This is one of these made for TV movies that is very enjoyable provided you can suspend your sense of disbelief--and if you can, you'll have a lot of fun.

This is the first of two pilot movies of the series that would later be called "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Based on the enormous popularity of this film as an ABC Movie of the Week, it's not at all surprising that they soon made another film (THE NIGHT STRANGLER).

Although the cities changed, there is decent continuity in the series. As always, Darren McGavin was the crazed reporter who always happened to stumble onto stories involving various monsters and his ever-cranky boss was always Simon Oakland--even when he moved from Las Vegas to Seattle. This was odd, as the two always seemed to hate each other but Simon was a wonderful foil.

In this film, the monster in question is a vampire and the powers that be in Las Vegas weren't about to admit the truth of the story. Even when there seemed to be no doubt, the city fathers did their best to bury the story. And, not surprisingly, Kolchak wasn't about to let go.

Excellent acting by McGavin was bolstered by great supporting actors--including two of my favorite film noir actors, the grouchy and rather ugly Charles McGraw and Ralph Meeker. Additionally, Kent Smith and Claude Akins are on hand--both whose major responsibilities in the film are to be grouchy and harass Kolchak!! Additionally, Kolchak has a love interest (Carol Lynley)--something he wasn't too successful in later episodes.

The only negative (and this could be since the Movies of the Week were so rushed) was that the stunt double for the vampire really was poorly integrated. His hair was too long and the guy looked considerably younger. Still, this is a wonderfully entertaining film--one of the better made-for-TV movies of the era.

THE NIGHT STALKER is another hugely entertaining and atmospheric horror-themed TV movie from producer Dan Curtis, who ruled the small screen in America from the late '60s through to the mid '70s. The antagonist of the hour is another dastardly and feral vampire, not dissimilar to Barnabas Collins in DARK SHADOWS, but what brings this film to life is the protagonist: Carl Kolchak, the crusading journalist determined to share his news with the Las Vegas public when a vampire begins bumping off residents. Darren McGavin is a natural fit for the brash Kolchak, fighting cover-ups and supernatural evil at every turn, and well supported by a fine cast of character actors including Ralph Meeker, Elisha Cook Jr., Claude Akins and Simon Oakland. For those who believe that all TV movies are naturally slow and sedate, check out the vivid action sequences in which the vampire busts up the screen (and the local police department) in a bid for freedom. An even-better sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, followed.

So is the tongue-in-cheek of Darren McGavin in this Sensational 1970's TV Thriller that spawned a sequel and a brief TV series. I remember watching the series as a kid, and remember being disappointed that it only lasted a short time. However, in seeing the TV movies years later, I can understand why McGavin decided to call it a day when the TV series became simply too camp to be taken seriously. It was if "Dark Shadows" had taken over the streets of the modern big city, with every kind of creature of the night possible. Like "Dark Shadows", this focuses on a fearsome vampire, and like that classic daytime soap opera, even the same composer (Robert Cobert).

A string of bloody murders are befuddling the Las Vegas police department, giving indication of something evil, possibly supernatural and maybe even undead. The killings themselves are truly gruesome, and once you see the culprit, you might wonder too if vampires still roam the earth. McGavin is delightfully subtle in the tongue in cheek way he delivers his dialog, surrounded by such familiar faces as Simon Oakland, Claude Akins and Carol Lynley. The Vegas officials don't want the rumors of possible vampirism spreading around and scaring the tourist trade away. But when a victim is unable to prevent her horrid death with the protection of a fierce doberman, the truth is going to get out. This never lets up, flying by in just 75 minutes. I can see why it was the most popular TV movie up to that time because it's simply no nonsense good fun that more than 40 years later still holds up.