The Night Stalker (TV 1972)

An abrasive Las Vegas newspaper reporter investigates a series of murders committed by a vampire.

Director:

John Llewellyn Moxey

Writers:

Richard Matheson (teleplay), Jeffrey Grant Rice (story),

Stars:

Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Darren McGavin	...	Carl Kolchak
Carol Lynley	...	Gail Foster
Simon Oakland	...	Vincenzo
Ralph Meeker	...	Bernie Jenks
Claude Akins	...	Sheriff Butcher
Charles McGraw	...	Chief Masterson
Kent Smith	...	D.A. Paine
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Mickey Crawford
Stanley Adams	...	Fred Hurley
Larry Linville	...	Makurji
Jordan Rhodes	...	Dr. O'Brien
Barry Atwater	...	Janos Skorzeny

Storyline

Carl Kolchak is a newspaper reporter with an abrasive personality that has gotten him fired ten times from various big-city papers. Now he's reduced to reporting for a relatively small-time paper in Las Vegas. It's here he gets the story of his life. But will the local sheriff, or the D.A., or even his own boss, let him print it? He has an ally in the FBI agent brought in to investigate this strange case. It seems someone is biting the necks of young girls and draining their blood. Can this killer with supernormal powers really be a 70-year-old Rumanian millionaire? Can he really be a vampire? And can an aging reporter do anything to stop him?

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | vampire | blood | murder | newspaper | 

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Kolchak Tapes

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Dan Curtis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Darren McGavin and Ralph Meeker, who appear together in this film, have both played Mickey Spillane's fictional detective Mike Hammer before. Ralph Meeker played him in Kiss Me Deadly, and McGavin on TV in Mike Hammer.

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Goofs

The stuntman's airbag is visible in the lower right corner of the screen when the hospital orderly is thrown out of a second story window.

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Quotes

Carl Kolchak: [voiceover] Sherman Duffy of the New York Herald once said, "A newspaperman is the loneliest guy on earth. Socially he ranks somewhere between a hooker and a bartender. Spritually he stands with Galileo, because he knows the world is round."
[Sarcastically]
Carl Kolchak: Not that it matters much, when his editor knows its flat.

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Connections

References Dracula (1931)

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Soundtracks

"Manhattan"
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Performed by Darren McGavin

User Reviews

One of the better TV shows on the paranormal

Nice little made for TV (ABC) film about Kolchak (McGavin), a washed-up reporter in exile in Las Vegas, looking for a vampire who everybody is convinced is just a psycho. Some good scares, funny moments, and a healthy criticism of the establishment Vegas are all patched into the wonderful Matheson's script. Nice cheezy music and period cars are also a plus. Was turned into a short-lived TV series.