Kolchak Returns in The Night Strangler

Things have not gone well for brash reporter Carl Kolchak since he destroyed a vampire in Las Vegas in The Night Stalker (1972). Most people don't believe his story and those who know it's true have quashed it. After relocating to Seattle, Kolchak (Darren McGavin) convinces his former editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) to hire him at the Seattle Daily Chronicle. His first assignment involves the murder of a young woman who was strangled.

Kolchak quickly discovers the most recent murder is one of a series of killings with the same modus operandi. With the help of newspaper researcher Titus Berry (Wally Cox), Kolchak discovers a bizarre pattern of homicides: Every 21 years, six women are killed in the vicinity of Pioneer Square within a period of eighteen days. In each case, the victims' necks are crushed and a small amount of blood is drained by the base of their skulls. Kolchak presents his facts to the police, but they reject the notion that they're chasing a killer who is 144 years old!

The Night Strangler (1973) adheres closely to the formula that made The Night Stalker a rating smash the previous year. Once again, Kolchak proves capable of doing anything to get his story--even risking the life of an undergraduate student/exotic dancer played by Jo Ann Pflug (who admittedly agrees to serve as bait). Carl belittles the police for not doing enough and engages in shouting matches with his editor (who took a huge risk in hiring Kolchak after Vegas).

Indeed, the Kolchak character could be downright unlikable if not for the fact that he's played by Darren McGavin. The actor finds the key in portraying his larger-than-life character: For all his huff and puff, Kolchak just wants to uncover the truth. Kolchak provides his own comic relief at times, but he's also willing to do what it takes to make the streets of Seattle safe again.

Wally Cox as Mr. Berry.

Personally, I find The Night Strangler more entertaining than The Night Stalker, largely because producer-director Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) cast a colorful group of classic Hollywood actors in supporting roles: Scott Brady plays the tough police captain, Margaret Hamilton pops up as a college professor with knowledge of the occult, and John Carradine is the Chronicle's publisher. The best supporting performance comes from the always reliable Wally Cox, whose greasy-haired researcher toils in the bowels of the newspaper's building. Also, be sure to look quickly for Nina Wayne as another exotic dancer; she is the sister of the late Carol Wayne (a semi-regular on The Tonight Show).

Richard Matheson (Duel), who wrote the teleplay for The Night Stalker, penned an original story for The Night Strangler. It also works better than the previous film, because the audience doesn't know what kind of monster is causing the mayhem. The climax in the Seattle Underground is also genuinely creepy. Note that there are two different versions of The Night Strangler, a 72-minute cut that aired in 1973 on the ABC Movie of the Week and a 90-minute cut released overseas for theatrical distribution.

Kolchak confronts his editor--again.

There are numerous stories about planned Kolchak films that were never made. In a 2004 interview, Dan Curtis said he wanted Kolchak to go to New York City and discover that Janos Skorzeny--the vampire from The Night Stalker--was not destroyed after all. Alas, that film was never made because ABC decided to make a TV series with McGavin called Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Now something of a cult show, the series only lasted for 20 episodes. It quickly became redundant with Kolchak fighting a new creature every week. I think Carl Kolchak would have lasted a lot longer had the character been featured solely in one or two movies a year.

Move Over Kolchak for "The Norliss Tapes"

A more serious version of The Night Stalker (1972), The Norliss Tapes (1973) featured Roy Thinnes as an author who becomes an investigator of supernatural phenomena. In the film's opening scenes, David Norliss (Thinnes) confides to his publisher that his book debunking fake spiritualists has taken a different turn. When Norliss suddenly disappears, his publisher discovers a set of tapes in the writer's home. The plot unfolds as Norliss' publisher listens to his tapes.

On advice from her sister, Ellen Cort (Angie Dickinson) seeks out Norliss when her recently-deceased husband shows up in his art studio, takes a blast from a shotgun, and vanishes. Ellen reveals that her husband, sculptor James Raymond Cort, died from Pick's Disease (a brain disorder). Shortly before his death, he became obsessed with the occult and befriended an antiques shop owner who gave him a scarab ring symbolizing the Egyptian god Osiris. With ashen skin and glowing eyes, Cort is definitely dead--but that hasn't stopped him from working on an unusual statue molded from red clay.

The creepy dead husband.

Producer-director Dan Curtis follows the same general premise as his earlier made-for-TV films The Night Stalker (1972) and its sequel The Night Strangler (1973). The difference is that Darren McGavin played Kolchak, the investigate journalist in those films, with a dash of humor--thus balancing the chills with levity. With The Norliss Tapes, Curtis clearly intended to make a straightforward fright film--and he largely succeeds. His film evokes an eerie atmosphere, enhanced by the scenic Carmel coastline with its winding roads. There are some genuine shocks, too, such as when Cort's creepy face pops up at a window when the curtain is brushed aside.

Roy Thinnes, less frantic here than in The Invaders, makes a believable hero. Angie Dickinson lends some class to the proceedings and Vonetta McGee proves once again that she deserved a better career.

The Norliss Tapes also served as a pilot for a TV series, though NBC passed on it. Interestingly, Dan Curtis filmed an earlier pilot, back in 1969, about another investigator who specialized in cases involving the supernatural. Kerwin Matthews starred in In the Dead of the Night, which ABC broadcast as a 60-minute TV movie called Dead of Night: A Darkness in Blaisedon.

Contrary to popular opinion, Dan Curtis was not involved in the original Kolchak TV series. He did serve as an executive producer for the 2005 revival, Night Stalker, starring Stuart Townsend as Kolchak.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker ... "The Ripper"

Darren McGavin as Kolchak

Certainly one of my favorite TV memories, Kolchak: The Night Stalker (hereafter Kolchak) is one of television’s best-remembered and influential detective series. However, it lasted only 20 episodes. Based on a novel by Jeff Rice titled The Kolchak Papers, the TV rights to the story were acquired by ABC before the book was even published. A pilot special was adapted from the novel by Richard Matheson, a marvelous writer of science fiction and thriller stories, as well as one of The Twilight Zone’s most prolific writers. The pilot was released in 1972 as The Night Stalker, and garnered good ratings. In 1973, a second pilot was written by Matheson, The Night Strangler, also well-received by TV audiences. So in 1974, ABC put Kolchak in its Friday night lineup in the 10:00 slot.


Simon Oakland as Vincenzo

Produced by Dan Curtis (of soap opera Dark Shadows fame), Kolchak was considered a risk, certainly completely different than detective stories before it. Carl Kolchak was played by Darren McGavin, best known now as everybody’s favorite holiday Dad in A Christmas Story. Kolchak was not actually a detective, but a newspaperman who worked for Chicago’s Independent News Service. Kolchak would have to work for an independent service because he was anything but a company man. Aggressive, fast-talking, dark-humored, ready with an insult and intolerant of stupidity, Kolchak was the perfect reporter. He drove a yellow mustang convertible (which today would be a coveted item!), and always dressed in a rumpled light blue suit, battered hat and well-worn tennis shoes. And to boot, when Kolchak ran down a story, it always turned out to be something supernatural, from werewolves to vampires, from aliens to the subject of this article, Jack the Ripper. His long-suffering and frustrated boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) gave Kolchak rather free rein for his eccentric behavior and wild ideas, but Vincenzo did a lot of shouting when his star reporter ignored his orders and finagled his way out of the office on a chase for the story.


Jack Grinnage as "Uptight"

Other members of the staff included Ron Updyke (Jack Grinnage), not Kolchak’s favorite co-worker. Updyke’s newspaper experience consisted of writing for financial pages, and Kolchak never passed up an opportunity to show his disdain for the nervous little guy, usually referring to him as “Uptight.” Another staff member was sweet, elderly Miss Emily Cowles (Ruth McDevitt) who answered letters for the advice for the lovelorn column. Other regular characters were introduced in later shows: Captain “Mad Dog” Siska (Keenan Wynn); the “Ghoul”, a helpful morgue attendant (John Fiedler Gordy); and rich intern Monique (Carol Ann Susi). Regular appearances were made by Carol Lynley, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Elisha Cook, Jr., Margaret Hamilton and John Carradine. Quite an impressive list of actors. Kolchak was the success of the season, and a great many popular actors appeared in roles or cameos, including Phil Silvers, Scatman Crothers, Hans Conreid, Mary Wickes, Dwayne Hickman and Jim Backus.

Kolchak and Vincenzo as usual

The introductory episode of Kolchak is also my favorite – The Ripper. Only Vincenzo and Updyke were in evidence as INS staff. Actually, Miss Emily did appear, but at this point was not yet a regular. Narrated by McGavin in a style of which Mickey Spillane would be proud, the story begins as Kolchak is being punished by Vincenzo for a previous assignment in which he angered the police commissioner. He is being forced to answer the letters for Miss Emily’s column while she is on vacation. You can probably imagine his reaction to the letters from the lovelorn and his abrupt answers, to say the least. However, women are being murdered and mutilated, and Kolchak is not about to let that kind of a story get by him. He manages to go out on the prowl, putting himself in all kinds of dangerous situations, including a funny scene in a massage parlor. After one murder, the killer is seen on a rooftop and police are chasing and shooting at him. Kolchak arrives in time to see the killer leap from the tall building, land without a scratch, and fight his way through the tactical force in a hail of bullets, escaping into the darkness. As he discovers more about the killer, Kolchak becomes convinced that he is not just a Ripper copycat, but the actual Jack the Ripper who killed 5 women in 1888 London.

Ruth McDevitt

Beatrice Colen as Jane Plumb

One of Kolchak’s eyewitnesses, at least to the Ripper’s appearance and possible residence, turns out to be one of the the letter-writers to Miss Emily’s column. The lady is played by Ruth McDevitt, a wonderful character actress who must have made such an impression she was hired to be a regular. A reporter from a competing newspaper, Jane Plumb (Beatrice Colen), is also out for the story. She is a sweet, naïve lady who has received a letter from the Ripper, and believes she can meet with him for an exclusive. Kolchak does not find out until too late about her plan to meet the Ripper. Not only is it sad, but also a lost opportunity for an interesting regular on the show.  Colen would have been the perfect foil for Kolchak's curmudgeonly character.  He then goes to the house reported by the elderly lady as the home of the killer, and comes face to face with the Ripper.

Mickey Gilbert as the Ripper
Mute but menacing

The opening music and credits for Kolchak were memorable.  Composer Gil Melle, also responsible for the music of Night Gallery, wrote the theme.  Kolchak enters the empty office at night, whistles a tune (which he also does through the show), the music begins as a pleasant little tune, then turns darker. Kolchak seats himself at his typewriter, begins to write, the music becomes more sinister, the room darkens, he looks to the side anxiously, and the frame freezes. I found the opening on Youtube, and present it for you here.

Many factors combined to make Kolchak a short-lived series. The main problems were office politics, behind the scenes squabbling over production credits, and McGavin’s increasing disappointment with the progress of the series. He called it “Monster of the Week”, and when the ratings finally dipped, he was able to be released from his contract. I think McGavin had a good point. There is only so much you can do with a limited story type until it gets repetitive and loses the element of surprise.  (A current television series, House, has been called “Disease of the Week”, but it has managed to stay interesting because of great ensemble acting and several side-stories unrelated to the medical issues.)  It is really a shame that Kolchak could not be developed further.  The character was unique, the writing excellent, and it would have been just as good without monsters.  Unfortunately, once it started out that way, there was no turning back.

Despite its short run, Kolchak is well-remembered by many viewers. It was even the major inspiration for X-Files creator Chris Carter. He stated that besides his own creative ideas, it was not Spielberg’s movies or The Twilight Zone that inspired him, but Kolchak, particularly because he admired Richard Matheson's work on the show. Not a bad legacy for a brief but unique television series.