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Has anyone seen the 1973 Kolchak TV movie? The Night Strangler?

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Posted

I just finished watching the series Kolchak Thre Night Stalker... Loved it!!

Although after watching the complete series there was something missing. I remember before the series came out, there was a midnight movie called The Night Strangler Staring Darren McGaven as Kolchak The Night Stalker.

Amazon has the midnight double feature listed. Here is the write ups.

The Night Stalker

Wisecracking Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is a rumpled news hound plucked from the fast-talking newspaper flicks of the 1940s and dropped into the swinging '70s. What makes the eccentric Kolchak even more unique, however, is his nose for the supernatural, a trait that leaves his editor (Simon Oakland) exasperated and the police less than amused. When he insists that a late-night Las Vegas serial killer (who leaves his victims drained of blood and sporting twin holes in the neck) is a modern-day vampire, he's practically run out of town by the local authorities. Naturally, he stalks the vampire himself, an unlikely Van Helsing armed with a silver cross, a wooden stake, and his ever-present tape recorder and flashbulb camera. Carol Lynley is his understanding girlfriend, and Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Kent Smith, and Charles McGraw costar as the Vegas cops and politicians Kolchak systematically alienates with his abrasive charm and smart mouth. Directed by Dan Curtis from a witty script by Richard Matheson, the quirky mix of horror and humor turned The Night Stalker into a ratings sensation that inspired a sequel (The Night Strangler) and a short-lived TV series (Kolchak: The Night Stalker). The X-Files creator Chris Carter acknowledges the show as a major inspiration, and has cast McGavin in a recurring role as a retired X-Files veteran with an acerbic personality and a familiar rumpled wardrobe. Kolchak lives! --Sean Axmaker

The Night Strangler

The Night Strangler finds down-on-his-luck investigator Carl Kolchak in Seattle, hot on the trail of a serial killer hiding in the underground city beneath the streets, a gas-lit fantasy world frozen in time (L.A.'s famous Bradbury Building--which has also appeared in Blade Runner andDOA--becomes the spooky city's architectural centerpiece). Exotic dancer and medical student Jo Ann Pflug tags along as partner and bait, and the exasperated Simon Oakland returns as Kolchak's harried editor. Genre fans will enjoy the appearances of popular character actors John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Wally Cox, and Al Lewis. Noted horror and science fiction author Richard Matheson scripted this meandering, low-key thriller with plenty of humor, which McGavin delivers with deadpan delight. --Sean Axmaker

IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS... IT'S A MUST SEE MOVIE.

Guest Frank L.
Posted

I've seen The Night Strangler, and although it's a classic, in my opinion The Night Stalker was much better. It's more serious and spooky, and definately more exciting to me.

Posted
I've seen The Night Strangler, and although it's a classic, in my opinion The Night Stalker was much better. It's more serious and spooky, and definately more exciting to me.
Frank L...fear is relative to each individual...it also depends on their age and influences in life...

My father, being a horror buff (Wolfman, Dracula, The Mummy, etc) weaned me on years of such sordid epics. Each and every Friday/Saturday night was reserved for the viewing of whatever feature film was being offered, whether it be Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff or Vincent Price. A bowl of popcorn and a soda to last thru the next two to three hours of blood and guts..LOL..

...HOWEVER, i STILL remember fleeing in absolute fear and hysteria to my room when the "Alfred Hitchcock" hour came on ...There was just something about the way his profile shadow would come across the screen that just sent the fear of all that is unholy thru my being...my father would just laugh and try to get me to understand it was all just a show, but it was a while before i could remain in the same room...i know it sounds silly, but to this day i still have memories of being scared sh*#less....

as far as the Night Strangler goes...

I remember watching The Night Strangler back around, i believe 1973-75 and being, for as old as i was back then, straight up spooked. Now, as a 48 year old has been, i look back upon it as campy fun and can more fully understand the subliminal humor from Kolchak's character...I have the origional series on DVD and did occasionally watch the "newer' version of The Night Stalker, but found it substituting the good ol' humerous parts for shock value gratutiousness...I was not surprised in the least that it was cancelled during the first season...I always felt that while he was still alive, that Darrin McGavin should have had a background role, especially in the pilot....

4th Horseman...

Posted

Archer, you probably didnt know but there is a Kolchak(original)room here on the board. I am the moderator there but i dont think i have the ability to move this thread there. So i thought i would let you know.

I remember watching the Night Strangler as a little kid growing up in the 70's. When finding it on DVD i bought it right away. What a great classic with "D" listed actors at the time.

Guest MillenniumIsBliss
Posted
...HOWEVER, i STILL remember fleeing in absolute fear and hysteria to my room when the "Alfred Hitchcock" hour came on ...There was just something about the way his profile shadow would come across the screen that just sent the fear of all that is unholy thru my being...my father would just laugh and try to get me to understand it was all just a show, but it was a while before i could remain in the same room...i know it sounds silly, but to this day i still have memories of being scared sh*#less....

LOL, that kind of reminds me of myself as a young kid with a show called "Night Gallery". I wasn't so much scared by the content of the show, as I never had the guts to watch it, but just the idea of it, and what I had heard about it, somehow scared the crap out of me. I remember attempting to watch it with one of my friends one night during a party when the adults were down stairs, but I got so spooked that I took off and ran down stairs. As mentioned, at that age, Night Gallery was before my time, and I still don't think I have ever watched it, but I doubt that there was ever anything scary enough on the show to warrant the fear it stirred in me. I also remember at just about the same time, a friend of mine had a Halloween record that was supposed to be soooo scary. He let me listen to it, but it scared him so much that he only let me listen after he left the room. It wasn't too long before the sound effects had me running down the stairs frantically and swinging around the railing at the bottom of the stairs and landing in the living room. I remember my friends Mom looking at me in total bewilderment, like I was nuts. LOL, compare that to the kind of stuff kids must be seeing now a days, and it's laughable by comparison. In fact, I can remember being totally freaked out and haunted the first time I got a glimpse of the Elephant Man in the Anthony Hopkins film. It seems so ridiculous now looking back on it, but I was a pretty sheltered kid.

Posted

i remember Night Gallery myself, very scary. I was gonna say about Alfred Hitchcock is i remember seeing a episode in which he is holding his own head! while talking about the upsoming episode.........i was scared shitless

Guest MillenniumIsBliss
Posted
i remember Night Gallery myself, very scary. I was gonna say about Alfred Hitchcock is i remember seeing a episode in which he is holding his own head! while talking about the upsoming episode.........i was scared shitless

Hitchcock was definitely before my time, and I have seen very little of his work. I always think I am going to look for some stuff from him, but there is just too much on the agenda already. I had always thought of him as being more about mystery/suspense as opposed to horror and fright, so it would be interesting to see some of his old movies.

Guest ___ L@the_of_Heaven___
Posted
I just finished watching the series Kolchak Thre Night Stalker... Loved it!!

Although after watching the complete series there was something missing. I remember before the series came out, there was a midnight movie called The Night Strangler Staring Darren McGaven as Kolchak The Night Stalker.

Amazon has the midnight double feature listed. Here is the write ups.

The Night Stalker

Wisecracking Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is a rumpled news hound plucked from the fast-talking newspaper flicks of the 1940s and dropped into the swinging '70s. What makes the eccentric Kolchak even more unique, however, is his nose for the supernatural, a trait that leaves his editor (Simon Oakland) exasperated and the police less than amused. When he insists that a late-night Las Vegas serial killer (who leaves his victims drained of blood and sporting twin holes in the neck) is a modern-day vampire, he's practically run out of town by the local authorities. Naturally, he stalks the vampire himself, an unlikely Van Helsing armed with a silver cross, a wooden stake, and his ever-present tape recorder and flashbulb camera. Carol Lynley is his understanding girlfriend, and Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Kent Smith, and Charles McGraw costar as the Vegas cops and politicians Kolchak systematically alienates with his abrasive charm and smart mouth. Directed by Dan Curtis from a witty script by Richard Matheson, the quirky mix of horror and humor turned The Night Stalker into a ratings sensation that inspired a sequel (The Night Strangler) and a short-lived TV series (Kolchak: The Night Stalker). The X-Files creator Chris Carter acknowledges the show as a major inspiration, and has cast McGavin in a recurring role as a retired X-Files veteran with an acerbic personality and a familiar rumpled wardrobe. Kolchak lives! --Sean Axmaker

The Night Strangler

The Night Strangler finds down-on-his-luck investigator Carl Kolchak in Seattle, hot on the trail of a serial killer hiding in the underground city beneath the streets, a gas-lit fantasy world frozen in time (L.A.'s famous Bradbury Building--which has also appeared in Blade Runner andDOA--becomes the spooky city's architectural centerpiece). Exotic dancer and medical student Jo Ann Pflug tags along as partner and bait, and the exasperated Simon Oakland returns as Kolchak's harried editor. Genre fans will enjoy the appearances of popular character actors John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Wally Cox, and Al Lewis. Noted horror and science fiction author Richard Matheson scripted this meandering, low-key thriller with plenty of humor, which McGavin delivers with deadpan delight. --Sean Axmaker

IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS... IT'S A MUST SEE MOVIE.

Hey Archer! YES, I have "The Night Strangler" but it's been a LONG time since I have seen it. Isn't it the one that takes place in the subterranian city below the actual city? Personally (IF I remember correctly) "The Night Stalker" was more of a straight forward Vampire film, and thus more classic in nature; but I remember "The Night Strangler" being pretty darn creepy in those below ground places and I found the story line and execution a bit more imaginative, but more progressive in nature and less classic like the first film. That's my wretched little take on it... :yes:

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