The Night Stalker

"A real horror story…"

1972 1h 14m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 137

MysteryHorrorThrillerTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.

“A real horror story…”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

Cast

Darren McGavin
Carl Kolchak
Carol Lynley
Gail Foster
Simon Oakland
Tony Vincenzo
Ralph Meeker
Bernie Jenks
Claude Akins
Sheriff Warren A. Butcher
Charles McGraw
Police Chief Ed Masterson
Kent Smith
District Attorney Tom Paine
Elisha Cook Jr.
Mickey Crawford

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Kolchak Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, shot by Michel Hugo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bob Cobert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Desmond Marquette shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Darren McGavin and Carol Lynley and Simon Oakland carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Llewellyn Moxey directs. Michel Hugo behind the camera. Bob Cobert scores. Desmond Marquette cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
354 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "The Kolchak Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, shot by Michel Hugo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bob Cobert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Desmond Marquette shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Darren McGavin and Carol Lynley and Simon Oakland carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A real horror story…".
10IMDB entry: tt0067490 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michel Hugo
Original score: Bob Cobert
Editing: Desmond Marquette
Stunt coordinator: Dick Ziker
Runtime: 74 min · 1h 14m
Status: Released
Budget: $450,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Night Stalker (1972)

Part of

The Kolchak Collection

Heroic newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak solves a series of mysteries.

Also by

John Llewellyn Moxey

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-07-25
★ 7/10
Judge for yourself its believability and then try to tell yourself, wherever you may be, it couldn't happen here. 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. It's a film of many delights, full of rich and quirky characters, who come to life as the screenplay enjoys toying with audience expectations. Nicely photographed as well, there's a lot of love gone into bringing this to the screen. The great Richard Matheson adapts from a Jeffrey Rice story, while a roll call of excellent character actors of the 40s and 50s give stoic support to the magnetic and witty McGavin. Not as scary these days as it would have been to impressionable viewers back in 72, it's none the less a horror antique to cherish. 7/10
Wuchak2018-04-25
★ 8/10
A formidable vampire is on the loose in Las Vegas 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, 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-
whitsbrain2024-01-30
★ 9/10
This is a nicely done TV thriller. It's campy but has a dark mood that I enjoyed. The "Night Stalker" himself got quite a bit of screen time; he wasn't hidden in the shadows too much. There are a couple of short but good action sequences where the Night Stalker evades police cars, motorcycles, even gun fire. Kolchak manages to handle the Night Stalker a bit too easily when compared to the army of police and their failings, but that is all part of the movie's charm. Darrin McGavin as Kolchak was one of my favorite characters as a youth and I absolutely loved the TV series that followed soon after. Kolchak is different in this movie than he is in that TV series. He's mostly interested in getting the big story so he can get a job in New York again. He doesn't seem to be friends with his boss Tony Vincenzo in this. They seem very much at odds with one another. Kolchak greases a lot of palms and swings a few deals to get what he needs to score the scoop. I'm surprised he doesn't wear the light blue suit here. He's got the trademark porkpie straw hat, though. He also has a love interest who seems much too young and beautiful for ol' hairy Carl. Darren McGavin is fantastic as Kolchak, and this has a nice gritty '70s Las Vegas atmosphere.