The Night Stalkers!

The Night Stalker starring Darrn McGavin is probably my favorite TV movie for sure and just might be my favorite movie all time. I never tire of watching it. The idea of putting a gothic horror like a vampire among the brightly lit streets of 70's Las Vegas is too fetching to resist. While that Las Vegas has mostly gone, like nearly all the folks who made this 1971 film happen, the flick still resonates, giving the viewer a peek into the nighttime world that makes Vegas so alluring and dangerous. As the story points out, Las Vegas is a city of strangers, and a predator of humans could well thrive within its borders. The prey is abundant and too naive to hide. This is the first movie to give us a look at Pete Rice's creation of Carl Kolchak, a brave reporter who hearkens to an earlier age when the truth mattered. That such a time likely never existed makes Kolchak all the more potent as an agent for the viewer to penetrate the unknown. Kolchak goes where angels fear to tread and no politician can even imagine. Kolchak penetrates are darkest heart and with his cheap flash camera brings those deadly secrets to life. 

 As good as The Night Stalker is, he sequel The Night Strangler written by Richard Matheson is much like but fails to be original enough to distinguish it from its predecessor. Kolchak is back and he finds infatuation if not live this time beneath the streets of Seattle. Again, there is work to bring the reality of the city onto the small screen but alas the city for all its charm lacks the vivacity of Las Vegas. Instead of a vampire Kolchak must battle against an alchemist from the mists of history. Highlights in this production are JoAnne Pflug and Wally Cox. Let me hasten to add that the debut film as well was superbly cast with the likes of Claude Akins and Kent Smith adding zest to a taut tale. 

Following the success of the two television movies a series seemed logical. Compared to the excellent movies, I've always rather found the episodes wanting, but on this viewing their virtues became evident. The wit which informed the movies is still very much in evidence. Kolchak's relentless pursuit of the truth is undiminished if his motivations seem garbled at times. Often, he pursues as story which will never be published because he seems to have set himself up as a protector of society. The range of threats is pretty wide. We of course get another vampire (connected to the first which was nice), a werewolf, a ghost or two, a zombie, a swamp monster, and such. But also, there are aliens and robots and energy creatures which made for some fascinating tales. Another very entertaining aspect was the wide variety of police officials Kolchak had to contend with, ranging from the naive to the cantankerous to downright conniving. Some were honest some were not, but they all seemed to be a great foil for Kolchak's hijinks. But truth told it was easy to see that after a mere twenty episodes the premise was weakening, and we are probably better off now that Darren McGavin's Carl Kolchak left the small screen with us wanting more. 

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Progeny Of The Adder!

Progeny of the Adder by Leslie H. Whitten from 1965 is often touted as a major influence on Jeff Rice's later project The Kolchak Papers which became the TV movie The Night Stalker. Some have even suggested Rice is guilty of plagiarism. Having never read the Whitten novel I have unable to render my opinion until now. The story is set in Washington DC, and we follow a dedicated police detective who doggedly pursues the murders of women, many of whom are prostitutes. It is to his credit that he applies the same dedication to the case even before it is revealed that one victim is actually connected to a foreign embassy. The pressure goes up as slowly the truth is revealed. The murderer acts like a vampire and before the story is over. we are led to believe he is in fact one. 

Change the setting to Las Vegas and given that brief summary a connection between Whitten's novel and Rice's seems evident. But the Whitten book is told very differently than the tale of the reporter Carl Kolchak. For one thing a significant aspect of the book is a budding romance between the detective and a female colleague who also ends up working the case. There is no sense that Kolchak even cares about romance. (He does get a girlfriend of sorts in the sequel The Night Strangler.) The subtext of a corrupt system fouling the search is really not evident in the Progeny of the Adder. There are frustrations but mostly the case seems to be pursued minus any significant political pressure. There is one scene concerning a used car salesman that seems remarkably similar, but truth told it was the only one. And the finale of Whitten's novel is completely different with a car chase dominating the action. 

So, I say nay! There are similarities in that we have two modern cities plagued by vampires, but that can be said of 1931's Dracula who turns up in a very modern London. I found Progeny of the Adder a fun read, but it was not as involving as Rice's novel for one simple reason, the singularly compelling character of Carl Kolchak was not present and that more than the vampire is what makes those stories resonate. 

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The Kolchak Papers

One of the most significant vampire stories in the history of the genre was never published. At least it wasn't until after it was also filmed for television and then released in conjunction with that production. Of course, I mean The Kolchak Papers by Jeff Rice, a novel better known as The Night Stalker. The Night Stalker shook up the horror fan universe when it hit the small screen bringing with it big thrills and one of the most memorable vampire hunters of all time. Van Helsing had nothing Carl Kolchak, a throwback relentless reporter who sought the truth even more doggedly than the story, though he'd likely deny that himself. 

In the era of Watergate and the Vietnam War when trust in the power structures ws at all epic low, an indefatigable enemy of deceit and cant was a welcome white knight, even if he did wear a low-rent seersucker suit and a bedraggled straw hat. What Kolchak represented in Rice's novel and in the TV show as well was a call for truth and accountability on the part of those who purported to lead us. The bogus concerns over public panic merely a dodge to help powerful men keep powerful positions seemed the essence of what foul leadership had become in America in the 70's. (Sadly it's only gotten worse I have to say.) 

The vampire in the story is an enemy to be confronted, but only on the terms it demanded, by confronting the truth that the world was deeper and darker than popular myths espoused. Carl Kolchak was also a man who sought his own success, but he was not one who cared so little for his fellow man that he'd get that success regardless. Kolchak at once an everyman, relatable, but then also a hero who is courageous even when he's scared spitless. He's what we want to be, but all too often aren't. 

This story set in the riotous world of vintage Las Vegas slams the dark gothic myths of yore right up against the neon lights of today. It says that monsters are not safely tucked away in Grimm's fairy tales and horror novels, but right out among us. We are not safe, and we must first recognize that fact before we can become even a jot safer. And it's up to us to do it. I really enjoy this book, which offers a somewhat more contrite and complicated Kolchak than Darren McGavin delightfully treated us to.

Also included in the Moonstone edition of The Kolchak Papers is the novelization of The Night Strangler. Ironically Richard Matheson adapted The Night Stalker from Rice's novel and then it was left for Rice to turn Matheson's script for the sequel into novel form. Aside from a more elaborate romance the Kolchak sequel adheres very closely to the television movie.  

But some Jeff Rice might have stolen his story for The Night Stalker. More on that tomorrow. 

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Legions Of Monsters

Apparently, the late great Neal Adams hated the image above. This painting featuring Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and the Manphibian was the cover for Legion of Monsters #1, a last gasp attempt by Mighty Marvel to mine the black and white magazine horror market. Adams says the perspective doesn't make sense, but despite his expert reservations I love it. Not only does it have the typical power of an Adams image but it's brimming with atmosphere. It is emblematic of that time in the early 70's when comics had slipped off some of the restrictions of the Comics Code (though that code never held sway over magazines) and let loose with a cavalcade of creatures to chill the comic reading soul. I want to take a gambol through some of those mighty monsters with special attention to vampires. 

The centerpiece of my reading this month is the Tomb of Dracula series which has been reprinted a few times over the decades. I'm using the four Essential volumes which gather both the color comic as well as the Drac features from sundry black and white mags. There is no doubt that Dracula is "Lord of the Vampires" at Marvel. 

First up will be a look at the unfinished Bronze Age adaptation of the original Bram Stoker novel Dracula by Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano. They were only to get about half the novel done back in the 70's but a few decades later they were at long last able to wrap up this intense look at the peculiar story that launched a thousand bats. 

One of Dracula's most implacable foes is Blade the Vampire Slayer. Blade has gone on to have a pretty successful film career with Wesley Snipes in the role, but before that he was fighting bloodsuckers in Vampire Tales and elsewhere. He's certainly worth a glimpse. 

It's almost impossible to deal with Dracula without giving a shoutout to that other vintage classic monster, the one assembled by the notorious Doctor Frankenstein. Frankenstein's Monster had a hectic and rather bizarre career in the 70's and I want to give a looksee as well. 

Deathlok is often categorized as a science fiction superhero series, but I think reading it with an eye towards horror will be instructive. Like the original Frankenstein, a novel which is considered by many the genesis of science fiction, Deathlok is a rather rugged modern reinvention of returning the dead to a form of life. 

Dracula wasn't Marvel's first vampire. That dishonor goes to Morbius, a science-based bloodsucker first forged in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. He went on to have his own series in Adventures in Fear, in fact like Dracula he was active in both the color comics as well as the black and white in the pages of Vampire Tales and elsewhere. They made a movie about Morbius recently and that too will get some attention. 

Morbius had a furry companion, the bizarre Man-Wolf. The son of Spidey nemesis J. Jonah Jameson, the Man-Wolf too debuted in ASM and wen to have a most unpredictable career in the pages of Creatures on the Loose. A young George Perez cut his teeth on this title. 

Another hirsute hero from Marvel in the 70's The Beast. Hank McCoy late of the then defunct X-Men gets a job as a scientist and goes all Dr. Jekyll on himself causing his mutation to sprout a robust pelt of gray fur (later they changed it to blue/black). This is another of Marvel's series from Amazing Adventures that seemed to straddle the superhero and horror genres. 

Another was Tigra which had the delectable Greer Nelson who had a small superhero career as The Cat get caught up in the intrigues of a cat-worshipping cult and before you know it, she's furry and ferocious. She's gone on to be a very recognizable part of Marvel's universe. And that brings up another gorgeous but very scary dame. 

Vampirella was the absolute queen of 70's horror comics. She was the creation of Forry Ackerman and Tom Sutton as a marginally comedic hostess like Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie, but before long Archie Goodwin and Sutton and later definitive artist Jose Gonzalez made her into a ravishing vamp in all sense of that word. Along with Dracula, Vampi will be showing up on the weekends as I work through some of her early misadventures from Warren Magazines. 

The 70's produced some intriguing fictional works or adaptations of same. My absolute favorite is The Kolchak Papers which spawned The Night Stalker movies and series. There's a debate that an earlier novel Progeny of the Adder was a big influence on the Kolchak material. I've at long last gotten a copy of Progeny of the Adder and I will render my opinion. I am Legend has been adapted to the big screen many times (once in the 70's) but none are better than the original 50's novel. There's a comic book adaptation too and that will get a glance. And finally, I will finally climb the mighty Stephen King vampire epic from 1975 titled Salem's Lot. I've made earlier attempts to read this novel, the only King novel I've much interest in and now I will make that trip for certain. 

If there's room, I'd like to fit in some witchery as well. First with Archie's resident witch the fetching Sabrina, a character who has had a number of versions over the many decades since her creation. Some of those quite scary. 

And finally, in the "Showcase Corner" I'm taking on The Witching Hour, one of DC's early 70's horror anthologies. This one features some delicious art by Alex Toth who designed the trio of witches - Mildred, Modred and the curvaceous Cynthia. Classic stuff with an offbeat sexy twist. 

That's a lot to do and maybe I'll not make it, but I sure want to give a go. We're Counting Down to Halloween here at the Dojo and I'm eager to see how it all turns out. 

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Kolchak Is Dead! Long Live Kolchak!

It's Halloween and it's a sad holiday in one respect. Forty-five years ago today Jeff Rice completed his original manuscript for The Kolchak Papers, the story which would be picked up a few months later by ABC Television and director Dan Curtis, and with the minor help of screenwriter Richard Matheson would become The Night Stalker. It was a blockbuster, a rollicking and lucrative television success for most involved, but not so much for the author Jeff Rice.

 Jeff Rice has left us, passing away in July of this year. Unfortunately I only learned of this a few weeks ago when on a whim I picked up The Kolchak Papers from Moonstone Books and started to read the great story again. As is my wont when I'm reading a book, I researched a little bit and soon stumbled across a few columns announcing the untimely passing of Rice. You can reference them here and here. I was amazed I'd not run across this information before, given the significance The Night Stalker had for many in the community I ramble across on the great wide web. Likely I was just oblivious, but clearly the news was not widespread.

The story of how Rice created and sold the story which became The Night Stalker is told eloquently by his friend Mark Dawidziak at the article linked above. How he failed to realize the riches he'd deserved because of that success is equally narrated. Rice became yet one more Hollywood story of woe and distress, ironically not unlike his luckless hero Carl Kolchak.

The second Kolchak novel The Night Strangler was written by Rice based on the screenplay by Matheson, a reversal of their roles on the first superior effort. And despite getting name credit on the short-lived single season of Night Stalker Rice did not realize much in the way of remuneration. Apparently his life since had been a struggle, his retention of the publishing rights seemed to be a burden and not a boon.

Thankfully a deal was struck with Moonstone Publishing some few years ago allowing Rice's two Night Stalker stories to see republication, and which allowed me to finally read them. Spoilers below for those not already familiar with these two delightfully frightful tales.

On this reading I tried as much as possible to focus on those aspects of the novel which make a brisk and compelling crime narrative. The horror elements get all the attention, but what makes The Night Stalker (The Kolcak Papers) such a vivid experience both in print and on the small screen is the way it conforms to modern crime stories. We have an irascible reporter who doggedly follows a story which the mostly corrupt officials seek to keep quiet for all sorts of reasons, some base and selfish and some reasonable. We see the story of a vampire killer in Las Vegas through Kolchak's eyes but also we have the direct voice of Rice as he interrupts the story to add information which had "come" to him since Kolchak left the case. We get information before and after the main story which add to our understanding of the true nature of Rice's theme, not so much the fear of the supernatural in the modern world, but the dread of venal corruption which coats all of modern society with a grime that slanders the truth. The nature of how the story is related echoes Bram Stoker's great novel Dracula in that it is told indirectly through personal accounts and other materials. The complete narrative is left for the reader to partially assemble from the disparate elements making of the reader an active participant in the composition of the tale, giving it an immediacy which it might otherwise lack. We are so removed from Stoker's London atmosphere to feel that in his tale so much, but Rice's 1970's Las Vegas still feels modern despite its documentation of a small town on the verge of becoming something more elaborate and something less desirable. For fans of the movie, the novel does offer some intriguing differences, especially the finale, so reading the tale is well worth the investment of time, if one wants to know all there is to know about what it's like when a vampire appears in the shadows of a modern American city.

The follow-up novel The Night Strangler which adapts the screenplay by Matheson is not nearly so good a story as the original, mostly because much of the heft and ambiguity of the character Kolchak have been removed and replaced by the charming bluster and bombast of Darren McGavin's interpretation of the character. In this story, which takes place in Seattle and relates how a mysterious dead man prowls the streets both above and below ground killing lovely women for ancient arcane reasons, we get the Kolchak we recognize though to the detriment of the narrative heft of the story. In place of mildly complicated characterization we get shouting contests between Kolchak and Vincenzzo and a romance with a beautiful stripper which doesn't hardly make much sense at all given Kolchak's nature. To be honest some of the shouting between Kolchak and his soft-hearted boss actually stop the narrative in its tracks and seems weirdly forced. It's hard to sympathize with Carl in this one as he blunders into crime scenes and seems to cause as much damage to the police effort as he does in spelunking to find the answers. There's an aroma in this story of it all being a little too neat in the final analysis, though admittedly the story itself is plenty fun to read. It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor sadly.  

So let me take a moment to remember Jeff Rice, a complex man who saw the darkness within society and decided to call it out. That he made the corruption he found into a dark fantasy has made it linger in the imagination, but the real message of the failings of the human animal are no less apparent.

Rest in peace Mr.Rice. Thank you for The Night Stalker.

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