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# 008 <1.08> Lord of the Manor
 
 
(revised 10/16/2023)
 
 


 
 
Shortcuts to this episode's
 
Script | Credits | Filming Locations
 
 

 
 

The first scene on the driveway to the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion was filmed in the Napa Valley, but not specifically for this episode. It is footage from the beginning of a scene from # 004 (Angela and Cole arriving), which is reused here.

 

License plate number of Angie's black Mercedes-Benz 600: 908 OZZ.

 
Original script drafts staged the wine symposium in Paris instead of Rome. The final change made it easier for the writers to have Cole pay a visit to the Gioberti relatives in Tuscany / Italy.
 
The first daylight clip of Rome / Italy shows the Piazza della Repubblica in northern direction (with the Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando and Via Giuseppe Romita going off in the background). This establishing shot is stock footage from a film library.
 
The establishing shot of Angela's hotel in Rome / Italy is stock footage from a film library, too. It actually features the Pasqualati House, notable for being a residence of LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, in Vienna / Austria, seen from the southeast.
 
The interior set of Angie's hotel suite in Rome / Italy was not specifically built for the series. LORIMAR used an existing set from seasons 1 and 2 of "Flamingo Road": Lane Ballou's bedroom in Lute-Mae Sanders' bar, which was built on stage 24 at THE BURBANK STUDIOS (WARNER BROS. STUDIOS). Only the set dressing was changed for "Falcon Crest". Screen capture 1 is from # 23 of "Flamingo Road". On "Falcon Crest", the door is ajar in the screen grab. Even the wallpaper is the same. Just as a side note, the art director on "Flamingo Road" was ROBERT J. BACON, the son of "Falcon Crest" art director ARCH BACON.
 
The nightly establishing shot of Rome / Italy before the restaurant scene is also stock footage from a film library. It features the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere.
 
The restaurant in Rome (interior scene with Angela, Douglas and Cole) is portrayed by the Boulevard Room of the Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel in Studio City, CA.
 
Other renowned members of the Tuscany community seen as supporting characters at the Falcon Crest party:
Sylvia Hartman — is she related to Max Hartman?
The Cunninghams — the ones who owned Keys Creek (see # 132)?
Cliff Oates — someone who will never be mentioned again.
 
Uncredited stand-in GORDON HODGINS appears as an extra again — this time as a Tuscany Valley catering service employee who, again, has an assignment as a servant in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion during the party.
Compare # 182 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about GORDON HODGINS, compare # 001.
 
Sheri Hyatt, Lance's playmate in this episode (played by Miss USA 1980, JINEANE FORD), was named Alexis Fairchild in early script drafts.
 
The producers felt the big tattoo on LORENZO LAMAS' right shoulder was not adequate for his character, Lance. They tried to film him from specific angles only in order to cover the tattoo. In some frames in the scene in his bed this episode, however, the tattoo can be noticed. In the future seasons, the tattoos will be covered with make-up and all sorts of other tricks (see # 047).
 
Lance's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is the usual bedroom set, appropriately redressed. For more details, compare # 001 (guest bedroom), 002 (Angela's bedroom), 005 (Julia's bedroom) and 014 (long shots of Lance's room).
LORIMAR's original blueprints of this set and many others are available for DFCF members in the Show – Production Office – Filming Locations – Movie Studios – Interior Sets section.
 
A Detroit Lions (football club) poster hangs on the wall across the bed in Lance's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion.
 
Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion interior set — inconsistency: The dining room window to the east is in an oriel in the set although there is no such oriel in the real house.
 
In early script drafts, the original name for Paul, the Falcon Crest bottling foreman, was Hal Walker.
 
The establishing shot of Via dei Condotti in Rome / Italy is stock footage purchased from a film library (shot from the corner of Via Bocca di Leone towards the Spanish Steps).
 
The shots of Angela and Douglas walking along Via dei Condotti, in contrast, are filmed on East English Street, an exterior set at what used to be THE BURBANK STUDIOS RANCH (formerly COLUMBIA RANCH, nowadays WARNER BROS. RANCH) in Burbank, CA. The East English Street set was demolished in 1996 while WARNER BROS. RANCH itself still exists.
 
Three businesses are visible while Angela and Douglas are walking along Via dei Condotti (the exterior set): Caffe & Birro (a café), Mercato (a market) and Libri e Giornali (a bookstore).
The prop sign for the café is odd: "Caffe & Birro" makes no sense in Italian. It might be supposed to mean "Coffee & Beer", which would actually read "Caffè & Birra" though. "Birro" in Italian, however, means "lackey".
 

The car parked in front of the café is a black 1971 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 2000. Its Italian license plate number is MN-30 5428.

 

Another vehicle parked on Via dei Condotti is a white 1970 Volkswagen Beetle (type 1). Its Italian license plate number is MN-72 6859.

 

Since no location filming is done at Spring Mountain for this episode, the bottling building at the former Brookside Winery (previously Italian Vineyard Company / Guasti Winery) in Ontario, CA doubles as the Falcon Crest Bottling Building (side entrance and interiors).

 
According to Angela, Jimmy's is one of the finest restaurants between Rome and Paris.
Inside joke: The restaurant name is an allusion to one of JANE's favorite restaurants by the same name on 201 South Moreno Drive in Beverly Hills, CA. It was active between 1978 and 2000 and was very popular with celebrities from the entertainment industry.
 
The first establishing shot of the town of Lucca in Tuscany / Italy is stock footage from a film library. It actually shows a totally different town: Spoleto in the province of Perugia / Italy. The shot was filmed from a country road above the town named Strada Provinciale di Monteluco (SP 462), the camera facing in northwestern direction.
 
Prop mistake: The white / brown 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon T3 has no front license plate although there usually has to be a front plate in Italy.
 
The inn in Lucca, Tuscany / Italy where Cole stays is called Albergo di Fazzio.
The filming location for that street, which also includes the bike rental station (Noleggio Biciclette), is West English Street at what used to be THE BURBANK STUDIOS RANCH (formerly COLUMBIA RANCH, nowadays WARNER BROS. RANCH). The West English Street set was demolished in 1996 while WARNER BROS. RANCH itself still exists.
 
The second establishing shot of the town of Lucca in Tuscany / Italy (preceding the scene at Noleggio Biciclette) is also stock footage from a film library. It actually shows the town of Borgo Maggiore in the Republic of San Marino (an enclave in Italy). It was shot in northern direction from a vista point at the monument of Bartolomeo Borghesi near the cableway station in the city of San Marino, the capital of the small country by the same name.
 

The establishing shot of San Francisco — the Oakland Bay Bridge in foreground, shot from Treasure Island Road (bridge over highway 80) on Yerba Buena Island towards west — is stock footage from a film library.

 

License plate number of Lance's red Chevrolet Corvette C3: 247 PCE — the same plate that used to be on his previous black / gray Corvette. The very same license plate was also on Paul Salinger's rental car in # 002 — not an appropriate way to save production cost.

 

The San Francisco park where Lance meets with Miller is actually a part of the yard at the former Brookside Winery (previously Italian Vineyard Company / Guasti Winery) in Ontario, CA.

 
Mistake: In the scene with Lance and Miller, the various shots are from different takes combined in the editing process. This becomes evident because, in the long shot, a man takes a seat on a bench (yellow arrow) opposite another man in the background, but the same guy is missing in the subsequent frame (Lance's POV). In the following shot of Miller (not pictured here), he is back in place again though.
In the usual process of making a movie or a TV show, scenes are shot at least twice — as a wide angle shot and in close-up, which bears the risk of inconsistencies. Compare # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for the advantages and disadvantages of this shooting procedure.
 
Another mistake of the same kind happens just a short time later in the same scene between Lance and Miller: The couple in the background (woman in red jacket, man with backpack) is towards the left of the frame in the wide angle shot, but in the subsequent frame (close-up) suddenly much farther to the right — between Lance and Miller during their handshake.
 
In early script drafts, Miller mentioned an unseen character by the name of Ann Snider as one of Lance's ex-affairs.
 
The filming location for Sloan Wine & Spirits is what used to be Cal Fame — Paramount Citrus Association in Mission Hills, CA in Greater L.A. The commercial property was extensively remodeled in 2004 and has been used differently since.
 
The Sloan Wine & Spirits truck is a white 1971 Ford L-9000.
 

The forklift at Sloan Wine & Spirits is a Caterpillar T 30 B.

 

The establishing shot of the banquet hall in Rome / Italy (exterior shot) actually features the Philadelphia City Hall. The camera is on North Broad Street, facing south. It is stock footage from a film library.

 

The banquet hall where the wine symposium in Rome takes place is actually the Oak Room of the Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel in Studio City, CA.

 

MICHAEL ROBBINS, the real owner of Spring Mountain in those days, has an uncredited guest rôle in that episode — as one of the connoisseurs at the wine symposium in Rome. He also served as technical advisor for "The Vintage Years" and # 007 through # 010.

 
This episode marks the first appearance of uncredited extra NICK STEVENS. He is a Greek-American background actor, who appeared in many TV series and movies, particularly between the 1960's and 2000's. His career as an extra took off after he grew a mustache in the mid-1970's, which gave him a more distinct look.
In this episode, he is introduced as a juror at the wine tasting symposium in Rome. His name is Reuben Corsair (compare # 035). He will occasionally appear in that rôle throughout the series.
Compare # 182 for biographical information about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
 
The restaurant in Lucca, Tuscany / Italy where Cole meets his Italian cousins and other relatives is the convent exterior set on Mexican Street at what used to be THE BURBANK STUDIOS RANCH (formerly COLUMBIA RANCH, nowadays WARNER BROS. RANCH). The Mexican Street set was demolished in 1996 while WARNER BROS. RANCH itself still exists.
 
Mistake: In the scene with Lance in the study of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion, the close-up and the wide angle shot are from various takes that were combined in the editing process. This becomes apparent when Lance turns to the one side in the close-up, but to the other side in the wide angle one second later.
In the usual process of making a movie or a TV show, scenes are shot at least twice — as a wide angle shot and in close-up, which bears the risk of inconsistencies. Compare # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for the advantages and disadvantages of this shooting procedure.
 
During the scene with Lance and Chase in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion study, a mysterious shadow casts across the drapes from the left to the right (see yellow arrows). It is the boom microphone moving in the stage lights casting a reflection.
 
Dialog error in the scene when Angela returns from Rome: Lance says: "Welcome home, grandmother." But Angela replies: "Fine." Obviously, she should have said: "Thank you." The characters' greetings were not specified in the script, but it was expressed that the actors were free to ad lib them. It is one of the extremely rare occasions when JANE WYMAN made a mistake.
 
Gioberti House interior set — inconsistency: There are four windows in the turret in the living room (and also in the master bedroom upstairs). On either side of the turret area, two windows are very close to each other (as seen on the right of the first screen capture); the center wall of the turret is much wider than the narrow pieces of walls between both windows on the left and between both windows on the right. Most times, however, interior filming of the turret area is done from angles showing a maximum of three windows only; some of them can hardly be recognized in some scenes (see curtains in the second picture). In the real Stags' Leap Manor, there are only three windows in the turret area.
LORIMAR's original blueprints of this set and many others are available for DFCF members in the Show – Production Office – Filming Locations – Movie Studios – Interior Sets section.
 

Product placement: Chase wears a shirt by Polo Ralph Lauren.

 
 

 
 
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