The Night Stalker

(ABC, 1/11/1972, 90 mins). A flip, down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter stumbles across a modern-day vampire who is murdering Las Vegas showgirls, but he cannot convince his own editor, let alone the police, of the identity of the crazed maniac. The now-cult lighthearted thriller that eventually spawned the regrettably brief series of the same name (1974-75) with Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland continuing their roles was the highest rated made-for-TV movie up to that time.

Production Companies Dan Curtis Productions, ABC Productions. Director John Llewellyn Moxey. Producer Dan Curtis. Teleplay Richard Matheson. Based on a Story by Jeff Rice. Photography Michel Hugo. Music Bob Cobert. Editor Desmond Marquette. Art Director Trevor Williams.

Cast Darren McCain (Carl Kolchak), Carol Lynley (Gail Foster), Simon Oakland (Tony Vincenzo), Ralph Meeker (Bernie Jenks), Claude Akins (Sheriff Warren Butcher), Charles McGraw (Chief Ed Masterson), Kent Smith (DA Tom Payne), Larry Linville (Robert Maker), Jordan Rhodes (Dr. John O’Brien), Barry Atwater (Janis Sorely), Stanley Adams (Fred Hurley), Elisa Cook (Mickey Crawford).