire?

[–] modica (4169) 4 years ago

in the series, Mrs. Johnson(old housekeeper) started out as a spy for Burke Devlin(an enemy of the Collins family). She stayed with the show and the family for years after. The actress who played the original housekeeper was a very good in the role and was a source of comic relief on the show.