The Night Strangler

This was a second pilot for a television series that aired after this movie was shown. Another pilot, "The Night Stalker," a year earlier. This one actually kicked off the series, called "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," which ran only two years. It seemed to be popular so I don't know why it didn't last longer.

At 90 minutes, this was longer than the first pilot but very similar in plot. The only major change is in the cities. Here, our intrepid reporter-hero "Carl Kolchak" (Darren McGavin) is hunting down a serial-killer werewolf in Seattle instead of Las Vegas.

He has the same common opponents, meaning his newspaper boss "Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) and a hostile police chief (played by Scott Brady). Along the way you get to see a bevy of beauties including Jo Ann Pflug and Nina Wayne. You also have brief appearances by somewhat-famous actors John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Al Lewis and Wally Cox.

The story will keep your interest and has good suspense at the end. The only annoying part - at least for me - is the overdone yelling between McGavin and Oakland, and McGavin and Brady. Every single time - every time - that pairing is on screen it is nothing but a shouting match. Can you say "abrasive?" It's just too much. Thankfully, on DVD, I can use the English subtitles and mute the sound button so I can turn off these screaming lunatics. Unfortunately, those shouting sessions take up a good chunk of the movie.

Relocated to Seattle, reporter Kolchak stumbles on yet another series of murders, a series which seems to be repeated every twenty-one years. Of the two movies, `The Night Strangler' has the slight edge. This is possibly down to its location, Seattle. Very unfamiliar to me, it adds certain freshness to the story, while the underground ‘old' Seattle is a fantastic location, macabre and memorable; it sticks in my mind long after watching the movie. The candle lit, cob-webbed corpses are perhaps one of the most vivid images in American genre television.

Also of note is Richard Anderson's villain, a crazed, immortality seeking Doctor, he is far more impressive than the original's vampire. A more assured script (which is genuinely funny in places), plus some enjoyable cameo's (Carradine, Hamilton), help make this a rare sequel which is better than the original.

Sadly, plans for a third movie were abandoned and instead a short-lived, inferior television series (without Matheson's involvement) resulted. A patchy effort, despite McGavin's best efforts it never attained the quality of the two movies.

Follow-up to the 1972 TV movie "The Night Stalker". Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is now in Seattle. It seems women are being killed and drained of their blood. It also seems this happens every 21 years. Kolchak investigates helped by a wacky woman (Jo Ann Pflug).

This is nowhere near as good as "The Night Stalker" despite having most of the same crew involved. The story is kind of vague and the comedy and scares don't really work. Still it looks fantastic, has great atmosphere and good acting. McGavin and Simon Oakland reprise their roles and are great. Pflug is too but her character is annoying. This lead to a TV show called "Kolchak the Night Stalker" which was not a hit but has a cult following now. So this is an OK movie elevated by good acting and atmosphere.

"The Night Strangler" was screenwriter Richard Matheson's sequel to "The Night Stalker," completed in Aug. 1972, only seven months since the original was broadcast, Darren McGavin returning as intrepid reporter Carl Kolchak, Simon Oakland also back as his 'bilious grouch' editor Tony Vincenzo. Instead of a modern day vampire on the loose in Las Vegas, Matheson recalled a tour of underground Seattle, the ruins of a 19th century culture that stirred him into creating a killer from another time ("The Time Killer" was one alternate title), committing a series of six murders of young women over a period of 18 days, only to disappear for 21 years until the next spate of killings. Kolchak finds himself happily employed once more due to a chance meeting with Vincenzo, but the honeymoon doesn't last long as a new story even more incredible begins to take shape due to the diligence of Daily Chronicle librarian Titus Berry (Wally Cox), who helps connect the dots by starting with a previous set of similar crimes from 1952, all detailing a loss of blood from a needle puncture at the base of the skull, rotted flesh left on each woman's crushed throat: "as if they had been strangled by a dead man!" Continuing their research further back, they discover that the same number of victims covering the same span of days dates all the way back to 1889, another lead arriving via author Mark Twain, describing a chance meeting with Dr. Richard Malcolm (Richard Anderson), a former Union army surgeon during the Civil War who believed that immortality was achievable through an 'elixir of life.' Margaret Hamilton puts in a splendid cameo as Prof. Crabwell, whose pontifications on the nature of alchemy conclude that the main ingredient necessary for this potion to succeed is human blood. All of this is too much for a beleaguered Vincenzo and aging publisher Llewellyn Crossbinder (John Carradine), compared by Kolchak to Cotton Mather (Vincenzo: "don't underestimate him, he may be old but his fangs are potent!"), while equally exasperated police captain Roscoe Schubert (Scott Brady) handles the case his own way, until all six victims are claimed by the 18th day. The connection between Dr. Richard Malcolm and a clinic named for Dr. Malcolm Richards leads Kolchak to the fabled Seattle underground and a final date with destiny, revealing a 144 year old culprit ready to disappear for another 21 years once he ingests the final dosage. McGavin may have clashed with producer/director Dan Curtis but it doesn't show in his performance, a spirited, robust presentation of facts (or 'screwball speculation' in Vincenzo's opinion) that even Carradine's publisher can't ignore, until such time that the reporter finds himself unemployed yet again, too damn effective for his own good (both McGavin and Oakland would repeat their roles in all 20 episodes of the subsequent series). As simple and straightforward as the first Kolchak outing was, this sequel is at least its equal with so many intricate threads tied together to weave a web of murder spanning more than a century, with another superb cast bringing it all to vivid life, and special kudos to the set design for the hidden underground, shrouded in fog and a marvel to behold with the rotted corpses in attendance.

The follow-up story to The Night Stalker once again finds wisecracking reporter Karl Kolchak investigating a string of bizarre murders that yet again points to an unnatural suspect. Deftly crafted and making fab use of its added runtime, The Night Strangler is just as impressive as its predecessor and is a sequel done right, for it takes what was good about the first film and builds on top of it.

Directed by Dan Curtis, the story follows almost the same route as before and retains all the fascinating aspects of the original. Additional runtime allows for more of Kolchak's ranting & friction with the powers that be. The plot is simple in structure but executed with finesse and the improved production value is evident in its elaborate set pieces. The antagonist however is less memorable in this one.

Just like the previous entry, the film comes equipped with a spooky atmosphere for the night scenes and the camera is skilfully utilised to heighten the build-up. Darren McGavin reprises his role as Kolchak and is even more abrasive, intruding & exasperating than last time which only works in the story's favour. The finale is a tad too expository and is amongst the weaker aspects but it still wraps the journey of a fine note.

Overall, The Night Strangler is slightly more polished in looks, more focused in content & more confident in executing the original formula and also improves upon the original in few aspects. Despite lacking a fearsome villain, the film makes up for it by creating an aura about him. The ride is almost as entertaining & satisfying if not more, the interest in the outcome is never lost, and McGavin's grating act comfortably steers the film past the finish line. A worthy sequel.