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"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" The Ripper (1974)
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Overview
User Rating:
TV Series:
"Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (1974)Original Air Date:
13 September 1974 (Season 1, Episode 1)Plot:
When a rash of serial murders suddenly begins in the Chicago area, Kolchak establishes a similarity... more | full synopsisUser Comments:
A crackling series opener. moreCast
(Episode Complete credited cast) | Darren McGavin | ... | Carl Kolchak |
 | Simon Oakland | ... | Tony Vincenzo |
| Beatrice Colen | ... | Jane Plumm |
| Ruth McDevitt | ... | Elderly Woman |
 | Jack Grinnage | ... | Ron Updyke |
| Ken Lynch | ... | Captain R.M. Warren |
 | Mews Small | ... | Masseuse (as Marya Small) |
| Don Mantooth | ... | Second Policeman (as Donald Mantooth) |
| Rob Berger | ... | Mail Boy (as Robert Bryan Berger) |
| Roberta Collins | ... | Police Detective Susan Cortazzo |
| Clint Young | ... | Driver |
| Mickey Gilbert | ... | The Ripper |
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: When Kolchak buys the electrical supplies including a box of stuff and several feet of conduit from the store, he places them into the trunk of his car. When he goes to the Ripper's house, he takes the box out of the trunk and closes the trunk, but he doesn't have the conduit. In the next scene, as he walks from his car, he has the box in hand and the conduit on his shoulder. moreFAQ
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The cult favorite TV series 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker' got off to a good start with this story of graphic murders in Chicago. Kolchak comes to believe that this is the work of none other than *the* Jack the Ripper. Even though he's been ordered by Vincenzo to fill in for the lady who ordinarily handles the "Dear Emily" column, there's no doubt that he'll abandon this tedious assignment in favor of the one that really interests him.
This episode does a fine job of continuing the balance of humor and horror already established in the made-for-TV movies ('The Night Stalker' and 'The Night Strangler') that preceded the series. It's often laugh-out-loud funny while still delivering some creepy moments. This incarnation of Bloody Jack is a true force of nature that such things as bullets are not about to stop. This leads to some excellent action scenes as the inhuman killer thwarts any and all attempts to take him down, and in a smart move his face is not shown until the very end. Veteran stuntman Mickey Gilbert does fine in the role.
Great work by Jack Grinnage as prissy and ineffectual Ron Updyke, Beatrice Colen as perky reporter Jane Plumm, Ruth McDevitt as the elderly lady who provides Kolchak with a lead, Ken Lynch as the grumpy police captain who's sick and tired of Kolchak's antics, Mews Small as a masseuse / victim, and Roberta Collins as an undercover policewoman also add to the fun.
8/10