The Night Stalker

Plot synopsis:
From a tape made by reporter Carl Kolchak Darren McGavin]. "This is the story behind one of the greatest manhunts in history. Maybe you read about it--or rather what they let you read about it probably in some minor item buried somewhere on the back page. However, what happened in Las Vegas between May 16 and May 28 of this year was so incredible that, to this day, the facts have been suppressed in a massive effort to save certain political careers from disaster and law enforcement officials from embarrassment. This will be the last time I will ever discuss these events with anyone. So, when you have finished this bizarre account, judge for yourself its believability. And then try to tell yourself, wherever you may be, it couldn't happen here."LAS VEGAS
Sunday May 16
ITEM 2:30 am: Body of Cheryl Hughes found in a garbage can; cause of death officially undetermined.Tuesday May 18
ITEM: Reporter Carl Kolchak (Daily News) called back from vacation and assigned to story.
ITEM: Doctor at County General Hospital informs Kolchak that Hughes died of massive blood loss.
ITEM: Gail Foster [Carol Lynley] informs Kolchak that Hughes had brown belt in karate.Thursday May 20
ITEM 7:02 am: Body of Bonnie Reynolds, with throat wounds and large blood loss, found lying 22 feet into a ditch; no footsteps or blood visible.
ITEM: Kolchak reports that Hughes and Reynolds died of massive blood loss; concludes that a 'super powerful madman' is running around Las Vegas, killing young girl.
ITEM: Kolchak reprimanded by the managing editor, Anthony Vincenzo [Simon Oakland].Friday May 21
ITEM 8:06 am: Body of Carol Hanaschek, drained of blood and with throat wounds, found at the back door of her apartment.
ITEM: Parkway Hospital knocked over for its blood supply.
ITEM: Clark County courthouse meeting; Coroner Robert Makurji [Larry Linville] reveals that throat wounds of all victims showed traces of human saliva; reporters warned to keep 'vampire' references out of newspaper.Saturday May 22
ITEM: Daily News headline: 'Vampire Killer in Las Vegas?' written by C. Kolchak.
ITEM: Kolchak reprimanded by editor for using the word 'vampire'.Sunday May 23
ITEM: Body of Mary Brandon found drained of blood and with throat wounds; her mother provides description of assailant and car (maroon coupe).
ITEM: Shelly Forbes reported missing; her doberman pinscher is found with its neck broken.Monday May 24
ITEM: Daily News prints drawing of suspect.Tuesday May 25
ITEM 7:30 pm: Used car salesman questioned about sale of maroon coupe to one Martin Luther, name and address phony.Wednesday May 26
ITEM PM: Old Town Hospital robbed of blood; police (and Kolchak) arrive in time to shoot at suspect but bullets don't stop him.Thursday May 27
ITEM 8:20 am: Press conference at Clark county courthouse; suspect identified as Janos Skorzeny [Barry Atwater], born 1899 in Krisda, Romania; father died 1923 leaving $75-100 million. Skorzeny reported just before German Blitz in England as Dr Paul Velasco, specialist in hematology; research involved freshly-killed air raid victims, sumps, tubs and large meat locker. Reported 1948 in Canada as Dr Velasco; seen repeatedly along US/Can border. Left Canada April 19 for Las Vegas as Detective Constable Alan Hansley. Considered British fugitive. NOTE: All Skorzeny sightings accompanied also by reports of unexplained deaths due to blood loss.
ITEM PM: Skorzeny spotted in green unpaneled station wagon; pursued unsuccessfully on foot by Kolchak and police.Friday May 28
ITEM 3:17 am: Skorzeny still at large; Kolchak advises officials to carry crosses, stakes and mallets.
ITEM: Kolchak locates Skorzeny's house; search reveals refrigerator filled with blood, dirt-filled coffin, drawer of disguises, and Shelly Forbes lashed to bed as a 'private blood bank'.
ITEM: Skorzeny returns, finds Kolchak hiding in closet; Kolchak holds up cross and backs away from Skorzeny but falls downstairs; Skorzeny leaps on Kolchak as Bernie Jenks [Ralph Meeker] arrives; fight ensues.
ITEM DAWN: Kolchak pulls down curtains; sunlight weakens Skorzeny; Skorzeny staked by Kolchak as police arrive.
ITEM: Carl Kolchak arrested for murder and warned by D.A. to leave Las Vegas and to never speak of the vampire incident or be put away forever."So that's it. The book's finished, and now you'll have to judge for yourself. I must warn you, however, if you try to verify this account, you will find it quite impossible. ITEM: In Washington DC, there is no longer a file listing the suspect under his true name or any of his aliases. In Las Vegas, all of those who were involved have either left town, aren't talking, or are dead. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since all this happened, and now you might find it difficult, too, because there is still one fact that cannot be buried: after the death of Janos Skorzeny, he and all of his victims were immediately cremated. Why? Remember the legend: all those who die from the bite of a vampire will return as a vampire unless destroyed first. So, think about it and try to tell yourself, wherever you may be--in the quiet of your home, in the safety of your bed--try to tell yourself it couldn't happen here." [Full Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]

Tags: murder

Review:
Las Vegas is a town where the unusual is considered normal.However when former top reporter Carl Kolchak played by Darren McGavin meets with police reluctance while covering the murder of a showgirl his curiosity is aroused.Suddenly there is a series of murders apparently committed by the vampire killer.The closer Kolchak gets to the truth the less he is able to reveal and the more frightened he becomes."The Night Stalker" is a taut and suspenseful mix of vampire horror and comedy.The cast is superb with McGavin playing Kolchak like a 1940s' reporter who has emerged from a time capsule into the 1970s.The portrayal of vampire Skorzeny is positively bone-chilling.I'm not deeply into made for TV horror,but "The Night Stalker" is very good..
I have never been a great fan of Darrin McGavin.But here HE is obviously having the time of his life!As "Karl Kolchak" McGavin has the job of convincing his TV viewers that HE is convinced that a real-life Vampire killer is running loose in modern-day Las Vegas!And "the Night Stalker" is just the right mix of atmosphere and scariness and doubt to keep it's TV viewer on the edge of the seat!Maybe it even works BETTER as a TV movie!!
We the viewer are left with that final puzzling question...try to tell yourself "it couldn't happen here"!Of course,this wouldn't be possible without Darrin McGavin's performance.He took the best of an opportunity late in his career,paving the way for a future TV horror series.I don't think the series was nearly as good as the original.But only Darrin McGavin could have carried it at all!!!.
Good stuff here as modern-day vampirism gets a respectable TV-movie treatment that managed to bring something original to the mixture by having the story told from the point of view of a weary reporter.Darren McGavin is unforgettable in a telefilm that set the record for ratings shares in its day.
Kolchak uncovers the truth--the murders are the work of a "real live vampire"--and the truth is quickly covered up again by the Las Vegas police department, who don't want the news of a vampire to interfere with business (one is forced to consider that the ultimate proof of bonafide supernatural goings-on would ultimately be of more importance, but that would spoil the fun).The film is delightfully dated in its fashions and styling, but otherwise the treatment of the material is surprisingly contemporary, which goes to show just how far ahead of its time "The Night Stalker" really was.
But when you get an interesting concept (a vampire stalking Las Vegas) and a world-class writer like Richard Matheson (who wrote "The (Incredible) Shrinking Man" and numerous classic "Twilight Zone" eps) you have a formula for success.When you add producer Dan Curtis, the creator of "Dark Shadows", the possibility of a kick-ass TV horror movie becomes a reality.When a woman is murdered, reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is called back from a vacation to cover it.
And Barry Atwater plays Skorzeny with the perfect amount of venom and snarl, not going way over the top, which would have been easy to do.Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak was also a role he was born to play.
I love this movie and that's why I gave it a 10/10.SUMMARY: Carl Kolchak, reporter in Las Vegas, investigates a series of murders that seem to be caused by a vampire.
Darren McGavin is wonderful as Kolchak, and Barry Atwater is really creepy as Janos Skorzeny, the vampire.
THE NIGHT STALKER, the telefilm adapted from the then unpublished novel THE KOLCHAK TAPES by Jeff Rice, presents viewers with a most frightening and utterly BELIEVABLE vampire, Janos Skorzeny (Barry Atwater), a creature who resembles a tormented heroin addict more so than the glamorized, two-dimensional vampire fare of Anne Rice and Buffyland.
Of all the horror films in existence, THE NIGHT STALKER is certainly at the top of this genre's list for its surrealistic, cinema verite photography, first-rate acting, top-notch directing (John Llewelyn Moxey) and for its "The Front Page Meets Dracula" screenplay by fantasy veteran Richard Matheson.
Nice little made for TV (ABC) film about Kolchak (McGavin), a washed-up reporter in exile in Las Vegas, looking for a vampire who everybody is convinced is just a psycho.
The star of the show, however, is Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak, a seedy middle-aged reporter who's looking for a big story that will get him out of Las Vegas and back to a cushy job at a major newspaper in New York or Boston.
When a number of women turn up dead, their bodies completely drained of blood, Kolchak--much to the distaste of his editor (Simon Oakland) and Vegas law enforcement officials--takes it upon himself to sensationalize the story and find out who the murderer is.
The cast is uniformly wonderful (as well as McGavin, Oakland, and Atwater, Kent Smith deserves special mention as the smarmy, rotten-to-the-bone district attorney), and Richard Matheson's script (based on a story by Jeff Rice) deftly balances scares with caustic, Raymond Chandler-style humor.
The only problem with the movie is this: it's SO good that the sequel, "The Night Strangler", and the subsequent "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" television series just couldn't live up to it.
it was the television movie with the highest amount of viewers for quite a long time.it influenced a lot of modern artists, like Chris carter (X-Files), among others.Darren Mcgavin was awesome as a world weary reporter, with a cute girl friend who inadvertently gets drawn into an unbelievable story.it was how i saw vampires in my head for years afterward.
Here, a modern-day Dracula is terrorizing Las Vegas, but instead of taking the view of the family of the victims (as probably all other vampire movie did), the story is told from the view of a reporter who is fighting his flustered boss (Simon Oakland) and the stonewalling police into believing the impossible.
The actor who played the vampire (not listed in the credits) did an excellent job at terrifying the audience, and Darren McGavin played the role of Carl Kolchak so well that the viewer cannot imagine anyone else replacing him (not even in a "Spiderman-like" theatrical movie).
The argumentative, scruffy, set in his ways but ever-determined reporter who wants to get his story and the facts out for the public to read despite the best efforts of all around him, including his editor, the police chief, the district attorney and the local sheriff, to keep him reigned in and the truth seemingly under wraps for the sake of their own necks.Aside from McGavin's terrific lead performance as a character he seemed born to play, we also have on hand here many fine character actors including Claude Akins, Kent Smith, Ralph Meeker and Charles McGraw.
The film takes place in modern day Las Vegas and stars Darren McGavin as a cynical and eccentric reporter.
Darren McGavin is the pick of the acting cast, with a performance that really makes the film worth noticing, and also paved the way for a sequel a year later, and a short lived cult TV series.
If you enjoy good TV and campy horror movies I highly recommend this show.I loved watching Kolchak: The Night Stalker when it first aired (I was in 4th grade).
The character of Kolchak, the reporter who figures out and tries to convince us all that this is a real vampire, is flawlessly portrayed by the always great Darren McGavin.
It is also a great example of how horror can conform to the standards and practices of the often-staid network TV honchos and still be effective.Darren McGavin gives us probably the best performance of his life as Carl Kolchak, a Las Vegas newspaper reporter who stumbles across a series of unexplained killings of four Vegas showgirls.
It is thus up to McGavin to confront Atwater alone at the vampire's mansion, where Atwater is holding a fifth showgirl at his mercy.THE NIGHT STALKER has a great production pedigree: it was produced by Dan Curtis, the creator of the horror soap opera "Dark Shadows"; the screenplay (based on an unpublished story by Jeff Rice) is by Richard Matheson (of "I Am Legend" and DUEL fame); and the effective direction is by British emigre John Llewellyn Moxey.
Carol Lynley contributes a good turn as McGavin's girlfriend, a Vegas showgirl who might also be on Atwater's bloodsucking hitlist.This is great horror/suspense moviemaking at its best, and is well worth seeing.
Abrasive reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) comes to realize that a vampire is roaming the streets of Las Vegas killing women.
'The Night Stalker' wonderfully mixes the style of 1940s film-noir and '70s horror.When string of odd murders where victims are drained from blood occur in Las Vegas, a has been crime reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) starts to investigate in the need for good story.
He warns the authorities, but Kolchak's discoveries are not heard, rather they want to quiet the relentless journalist, until the moment when police has to face the unstoppable killing machine in real life.As the film is made for television, it is pretty tame in the department of blood and gore, but that doesn't reduce the film's horror value a bit.
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).
An abrasive Las Vegas newspaper reporter (Darren McGavin) investigates a series of murders committed by a vampire.It was based on the then-unpublished novel by Jeff Rice titled "The Kolchak Papers".
But naturally the one and only true star of "The Night Stalker" is the lead character Carl Kolchak and the fantastic actor Darren McGavin who single-handedly turned him into simultaneously the most sympathetic and most irritating protagonist that ever appeared on the TV-screen.
The very best thing about Matheson's script is that "The Night Stalker" is as much a horror film as it is a detective story.
Darrin McGavin made Carl Kolchak immortal, but here he also receive stupendous support from a handful of great and shamefully underrated actors, like Claude Akins (as the loathsome Sheriff), Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Charles McGraw and – last but not least - Barry Atwater as one of the spookiest vampires ever depicted..
Only in the glory days of television could you have a guy like Carl Kolchak-a middle aged reporter who's worn the same style of clothing for twenty plus years-be the main character and hero of a prime time event.
Produced by legendary TV producer Dan Curtis and written by the equally talented Richard Matheson, "The Night Stalker" introduces us to that old school newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak, played by the late great Darren McGavin from "A Christmas Story", in what has to be one of his best and most iconic roles.Our story begins in the dazzling streets of Sin City, where a young woman is stalked and murdered by a creature of the night.
Entertaining TV movie strictly for fans of horror films, and vampire films; with an unpredictable performance from McGavin and many scary, creepy scenes.
Produced by Dan Curtis, that master of 1970s genre TV, and directed by the under-rated John Llewelyn Moxey ("The City of the Dead", "Circus of Fear"), it features a sharp script by the great Richard Matheson, who adapts Jeffrey Grant Rices' unpublished story.In one of the best performances of his career, ever-lovable Darren McGavin makes the character of Carl Kolchak his own.
It quickly turns into a series of murders in which victims are drained of all their blood.Naturally, the culprit (Barry Atwater as Janos Skorzeny) is revealed to be a vampire, but in this initial Kolchak mystery, the intrepid journalist doesn't automatically leap to the most outlandish conclusion.
It was produced by genre giant Dan Curtis and written by genre god Richard Matheson, so it had a lot going for it -- not least of which veteran character actor Darren McGavin as a cynical Las Vegas newspaper reporter who finds himself battling a vampire.The movie originally aired in a 90-minute time slot, so it clocks in at a tense, terse 75 minutes without commercials.
Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is a cynical and brusk Los Angeles newspaper reporter who comes to believe the activities of a serial killer are in fact - those of a modern day vampire!It spawned a sequel and a TV series, such was the impact of this better than average TV horror movie.
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...
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.
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.
***SPOILERS*** After a number of Las Vegas show girls are brutally murdered with their blood drained out of their bodies hard nosed reporter Carl Kolchak,Darrin McGavin, smells a big story in what he feels is behind those savage killings.
Kolchak is certain that it was a vampire who did the women in and he was going to prove it even he ended up becoming one the the vampire's victims himself.With the Mayor and police commissioner of Las Vegas trying to prevent a city wide panic the thought that a legendary vampire was on the loose in the city Kolchak's story is put on hold with his editor Tony Vincenzo, Simon Okland, telling him to drop the whole thing and report on an upcoming beauty contest instead.
He *knows* he's right, and he might just get himself killed to prove it.Terrifically entertaining, The Night Stalker became the highest-rated TV movie of its time, spawning a sequel and a short-lived but quite fun series with a disproportionately large footprint.
Narrated by eager-beaver newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin), "The Night Stalker" is Kolchak's account of his involvement in the murder cases of multiple young women in Las Vegas.
The very fact that The Night Stalker (the film...not the series) was able to rise so far above its meager budget to become the classic it is today, is proof that it was not just another "horror" movie.
He also brought over talented British filmmaker John Llewellyn Moxey (HORROR HOTEL) to direct.In Las Vegas, unstoppable reporter (and, as his harried boss puts it, "amateur bloodhound") Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) gets assigned to cover a story involving a young woman found dead completely drained of blood and with puncture marks on her neck.
He ends up right in the middle of "the largest manhunt in Las Vegas history," but the district attorney (Kent Smith), county sheriff (Claude Akins), police chief (Charles McGraw) and others want to cover it all up and "don't want to cause a panic." Kolchak is just interesting in uncovering the truth and bears witness to the vampire robbing a blood bank, taking dozens of bullet hits, throwing cops around with ease and keeping a victim tied to a bed in his home for quick late-night snacks.McGavin is great fun in this role; energetic, quick-witted, no-nonsense, sardonic, pushy, courageous and his rapid-fire sarcastic exchanges ("What do you want?
After the success of this TV movie, Curtis, followed with THE NIGHT STRANGLER, the second pilot film for the eventual television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Darren McGavin gives a wonderfully robust and engaging performance as Carl Kolchak, an abrasive, impetuous, impulsive, and excitable down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter who uncovers the scoop of a lifetime after he finds out that Janos Skorzeny (a genuinely frightening portrayal by Barry Atwater), the man responsible for a vicious series of baffling murders in Las Vegas, is an actual vampire.
"The Night Stalker" had plenty of that.Darren McGavin plays Carl Kolchak, a reporter for a Las Vegas newspaper who has a checkered career history (fired 10 times if I remember the scene correctly) in the past who yearns to find his way back to a big city paper.
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.
******* The Night Stalker (1/11/72) John Llewellyn Moxey ~ Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Barry Atwater.
Based on a screenplay by Richard Matheson from a story by Jeff Rice, the film introduces us to Carl Kolchak(DARREN McGAVIN), a wisecracking, cynical, world-weary, middle-aged reporter working for the Las Vegas Daily News.
Darren McGavin is a natural fit for the brash Kolchak, fighting cover-ups and supernatural evil at every turn, and well supported by a fine cast of character actors including Ralph Meeker, Elisha Cook Jr., Claude Akins and Simon Oakland.
Carl Kolchak ( Darren McGavin ), an eccentric news reporter, tries to get at the truth, but is thwarted at all turns by the authorities, who are trying to cover up the presence of a vampire in the town.