Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

jefffisher65-708-541158 Kolchak:the Night Stalker is my favorite "fantstic genre" type of TV series of them all. Undoubtedly, it is somewhat dated by modern standards, but it did originally run in the mid-1970s, folks. What the program lacked in quality make-up was more than made-up for by the sheer creepiness of it all! And the fact that Kolchak, the marvelous Darren McCavin, rip, was a past-50 something ordinary mortal who quite often became terrified almost out of his mind by these creatures made him the more endearing, I think.As most here know, the two previous TV-films, THE NIGHT STALKER(1972), and THE NIGHT STRANGLER(1973) led to the series itself. The original TV-film was the highest-rated TV movie for several years, in fact. And the series was an ancestor of both BUFFY and THE X-FILES as noted.I was nine when K:TNS began its one-season run on ABC, and caught many of them either on their first-airings, or in the summer-rerun phase(the network did cut some scenes for the prime time repeats for those jaded enough by today's product to think Kolchak wasn't creepy!) When CBS began to run the series on the "CBS Late NIGHT" schedule in 1979, I was thrilled. In those days, short-run TV series were not often played in syndication. The program gained a large cult following which continues today as CBS ran the program into the early 1980s on its late-night schedule, late Friday, I believe.Can't add a whole lot to the wonderful love/hate relationship between McGavin and Simon Oakland's Tony Vincenzo, other than it added a good deal to the series' charm. To answer some here, Carl did turn in routine-type reporting articles along the way(although they sometimes tended to get INS sued as Tony wasn't slow to point out!). For the record, there was an actual INS at one time - it's mentioned once in the classic 1954 film "Them!", for example.My favorite episodes are probably again, "Horror in the Heights," The Vampire," "The Spainish Moss Murders," and "Demon in Lace," in no particular order. I would have to say the final five minutes or so of "Zombie" are almost beyond endurance! It's hard to pick a true favorite, "The Ripper" was excellent as well, I must say, even "Choper" was quite good if one forgives the poor-quality headless motorcycle rider.There were to have been at least three more episodes, possibly four has the series not ended its season slightly ahead of the usual length for TV programs in the 1970s. Fan-magazines of the 1990s like "it couldn't happen here" (which I contributed to some) ran material on those un-produced programs - I have wondered if both "The Norliss Tapes, and "Curse of the Black Widow," two more 1970s Dan Curtis supernatural-detective type TV films weren't also meant originally for "TNS.For the fans interested the most, "Fangoria" # 3 in 1979 ran a nice episode guide, and article on TNS, although with some mistakes in the piece. The mid-1970s Marvel satire comic "Arrgh!" ran a nifty"Kolchak" parody in issue # 4 which also featured Kolchak on the cover. Another fanzine type publication was "The Kolchak Chronicle" out of Texas as well. The TV films were published as paperbacks by Jeff Rice from Pocket Books around the same time the TV series began, and other items are out there for those who wish to search for them, i.e., comics, other novels, even model kits.

eclecticist In the mid-1970s, "The X Files" was called "The Night Stalker" (TNS). Now a show that far ahead of its time couldn't exist for long in the mediocre milieu of network television, but for one brief year, we were treated to one of the greatest characters ever to inhabit TV Land.All week, I would wait for the night the show came on, and if my homework was finished and my chores completed, I could try to talk my way past my mom's objections that "It'll give you nightmares!" (Which it did, but they were a small price to pay.) Now if we're being honest, I'll have to admit that the quality of the scripts (not to mention the special affects) was wildly uneven. But when it was good, it was magical! And even when the episode's plot left something to be desired, the relationship between Kolchak and his boss, Anthony Vincenzo (played to perfection by Simon Oakland), made every minute worthwhile.If ever a series revolved around an anti-leading man, TNS was that series. Carl Kolchak wasn't young, handsome, or suave, and he worked for a two-bit, perpetually broke news service. A real old-school reporter, he was cynical and hard-bitten, and his prose tended toward the florid. His suit was always rumpled, and his shoes were worn. He always seemed to be in a hurry, yet he always arrived late and out of breath. In any fight, he was sure to get the worst of it.In other words, he was far from the glamorous, polished hero image usually found in TV's mystery shows. Which made him real! Every week I would root for him to find one--just one--person that would believe his incredible stories ... but just try to get someone to take you seriously when you're talking about vampires or werewolves! Even the cops, staring the evidence in the face, were loathe to admit to anything, even away from the public eye.Mr. Vincenzo, Kolchak's boss, was always harried and hounded to the verge of a nervous breakdown by the stress of trying to keep his tiny bureau out of bankruptcy while simultaneously pleasing his bosses in New York. All Tony ever wanted was a little peace and quiet, a good night's sleep, and a smooth-running operation. With Kolchak on his staff, however, those were all as rare as high-quality photographs of an alien or the devil.Long before Moonlighting's conflict-energized dialogues between Sybill and Bruce, Tony and Carl could go at it with the best of them--and always at the top of their lungs. Kolchak usually managed to get the best of his boss, who was always threatening to fire the troublesome reporter "if that story isn't on my desk first thing in the morning!" Instead, he was much more likely to get a 3 a.m. call from the local police precinct, pleading for him to come down and post bail. Because Kolchak's main characteristics were persistence, an open mind, and incredible curiosity--none of which endeared him to local law enforcement. The police brass was always trying to cover up the uncomfortable details that Kolchak was determined to unearth ... and he wanted them to admit things that would get them thrown in a loony bin.Kolchak is a dying breed. On one hand, TV News was already outbidding print services for talent, and on the other Woodward and Bernstein were about to revolutionize reporting. Soon, reporters would no longer dream of a big scoop on the latest sensational murder; instead, it was to become all about politically themed exposes ... who can take down the biggest politician.But Carl Kolchak was a great character, foibles and all, and Darren McGavin played him spot on, note for note. So it may have lasted a mere 20 episodes ... but what a show!

Woodyanders It's a genuine shame that this spin-off TV series inspired by the superior made-for-TV pictures "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler" only lasted a single season and twenty episodes, because at its best this program offered an often winning and highly entertaining blend of sharp cynical humor (Carl Kolchak's spirited verbal sparring matches with perpetually irascible and long-suffering editor Tony Vincenzo were always a treat to watch and hear), clever writing, nifty supernatural menaces (gotta love the offbeat and original creatures in "The Spanish Moss Murders," "The Sentry," and "Horror in the Heights," plus you can't go wrong with such tried'n'true fright favorites as zombies, vampires, werewolves, and witches), colorful characters, lively acting from a raft of cool guest stars (legendary biker flick icon William Smith got a rare chance to tackle a heroic lead in "The Energy Eater" while other episodes featured great veteran character actors like Keenan Wynn, John Fiedler, John Dehner, Severn Darden, and William Daniels in juicy roles), effective moments of genuine suspense (the sewer-set climax of "The Spanish Moss Murders" in particular was truly harrowing), and, best of all, the one and only Darren McGavin in peak zesty form as the brash, aggressive, and excitable, but basically decent, brave, and honest small-time Chicago, Illinois newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak.Kolchak was the quintessential 70's everyman protagonist, a wily and quick-witted fellow with a strong nose for a tasty scoop and an unfortunate knack for getting into all kinds of trouble. Moreover, the occasionally bumbling Kolchak was anything but superhuman; he usually either tripped or stumbled while running away from a deadly threat, yet possessed a certain inner strength and courage that enabled him to save the human race time and time again from all kinds of lethal otherworldly foes. Kolchak was surrounded by a handful of enjoyable secondary characters: Simon Oakland was perfect as Carl's chronically ill-tempered boss Tony Vincenzo, Jack Grinnage as the prissy Ron Updyke made for an ideal comic foil, Ruth McDevitt was simply delightful as the sweet Miss Emily Cowles, and Carol Ann Susi was likewise a lot of fun as eager beaver rookie Monique Marmelstein (who alas disappeared after popping up in only three episodes). Granted, the show did suffer from lackluster make-up and special effects (the titular lycanthrope in "The Werewolf" unfortunately resembles a Yorkshire terrier!) and the latter episodes boasted a few laughably silly monsters (the headless motorcyclist in "Chopper," Cathy Lee Crosby as Helen of Troy in "The Youth Killer'), but even the second-rate shows are redeemed by the program's trademark wickedly sly sardonic wit and McGavin's boundless vitality and engagingly scrappy presence.

mozli This is a fair little show about the paranormal although it feels as if Art Bell and his ilk figured out how to carve a career out of the attitude that Carl Kolchak exemplified. Of course there probably wouldn't be an X-Files if this show hadn't prepped this audience for it so well. Darren McGavin is not exactly the super-heroic type but he is a plausible(enough) guy to deliver heroic deeds. Check out his work on some of those old Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Here he is the main attraction, there doesn't seem to be a girlfriend or wife who's a distraction. In fact there isn't a whole lot of sex appeal to the show. Something I'm noticing as well is that the pacing isn't really suspenseful in a typical way. There's a lot of throwaway humor to this show. Sometimes its just pokey to get to the climax. There's a thread from this show coming all the way up to the present MAD MEN show in terms of style. Not that David Chase writes Mad Men but the people that worked under him on The Sopranos definitely have emulated and inherited his serio-comic tone.