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IMDbPro

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

  • TV Series
  • 1974–19751974–1975
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 51m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
5.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,102
150
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Play trailer1:05
1 Video
99+ Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller
Carl Kolchak is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. Through more accident than design he ends up investigating homicides, many of which involve supernatural forces. Ultimately, rather than r... Read allCarl Kolchak is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. Through more accident than design he ends up investigating homicides, many of which involve supernatural forces. Ultimately, rather than reporting on the crimes, he solves them.Carl Kolchak is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. Through more accident than design he ends up investigating homicides, many of which involve supernatural forces. Ultimately, rather than reporting on the crimes, he solves them.
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
5.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,102
150
    • Jeffrey Grant Rice
  • Stars
    • Darren McGavin
    • Simon Oakland
    • Jack Grinnage
    • Jeffrey Grant Rice
  • Stars
    • Darren McGavin
    • Simon Oakland
    • Jack Grinnage
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 91User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Episodes20

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season

    Videos1

    Kolchak: The Night Stalker
    Trailer 1:05
    Watch Kolchak: The Night Stalker

    Photos134

    Jackie Vernon in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Kathie Browne and Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    John Dehner and Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Ned Glass, Darren McGavin, and Phil Silvers in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Fred Beir in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Simon Oakland in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Rob Berger and Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Peter Leeds and Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
    Darren McGavin in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Darren McGavin
    Darren McGavin
    • Carl Kolchak
    Simon Oakland
    Simon Oakland
    • Tony Vincenzo
    Jack Grinnage
    Jack Grinnage
    • Ron Updyke
    Ruth McDevitt
    Ruth McDevitt
    • Emily Cowles…
    Craig R. Baxley
    Craig R. Baxley
    • Mr. R.I.N.G.…
    John Fiedler
    John Fiedler
    • Gordon Spangler…
    Carol Ann Susi
    Carol Ann Susi
    • Monique Marmelstein
    Don Mantooth
    • Paul Langlois - Sleep Subject…
    Dennis McCarthy
    Dennis McCarthy
    • Ballistics Man…
    Keith Walker
    • 1st Reporter…
    Bill Deiz
    • 2nd Reporter…
    Keenan Wynn
    Keenan Wynn
    • Capt. Joe 'Mad Dog' Siska
    Ramon Bieri
    Ramon Bieri
    • Captain Joe Baker…
    Richard Kiel
    Richard Kiel
    • The Diablero…
    Ned Glass
    Ned Glass
    • Apartment Superintendent…
    Vince Howard
    Vince Howard
    • Policeman
    Alyscia Maxwell
    • 3rd Reporter…
    Alice Backes
    Alice Backes
    • Dr. Shropell…
      • Jeffrey Grant Rice
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The series was cancelled because Darren McGavin asked to be released from his contract. He became disappointed with the series' scripts and was exhausted from his uncredited producing duties. Three scripts were left unproduced. Two of them were adapted into a "Kolchak" series of comic books in 2003.
    • Goofs
      Many of the stories take place in the winter months, but there is never any snow, and even if there was no snow, it is highly unlikely one would be driving a convertible with the top down during the winter months in Chicago.
    • Quotes

      Carl Kolchak: If you want a job done right, you just have to foul it up yourself.

    • Crazy credits
      During opening credits, Kolchak throws his hat at a wall hook, it misses and falls into the garbage. When the show first aired, there was an alternate opening where he threw his hat, it stays on the hook, and Kolchak has a surprised look on his face. This was Darren McGavin's genuine reaction, as he had not expected it to happen. After the first few episodes, the opening was changed to the one that is currently shown on reruns and media releases.
    • Connections
      Edited into Cynful Movies: Kolchak The Night Stalker (2019)

    User reviews91

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Hero In An Old Straw Hat.
    A brilliantly entertaining series that ran for a single shining season in the 1970's, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" concerned a Chicago reporter whose investigations invariably lead him into dangerous encounters with the paranormal.

    Starring the incomparable (and irreplaceable) Darren McGavin, this smartly written show has been described by some as being "campy", and while a couple of episodes ("The Youth Killer" and the much more amusing "The Trevi Collection") may have strayed far enough into that territory to qualify as camp, this was actually a series with two distinct parts. Half of the show was a situation comedy (the scenes taking place in the INS office between Kolchak and Vincenzo were particularly amusing), and the other half was a straight-faced thriller that featured some genuinely frightening scenes of horror.

    Quite a maverick among television shows of the day, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" noticeably parted company with established convention regarding what qualifies a character to fill the role of a hero. Common practice dictates that your basic TV good guy will be conventionally handsome, good with his fists and fearless in the sight of danger. Some are rich and reside in fabulously appointed surroundings and often find themselves the focus of unflagging admiration from a cheering section of supporting characters.

    Then there's Carl Kolchak. A far sight from the usual male model-type lead, this average-looking guy doesn't work for a big league paper, but instead pounds away at his typewriter in a somewhat rundown news bureau office. He has no family and the only people who seem even remotely close to him are a gray-haired advice columnist and a short-tempered managing editor who's usually bellowing at him to drop his latest crazy story.

    Also rare for a TV hero: he doesn't even carry a gun. In fact, when faced with danger, Carl sometimes runs away in stark raving terror.

    Furthermore, he's generally reviled by public officials, and after vanquishing something evil from our midst, he never even gets any credit for having risked his neck.

    Armed only with a camera, a tape recorder and his wits, Carl Kolchak certainly doesn't sound very formidable. And yet, somehow, this cynical, middle-aged news hound in a seersucker suit and beat-up straw hat is the greatest foe any vampire or blood-thirsty creature of the night ever came up against. Sure, he may not get that Pulitzer prize, but for his uncanny abilities at ridding the world of one monster after another, this unlikely hero surely ranks as one of the most unique and marvelously ironic characters in the history of television.

    If you're interested, have reviewed of all 20 episodes, too.
    helpful•96
    3
    • a_l_i_e_n
    • Aug 18, 2006

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 13, 1974 (United States)
      • United States
      • Compete episode guide, photos, QT movies, cast info, and programming listings
      • Memorable Entertainment TV
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • University of Chicago, Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Production companies
      • Francy Productions
      • Universal Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 51 minutes
      • Mono

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