Wuchak RELEASED TO TV IN EARLY 1972 and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, "The Night Stalker" chronicles events in Las Vegas when the bodies of several young women are found drained of blood. Intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) increasingly suspects that something supernatural is at foot, which his bellowing boss finds incredulous (Simon Oakland), as well as city authorities (Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins & Kent Smith). Elisha Cook Jr is on hand as an informant while Barry Atwater plays Janos Skorzeny. "The Night Stalker" was a hugely successful TV movie, which naturally led to a sequel, "The Night Strangler" (1973), and a series that ran for one season from 1974-1975 (20 episodes), not to mention numerous Kolchak books. This original movie was the best of the batch with "The Night Strangler" almost as good and even better in some ways. Both movies established the template (formula) for all that followed. What makes this movie "the best of the batch"? Answer: The streamlined story is full of intrigue, action, ravishing women, horror and suspense; and the jazzy score doesn't hurt. As far as the women go, lovely Carol Lynley is on hand as Kolchak's babe, but not enough is done with her. Nevertheless, there are 3-4 peripheral beauties. The sequel flick and the first episode "The Ripper" followed this pilot's lead in the female department, along with "The Werewolf," but the rest of the series was rather weak on this front. Since this is a TV flick from the early 70s don't expect a much gore. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 14 minutes and was shot in Las Vegas with studio work done at Universal Studios & Samuel Goldwyn Studios, CA. WRITER: Richard Matheson (teleplay) & Jeffrey Grant Rice (story).GRADE: A-

mark.waltz So is the tongue-in-cheek of Darren McGavin in this Sensational 1970's TV Thriller that spawned a sequel and a brief TV series. I remember watching the series as a kid, and remember being disappointed that it only lasted a short time. However, in seeing the TV movies years later, I can understand why McGavin decided to call it a day when the TV series became simply too camp to be taken seriously. It was if "Dark Shadows" had taken over the streets of the modern big city, with every kind of creature of the night possible. Like "Dark Shadows", this focuses on a fearsome vampire, and like that classic daytime soap opera, even the same composer (Robert Cobert).A string of bloody murders are befuddling the Las Vegas police department, giving indication of something evil, possibly supernatural and maybe even undead. The killings themselves are truly gruesome, and once you see the culprit, you might wonder too if vampires still roam the earth. McGavin is delightfully subtle in the tongue in cheek way he delivers his dialog, surrounded by such familiar faces as Simon Oakland, Claude Akins and Carol Lynley. The Vegas officials don't want the rumors of possible vampirism spreading around and scaring the tourist trade away. But when a victim is unable to prevent her horrid death with the protection of a fierce doberman, the truth is going to get out. This never lets up, flying by in just 75 minutes. I can see why it was the most popular TV movie up to that time because it's simply no nonsense good fun that more than 40 years later still holds up.

AaronCapenBanner This 1972 TV film introduced audiences to Carl Kolchack, played indelibly by Darren McGavin, who here investigates a series of brutal murders he discovers to be the work of a vampire! Great supporting cast of guest actors include Carol Lynley, Claude Akins, Kent Smith, Elisha Cook Jr. and Simon Oakland, who would become a regular with McGavin in the sequel "The Night Strangler" and subsequent series.A wonderful blend of humor and horror, this film cast Barry Atwater as an evil vampire preying on women in Las Vegas, and Carl's frustrating attempts to convince the police that the vampire is real; they do believe him, but are afraid of the bad publicity such a discovery to the public would mean for the city, so... Don't wait for me to tell you, watch this film to find out!A classic TV film is one of the best ever made; A must see for horror fans!

Chase_Witherspoon Taut little TV-scale shocker hits all the right notes as it tells the story of intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak (McGavin) chasing the story of a modern-day vampire (Atwater) whose lust for blood is resulting in several young women dying horrible deaths, and the local police precinct clueless to the culprit or motive. Predictably, when Kolchak attempts to convince the authorities to suspend disbelief ditch the revolvers and arm themselves with crucifixes, he's branded a crackpot and threatened with gaol.McGavin is superb as the irritatingly tenacious media man with the straw hat and loud jackets, whose female acquaintance - Carol Lynley - becomes unwittingly pawned in his ensuing battle with the establishment. Kent Smith plays the DA with appropriate pomp and ambivalence, Claude Akins is the disbelieving police chief whose had a gut full of Kolchak's apparent disrespect, Simon Oakland Kolchak's long-suffering editor, and Ralph Meeker has his close friend and contact, perhaps the only other person who can be convinced that Barry Atwater is a blood-sucking vampire. There's small roles for Larry Linville (pre-Frank Burns), Stanley Adams and Elisha Cook, Jnr rounding out an impressive cast.As a TV movie it's quite compact (75 minutes), so my only gripe is that there wasn't more to enjoy. Fortunately it spawned a short-lived TV series ("Kolchak") and a sequel of sorts ("The Night Strangler") and it's a series worth catching if you have the opportunity. As another reviewer has already telegraphed, there's not a lot of gore to be found here, but the violence remains quite strong by seventies TV standards.