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Revisiting Kolchak: The Night Stalker (original) ....

Warped9

Warped9

Admiral
Admiral
II got this delivered yesterday, a bit earlier than I expected. I initially wanted to wait until I'd finished with The Prisoner, but I just couldn't wait.


The Night Stalker *****

A Las Vegas reporter tracks the trail of murdered women who have been totally drained of blood.

You read the description of this and it sounds like B-flick cheese. But this a a first-rate movie, and not a theatrical one at that, but a made-for-TV film released in 1972.

Carl Kolchak is a rumpled investigative reporter---something of a journalistic equivalent of Columbo---who has an uncanny sense for the unusual and a penchant for getting under the skin of authority of all stripes.

Darren McGavin is perfect as Carl Kolchak and it's a pleasure to see Claude Aikins and Simon Oakland as supporting characters. They take a different approach to the vampire rather than following the Bela Lagosi schtick. And thank God for low tech, make-do-with-what-you-got f/x that manage to make the vampire seem more credible.

In parts I found myself laughing along with this---and I do emphasize laughing with rather than at---because it was such an enjoyable film to watch unfold. I just might watch again for the hell of it. It's certainly easy to see how this (and what will later follow) could easily have inspired Chris Carter to create The X-Files.

Yeah, sure, it's dated in some respects---it's of it's era---but that doesn't take anything away from it being good by any measure. If you've never seen this I heartily recommend it.

I can't wait to watch the next film and then the series.
 
I never saw this as a kid, only heard of them in passing and so you can imagine how a kid might imagine a guy known as "The Night Stalker" who took on monsters. Seeing them for the first time in my 30's you can imagine that Darren McGavin wasn't quite what I had in mind. :lol:
 
Part of what makes this work is that the main characters are realistic looking rather than Hollywood pretty boys and girls.
 
Mr. Adventure said:
I never saw this as a kid, only heard of them in passing and so you can imagine how a kid might imagine a guy known as "The Night Stalker" who took on monsters.
Click to expand...

As I recall, the title The Night Stalker was originally meant to refer to the vampire, not to Kolchak, but it was associated with the series so it kept being used anyway -- much like The Thin Man and The Pink Panther.
 
The Night Strangler ****

In Seattle Kolchak finds a pattern of murders that reoccur every twenty-one years.

While not quite as good as the first film this is still wonderfully entertaining. I love the scene chewing between Kolchak and Vincenzo (Simon Oakland).

Once again this is a low-key f/x type of villain/monster, this time played by Richard Anderson. Pity we don't really get to see Anderson until near the end of the story, but it's fun nonetheless.

Although I find it somehow improbable in its depiction I really liked seeing the subterranean world of 19th century Seattle. It really lent the story a compelling eeriness. It certainly was effective because I remember some of this scenes ever since 1973 even though I'd forgotten so much of this film.

Good stuff.
 
^Say it ain't so, Oscar!

As I recall, there actually is an abandoned undercity beneath Seattle, though I haven't seen the movie so I'm not sure how close its depiction was to reality. Greg Cox could tell you more, since he's from Seattle and I think he's used the undercity as a setting in a novel.
 
The Night Stalker movies and show are among my all-time favorites. If I remember correctly, the original movie was the highest-rated TV movie of all time up to that point. Richard Matheson also wrote a third script called The Night Killers which was never filmed because they decided to do a series instead; it was said that they would have used it as a two-parter if there had been a second season.

Darren McGavin was fantastic as Kolchak. One of the reasons I loved the character was that he was just a middle-aged, out-of-shape guy with an anti-social attitude-- yet he always managed to summon up the goodwill and courage to do the right thing. This becomes even more evident in the series, especially in episodes like "The Knightly Murders" and "The Sentry."

One of the great things about the Night Stalker concept was how they managed to fit these creatures of the night into modern society. What's the best place for a vampire who must sleep all day and live by night-- a city that never sleeps, like Las Vegas. What's the best place for a guy who's a relic of the past-- the ruins of a past era that just happen to be a tourist attraction.

The underground city in Seattle does exist, although I'm pretty sure it was exaggerated for the movie. Great atmosphere, though. The scenes with Richard Anderson reminded me of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, giving it a classic feel.
 
Yes, the everyman character of Kolchak is what made him so wonderful. Carl wasn't really the best at much, apart from getting under peoples' skins, but he was persistent and he cared about the good guys winning. Darren McGavin was fantastic in the role. It is so many worlds apart from the remake, that the sight of Carl's hat in the premier just made how much was lost so very real.
 
This evening I found myself watching both films again. Although they're both good the first one is definitely better. The second one's problem is pacing and not enough happening in the beginning. We have to wait too long for things to really start happening and to finally catch sight of the villain/monster, although it must be said that it's an interesting monster not cut from the conventional cloth.
 
Christopher said:
^Say it ain't so, Oscar!

As I recall, there actually is an abandoned undercity beneath Seattle, though I haven't seen the movie so I'm not sure how close its depiction was to reality. Greg Cox could tell you more, since he's from Seattle and I think he's used the undercity as a setting in a novel.
Click to expand...

As much as I love The Night Strangler, I have to confess that the real "Underground City" is nowhere near as impressive as the one in the movie. At this point, it's basically a series of interconnected basements that, at one time, used to be the first floors of the buildings. They raised the streets one story when they rebuilt the area after the fire, which put the original storefronts underground.

It's worth taking the tour, though, for all the colorful stories about the early days of frontier Seattle. (Did I mention that my great-grandfather was a bank robber who got gunned down in Seattle way back when?)

On the other hand, the movie really captures the somewhat sleazy feel of Pioneer Square/Pike Place Market back in the seventies, back when it was all porno theaters, hookers, and strip dens. (Think Times Square, pre-Giuliani.) Watching it now, it's like a time capsule of waterfront Seattle circa 1972, before Starbucks, Microsoft, and grunge.

And, yes, the title of The Night Stalker originally refered to Janos Skorzeny, the vampire, just as The Night Strangler refered to the monster in that film. The later tv series fudged things by calling itself Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Trekkie trivia: Janos Skorzeny was, of course, played by the late Barry Atwater, who also played Surak, the father of Vulcan civilization, on the original Star Trek tv serie.
 
I inherited the entire VHS collection by complete accident years ago, and I immediately fell in love with the show. I need to go through the series again.
 
Greg Cox said:
The later tv series fudged things by calling itself Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Click to expand...
It was sort of like Enterprise-- when it first came on, it was Night Stalker, then later on became Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It seemed odd at the time, because it didn't seem likely that adding the name Kolchak would attract new viewers, unless it was supposed to resonate with Kojak, which was popular at the time.

Trekkie trivia: Janos Skorzeny was, of course, played by the late Barry Atwater, who also played Surak, the father of Vulcan civilization, on the original Star Trek tv serie.
Click to expand...
Another bit of trivia: When Fox Network started up in the 80s, one of their first shows was a half-hour adventure called Werewolf and the evil boss Werewolf was named Janos Skorzeny in homage to Night Stalker.
 
RJDiogenes said:
Trekkie trivia: Janos Skorzeny was, of course, played by the late Barry Atwater, who also played Surak, the father of Vulcan civilization, on the original Star Trek tv serie.
Click to expand...
Another bit of trivia: When Fox Network started up in the 80s, one of their first shows was a half-hour adventure called Werewolf and the evil boss Werewolf was named Janos Skorzeny in homage to Night Stalker.
Click to expand...

I remember that!

(I actually snuck a reference to Janos Skorzeny into one of my CSI novels. He's included in an exhibit on famous Las Vegas murderers!)
 
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RJDiogenes said:
Greg Cox said:
The later tv series fudged things by calling itself Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Click to expand...
It was sort of like Enterprise-- when it first came on, it was Night Stalker, then later on became Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It seemed odd at the time, because it didn't seem likely that adding the name Kolchak would attract new viewers, unless it was supposed to resonate with Kojak, which was popular at the time.

Trekkie trivia: Janos Skorzeny was, of course, played by the late Barry Atwater, who also played Surak, the father of Vulcan civilization, on the original Star Trek tv serie.
Click to expand...
Another bit of trivia: When Fox Network started up in the 80s, one of their first shows was a half-hour adventure called Werewolf and the evil boss Werewolf was named Janos Skorzeny in homage to Night Stalker.
Click to expand...

Played by Chuck Connors!!
 
Once the series began I always interpreted it as a play on words. Kolchak became the night stalker, the one who stalked and revealed the demons of the night.
 
I haven't seen the original film in years, I do have the Night Strangler on VHS still however, not quite sure why I haven't watched it given I watched the boxset of the series last year.
 
Got my box set too! Its just a shame they didn't include the pilot film.

I was around ten when this show was on, and watched it religiously.
 
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