| The Night Strangler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | The Night Strangler |
| Director: | Dan Curtis |
| Writers: | Richard Matheson; Jeff Rice |
| Producers: | Dan Curtis; Robert Singer |
| Cast: | Darren McGavin; Simon Oakland; Jo Ann Pflug; Scott Brady; Wally Cox; Margaret Hamilton; John Carradine |
| Production | |
| Format: | Live-action |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Rating: | TV-PG |
| Airdate: | January 16th, 1973 |
| Running time: | 74 min. |
| country: | USA |
| Network: | ABC |
| Production company: | American Broadcasting Company MGM Worldwide Television Productions |
The Night Strangler is a 1973 television movie and the sequel to 1972's The Night Stalker. The film is directed by Dan Curtis and written by Richard Matheson and Jeffrey Grant Rice. It stars Darren McGavin reprising his role as investigative reporter Carl Kolchak who relocates from Las Vegas, Nevada to Seattle, Washington on the trail of a mysterious killer who has been strangling young women and stealing their blood. Oddly, this M.O. appears to be repeated once every twenty-one years, leading Kolchak to discover a disturbed scientist who uses the spinal fluid of his victims to keep himself alive. The movie also stars Jo Ann Pflug, Simon Oakland, Scott Brady, Wally Cox and everyone's favorite Wicked Witch, Margaret Hamilton.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Darren McGavin | Carl Kolchak |
| Simon Oakland | Tony Vincenzo |
| Jo Ann Pflug | Louise Harper |
| Scott Brady | Captain Schubert |
| Wally Cox | Mister Berry |
| Margaret Hamilton | Professor Crabwell |
| John Carradine | Llewellyn Crossbinder |
| Al Lewis | Tramp |
| Nina Wayne | Charisma Beauty |
| Virginia Peters | Wilma Krankheimer |
| Kate Murtagh | Janie Watkins |
| Ivor Francis | Doctor Webb |
| Diane Shalet | Joyce Gabriel |
| Anne Randall | Policewoman Sheila |
| Francoise Birnheim | Restaurant woman |
| Regina Parton | Merissa |
| Richard Anderson | Doctor Richard Malcolm |
| George Tobias | Jimmy Stacks |
| George DiCenzo | Underground tour guide |
| Bill McLean | Charlie the bartender |
Notes & Trivia
- A third telemovie was in the works, which would have been called The Night Killers, but ABC instead opted to continue the franchise as a regular television series, which was called Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Kolchak ran for a single season from 1974-1975 totalling twenty episodes.
- The Night Strangler was filmed at 20th Century Fox Television Studios in Century City, California.
- The Night Strangler was originally aired as a TV pilot movie. It spun-out into the Kolchak: The Night Stalker television series, which aired on ABC from September, 1973 to March, 1974.
- Director Dan Curtis also directed the previous installment, The Night Stalker. Curtis is best known however for creating the 1960s Gothic soap opera series Dark Shadows, which aired on ABC from 1966-1971.
- Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland are the only cast members to appear in both movies as well as the regular series. McGavin also appeared in the pilot episode of Night Stalker, making him the only person who was involved in all four projects.
- As indicated in the opening paragraph, actress Margaret Hamilton is best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in MGM's The Wizard of Oz. Coincidentally, a pastiche of Hamilton's infamous witch made an appearance as part of a Wizard of Oz parade in the 1983 Bob Clark holiday classic, A Christmas Story, which also starred The Night Strangler lead, Darren McGavin.
- Actor Al Lewis, who plays a tramp in this film, is best known for his portrayal of wacky vampire scientist Grandpa Munster in The Munsters.
- John Carradine is a veritable legend in the horror genre. With a career dating back to the 1930s, Carradine has appeared in more than thirty horror films including classic movies such as The Bride of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula Blood of Dracula's Castle, Horror of the Blood Monsters and many more.
- Composer Bob Cobert is also known for scoring the entirety of the original Dark Shadows television series as well as the 1991 Dark Shadows revival series.
- Associate producer Robert Singer will go on to work as an executive producer on the CW Network television series Supernatural.
- Vehicles used in this film were provided courtesy of the Chrysler Corporation.
- Final film work for actor Wally Cox.