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.

Lechuguilla 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. His narration style is that of a diary of major events, even citing the date and time of day. The script consists of a talky first half wherein a lot of the scenes take place in meetings and one-on-one chat between Kolchak and his co-workers. Action picks up in the second half after the villain has been identified.There are several major problems here. First, Kolchak is not an especially likable guy. He's arrogant, cocky, egocentric, superior, and dominates discussions. Second, the ghoulish theme I found boring. I would have much preferred a standard whodunit with multiple suspects. The film does contain suspense, especially in the second half, but by that time the viewer already knows who the killer is.In addition, the script makes use of the old standby cliché whereby the lone hero solves the case and in the process makes the paid cops look inept. Also, there's no real point to the "Gail Foster" character (Carol Lynley), though Lynley does a nice job in the role.Production design, color cinematography, and editing are acceptable if a bit uninspiring. But that's to be expected, I suppose, given that this is a TV movie. Background music is jazzy in a 1960s sort of way, except for appropriately creepy sounds during the fairly suspenseful second half. Casting is fair. Actors Oakland, Meeker, Smith, and Akins have a similar look and tend to blend into a single character. Overall acting is average."The Night Stalker" (1972) is a cinematic vehicle for Darren McGavin. The film will appeal more to horror fans than fans of whodunit murder mysteries. Since an explanation by logic is not possible in a supernatural theme story, I just could not relate to it. Though by no means a bad movie, I find nothing special about it.

Rainey Dawn Generally speaking, the 1970s had some good made for TV horror, mysteries and thrillers - I love a few of them. But this I really don't understand the hype over this one. I realize it's a pilot for a short lived series and it's about a vampire but I found it rather boring. Too much washed up reporter trying to get his name back and not enough vampire throughout most of the movie. It does get a little interesting at about 50 minutes into the movie - for me.I was just rather bored with it and had to fast forward to get to the reason I'm watching the film. I wanted to enjoy this film but I did not.I'm giving it a 3 out of 10 for the idea of using a vampire in a pilot TV series.3/10

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.