The Night Stalker (1972) (TV)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

John Llewellyn Moxey

Writers:

Richard Matheson (teleplay)
Jeffrey Grant Rice (novel)

Release Date:

11 January 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Vampire | Blood | Murder | Newspaper

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Darren McGavin	...	Carl Kolchak
Carol Lynley	...	Gail Foster
Simon Oakland	...	Tony Vincenzo
Ralph Meeker	...	Bernie Jenks
Claude Akins	...	Sheriff Warren A. Butcher
Charles McGraw	...	Police Chief Ed Masterson
Kent Smith	...	District Attorney Tom Paine
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Mickey Crawford
Stanley Adams	...	Fred Hurley
Larry Linville	...	Dr. Robert Makurji
Jordan Rhodes	...	Dr. John O'Brien
Barry Atwater	...	Janos Skorzeny

Also Known As:

The Kolchak Papers (USA) (original script title)
The Kolchak Tapes (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (DVD) | USA:TV-PG | Iceland:16 | UK:PG (1998 video re-issue) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

Actor Barry Atwater was given red contact lenses for his role as vampire Janos Skorzeny. After wearing them for long periods his eyes became very sensitive - as a result, he did not need the contact lenses to make his eyes look red in later scenes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kolchak and Jenks are talking at a table by the side of the pool, a blonde with an orange and black bathing suit walks by their table. A few seconds later, we see them speaking from a different camera angle, and the same blonde passes by, going in the same direction, and without enough time having elapsed to have walked around the entire pool already.

Quotes:

Carl Kolchak: [picking up phone] Kolchak
Dr. John O'Brien: Hi, Carl. I just thought you'd like to know I heard the Parkway Hospital was knocked over.
Carl Kolchak: Yeah? Knocked over for what? Cash, drugs, equipment, what?
[shocked reaction to the response]
Carl Kolchak: Blood?
Dr. John O'Brien: That's right. Every container in the place. Their entire stock.
Carl Kolchak: What about blood type?
Dr. John O'Brien: Seems blood type and Rh factor didn't much matter

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Angel: Awakening (#4.10)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Manhattan

One of the best TV vampire movies ever!

As a kid in the early 70's, horror films and TV was my favorite pastime. Friday nights stuck in front of the TV...heaven. And when I first got to see The Night Stalker, I knew I had found vampire heaven. I loved the story, setting, and acting. The series fulfilled my hopes that horror could be done correctly in the television medium. Even at 7 years old, I was critiqueing shows and movies. But I couldn't find a problem with this one.

As a note for horror fans such as myself...I found it extremely cool that they honored The Night Stalker on the TV show Werewolf by naming the main wolf Janos Skorzeny.

Shows the impact that Night Stalker made on TV.