(For Hunter and Jack---Monster Men)
The 1970’s was a golden age for anti-heroes. You had James Garner as Jim Rockford, Al Pacino in Dog day Afternoon, Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan and the man with no name or the High Plains Drifter, Robert De Niro in Taxi driver, Charles Bronson in Death Wish, and Walter Matthau in Charlie Varrick. Then you had Carl Kolchak -The Night Stalker played by Darrin McGavin.
Night Stalker (1972) is what Television should be - a great script brilliant acting, entertaining, and not a cliché. We find reporter Carl Kolchak (Played by McGavin -A Christmas Story, Mike Hammer) in a hotel room listening to his own voice narrating the events that happened to him in Las Vegas from a tape recorder. What he originally thought was a two day old third rate murder case actually turned out to be linked to a series of grisly murders, strangely resembling vampirism. Poor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland - Psycho, I want to live), has to endure Kolchak’s methods of fact-finding, which often puts Kolchak at odds with authorities.
It seems the killer picks his victims, mostly female, who are out at night. Kolchak has a girlfriend (played by Carol Lynley - Bunny Lake is missing, The Poseidon Adventure) who also works the Vegas strip where one of her coworkers was murdered. Strange things happen in this case. All the victims have a loss of blood. There is even a robbery at a blood bank. The suspect has a run in with the cops, they shoot him multiple times, and supernaturally he races by them and jumps over a wall.
There are a lot of great cameos in this film. Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, and of course Barry Atwater. There’s not much else I can say because if I did, it would ruin it for anyone who has never seen the film. Let’s just say that none of the characters but Kolchak cares to let the public in on the facts regarding “the greatest manhunt in history!”
The first movie is based on a story The Kolchak Papers (or novel rather - unpublished at the time) by actor/reporter Jeff Rice. According to Wikipedia, Jeff Rice said he always wanted to write a vampire story, and what a story it was. Through an agent, the story landed in the hands of the great Richard Matheson. After Matheson wrote the script, it went to head of ABC, Barry Diller, who called Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows - Burnt Offerings) who just wanted to produce the film, and was directed by John Llewelyn Moxey (Horror Hotel).
The success of the first movie, getting an insanely 54 share of the viewership in 1972 became highest rated TV movie at that time, spawned a second film.
The Night Strangler (1973), Kolchak is now in a bar in Seattle, still trying to get someone, anyone to listen to his stories about a vampire in Las Vegas. Vincenzo hears a familiar voice and to his disdain, it is indeed, Kolchak. Down and out, hanging on by threads, Kolchak needs a job, and the haphazard editor Vincenzo, hires Kolchak. He immediately regrets it.
Again, kolchak is investigating a series of murders, where the victims (mostly women) are not only strangled, but their necks are crushed and drained of their blood. This case takes Kolchak to the underground. Apparently Seattle had to rebuild in the late 1800’s and they chose to build over top of the city already intact or partially intact. During his investigation, Kolchak finds that blood is part of an Alchemist’s elixir, and since 1889; every twenty-one years, six murders occur for eighteen days. Of course, no one believes Kolchak, and just like the first film, he gets Vincenzo in more trouble and has a girl Friday. Funny, almost all the victims in this case are belly dancers at a Turkish restaurant, but ends up making sense by the end of the film.
I have to talk about something in regards to both films: the music in both entries are like another character. The music was written by Robert Cobert, it definitely emphasized key scenes, especially in the first movie where we finally meet the monster and that iconic close-up of Barry Atwater’s eyes.
Dan Curtis directed this sequel and has stated that he and Matheson came up with the location and idea that it sort of be a remake and a sequel. Just like the first movie, there are great cameos. John Carradine, Wally Cox, and “Grandpa” Al Lewis from the Munsters TV show.
The success of the movies spawned a TV series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, but wasn’t as successful as the movies, only lasting one season. By that time I suppose the public had grown tired of Kolchak and boogey men. All in all, the idea and series was ahead of its time. Predating another small TV show that appeared on Fox in the early 90’s called X-Files. It’s no lie that creator Chris Carter was inspired by Night Stalker and he even brought Darren McGavin on for an episode or two as the “original” Mr. X-file.
Time has been good to Kolchak. The show and character has become part of our culture. Figurines of Kolchak have been sold. There have been graphic novels; other writers have carried on with Kolchak adventures in books. Jeff Rice’s original book and novelization of Night Strangler was published and republished. One note to mention, someone somewhere in the Hollywood business thought they could steal Jeff Rice’s character. From what I have read, ABC thought they could just go right into series without even crediting Rice. Thankfully Rice was vindicated and rewarded in the courts. I have to say, it was one hell of an idea from Barry Diller and his execs to bring Kolchak to our small screens.
Mark Slade, HMS
Read the previous installment.