The Night Strangler (1973) (TV)

Director:

Dan Curtis

Writers:

Richard Matheson (written by)
Jeffrey Grant Rice (characters)

Release Date:

16 January 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

A reporter hunts down a 100-year old alchemist who is killing women for their blood.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Blood | Murder | City | Underground

Cast

Darren McGavin	...	Carl Kolchak
Jo Ann Pflug	...	Louise Harper
Simon Oakland	...	Tony Vincenzo
Scott Brady	...	Capt. Schubert
Wally Cox	...	Mr. Berry
Margaret Hamilton	...	Prof. Crabwell
John Carradine	...	Llewellyn Crossbinder
Al Lewis	...	Tramp
Nina Wayne	...	Charisma Beauty
Virginia Peters	...	Wilma Krankheimer
Kate Murtagh	...	Janie Watkins
Ivor Francis	...	Dr. Webb
Diane Shalet	...	Joyce Gabriel
Anne Randall	...	Policewoman Sheila
Francoise Birnheim	...	Restaurant Woman

Also Known As:

The Time Killer (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

74 min | USA:90 min (video version)

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:12 (1998 video re-issue) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

ABC Circle Films

Trivia:

At the end of the film Kolchak is telling Vincenzo and Janie Watkins (now both also out of work thanks to him) that he's going to drive them to New York City and that they'll love New York. Director Dan Curtis and screenwriter Richard Matheson had actually planned to do a third Kolchak movie set in NYC. In New York, Kolchak was going to discover that Janos Skorzeny - the vampire from the first film - was not only not dead, but active again! This film was going to complete a planned trilogy of Kolchak movies, entitled The Trilogy of Terror.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Researcher Wally Cox traces the Night Strangler all the way back to the 1870s. All of the old news paper headlines report a murder in "Pioneer Square". This name wasn't adopted until 1970 to replace the original name of the neighborhood, "Skid Row".

Quotes:

Crossbinder: Get this straight, Mr. Kolchak. No carnival or hoopla tactics on this paper. This isn't Fun Town, USA. This is Seattle.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: The Night Strangler" (1996)

Wonderfully Spooky TV Movie

Kolchack is back, and this time around he is after a vicious serial killer who is in fact an immortal being that needs human blood in order to survive. This is the second Kolchack movie and it is as good as the first one. Well directed and written (again by the great Richard Matheson), with Darren McGavin reprising his wonderful role of Kolchack. The supporting cast is excellent: John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, etc.). The high ratings of this TV movie convinced the studio to create a weekly TV series. Strangely enough, the show was not a success; it was canceled after only one season. The TV series was great and I never understood why the public didn't respond. The entire series has been released on DVD. Highly recommended.