Las Vegas reporter Darren McGavin (as Carl Kolchak) becomes involved in investigating a series of ghastly murders; in each case, the lovely young victims are drained of blood. Vampires aren't real
or, are they?
After the relative failure of his second "Dark Shadows" feature film, Dan Curtis took the production team back to television; and, for several years, his shadowy films were made for TV. This is one of the best. Mr. McGavin is terrific in the title role; and, he is sported by a team of fine veterans. Wistful Carol Lynley (as Gail Foster) and surly Simon Oakland (as Tony Vincenzo) are notable. Ms. Lynley seems very mysterious, at times; and, her relative youthfulness is a little strange. Mr. Oakland stuck with the series; and, like the others, performs ably.
One of the reasons this movie was so wildly successful was its "modern" look at the possibility of vampires among us (and, "Dark Shadows"-starved fans surely caught the musical and thematic cues to tune in). The modern tone is lost, presently; making "The Night Stalker" more of a nostalgic trip.
Bob Colbert's music is terrific, as usual. The Las Vegas location footage (Michel Hugo) is beautifully atmospheric. And, Jeff Rice and Richard Matheson deserve much credit. Strangely, Mr. Curtis did not give himself the director's chair (for this one); and, no "Dark Shadows" alumni appear (this time).
Over 30 years later, Curtis gave writer Mark Dawidziak permission to use the character "Barnabas Collins" to more fully explain the origin of "Janos Skorzeny"; his story merges the "Dark Shadows" and "Night Stalker" universes, while maintaining each series' integrity. Mr. Dawidziak's "Interview with a Vampire?" appears in the anthology "Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles".
******* The Night Stalker (1/11/72) John Llewellyn Moxey ~ Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Barry Atwater
After the relative failure of his second "Dark Shadows" feature film, Dan Curtis took the production team back to television; and, for several years, his shadowy films were made for TV. This is one of the best. Mr. McGavin is terrific in the title role; and, he is sported by a team of fine veterans. Wistful Carol Lynley (as Gail Foster) and surly Simon Oakland (as Tony Vincenzo) are notable. Ms. Lynley seems very mysterious, at times; and, her relative youthfulness is a little strange. Mr. Oakland stuck with the series; and, like the others, performs ably.
One of the reasons this movie was so wildly successful was its "modern" look at the possibility of vampires among us (and, "Dark Shadows"-starved fans surely caught the musical and thematic cues to tune in). The modern tone is lost, presently; making "The Night Stalker" more of a nostalgic trip.
Bob Colbert's music is terrific, as usual. The Las Vegas location footage (Michel Hugo) is beautifully atmospheric. And, Jeff Rice and Richard Matheson deserve much credit. Strangely, Mr. Curtis did not give himself the director's chair (for this one); and, no "Dark Shadows" alumni appear (this time).
Over 30 years later, Curtis gave writer Mark Dawidziak permission to use the character "Barnabas Collins" to more fully explain the origin of "Janos Skorzeny"; his story merges the "Dark Shadows" and "Night Stalker" universes, while maintaining each series' integrity. Mr. Dawidziak's "Interview with a Vampire?" appears in the anthology "Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles".
******* The Night Stalker (1/11/72) John Llewellyn Moxey ~ Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Barry Atwater