#kolchak

[hallucinationhorrors]

#kolchak #70s horror #70s TV #my gif #hallucination horrors

[bruceshideout]

#Kolchak #kolchak the night stalker #texas chainsaw massacre #trilogy of terror #basket case #vintage horror #horror #tv horror #darren mcgavin

[diabolikdiabolik]

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974-1975)

#kolchak #the night stalker #tv series #horror #mystery #thriller #darren mcgavin #typewriter #intro #gifs #own gifs

[fredbydawn]

I’m from the better timeline where instead of superwholock, we made crossover slash of middle aged men from 70’s detective shows

#my video tag #cuz why not #columbo #lieutenant columbo #carl kolchak #kolchak the night stalker #gay metv watchers unite #kolchak

[weirdlookindog]

#the night stalker #kolchak #1970s horror #1970s movies #tv movie #1972 #john llewellyn moxey #horrorgifs #gif #my gifs

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Libraries and Librarians on Film: The Night Strangler (1973 / TV Movie)

The Night Strangler was the second TV movie to feature Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak, the investigative reporter who would go on to be the star of a short-lived but highly influential TV series called Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

The formula of most Kolchak stories goes something like this:

Kolchak is an investigative reporter who's having trouble finding / holding down a job. Sometimes it's because he steps on too many people's toes, and sometimes it's because the cases he investigates are simply unbelievable.

He gets a new case, which seems at first to be ordinary, but it turns out that there's actually something paranormal going on.

He uncovers evidence, but people don't believe him. He yells at his boss, and his boss yells at him.

HOWEVER, he does gain one or more allies along the way. Sometimes they just believe his story, and sometimes they actively help with his investigation, even if that means putting their own lives at risk.

More stepping on toes. More yelling.

The case is solved by Kolchak, who knows that he's right about the vampire / zombie / etc. that was really behind it all. But either nobody believes him, or the people who do believe him can't do anything about it. Kolchak's newspaper story is either suppressed entirely or changed completely.

In case it wasn't obvious, I'm a big fan of the Kolchak movies and TV show, as well as Kolchak's spiritual successors like The X-Files and Fringe.

But why am I singling out this particular story? Because one of Kolchak's allies in The Night Strangler is a smart, curious, and helpful man called Mr. Berry (played by Wally Cox in one of his final roles). Mr. Berry isn't a librarian per se, but he DOES work with archives. He works in the morgue of the Daily Chronicle, which is the newspaper in Seattle that's employing Kolchak as he tries to solve a bizarre series of murders.

Kolchak himself isn't a big fan of research, but he knows that he needs a researcher to help him with this case:

When he meets Mr. Berry, he quickly learns how he feels about research:

[Personal Question: So, should I have "Research. That's where the joy lies." put on my business cards by itself? Or should I also add in the line "This is where the meat is found."???]

ANYWAY, Kolchak visits Mr. Berry multiple times during his investigation, and it's Mr. Berry who first suggests that the current murders are very similar to some murders that took place 21 years earlier ...

And this encourages them to search further back ...

And further back ...

And even FURTHER back ...

By the time that Kolchak has stepped on so many toes that he's been handcuffed by the police, it's Mr. Berry who comes to the rescue with supporting evidence that will show that Kolchak isn't crazy after all:

Which leads us to Mr. Berry's moment of justly-deserved recognition:

Of course, just because Kolchak was right doesn't mean that his story is going to be published. In fact, the real story will never make it to print. Sound familiar?

But on the plus side, the success of these TV movies DID lead to Kolchak's own TV series!

While the New York Public Library doesn't carry any of the Kolchak TV movies / series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker IS included in the book The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time by Christopher J. Olson.

If you'd like to immerse yourself in the Kolchak movies and TV episodes, here are some links to help you find more information about them, as well as any renting / streaming / buying options:

The Night Stalker (TV movie): IMDB / JustWatch / Amazon

The Night Strangler (TV movie): IMDB / JustWatch / Amazon

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (TV series): IMDB / JustWatch / Amazon

#Libraries & Librarians on Film #The Night Strangler #Kolchak #Carl Kolchak #Kolchak the Night Stalker #libraries #archives #Kingsbridge Library #NYPL

[aspirationalbrand]

kolchak: the night stalker s01e14

#kolchak #kolchak: the night stalker #lara parker

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

#ofmd #our flag means death #rhys darby #Rhys montague darby #xfiles #Guy mann #kolchak #kolchak the night stalker #stede bonnet #the cryptid factor #when Rhys became a Cryptid the first time #still will the scales #cell phone salesman #Cryptid #cryptid factor #darren mcgavin #seersucker suit #straw hat #does that make Rhys a straw hat pirate #Youtube

[eightiesfan]

#night stalker #kolchak #vampire #horror movies #70s movies #Youtube #creature features #70s

[rrrick]

#kolchak

[browsethestacks]

Arrgh! (1975)

Art by Alfredo Alcala / Tom Sutton

#Comic #Arrgh! #Arrgh #Alfredo Alcala #Tom Sutton #Horror #Horror Comics #Bigfoot #Kolchak The Night Stalker #Kolchak #Film #TV #Television #Vintage #Art #CGC #Marvel Comics #Marvel #1975 #1970s #70s

[bruceshideout]

Kolchak crashes the Mad Monster Party!

#kolchak #carl kolchak #kolchak: the night stalker #mad monster party #rankin bass #vintage halloween #vintage hororr #retro horror #retro Halloween

[unlovelyfrankenstein]

Just one more thing, Mister Skorzeny ...

#columbo #Kolchak

[columboscreens]

this is random but did you ever watch Kolchak the Night Stalker. he's not related to Columbo and has a completely different personality, but he's a fun character too

I just want young people on this site to obsess over him like they do Columbo, I loved both those shows in reruns as a little kid so I was ahead of the Columbo tumblr obsession by over a decade and I want to see tumblr fall in love with Kolchak too

i'm aware of kolchak, though from what i know it's more of a campy monster hunter type show than a detective show. for anyone curious, it can be watched here! one of these days i'll check it out...

#im bad at watching things #columbo #ask #kolchak #misc

[weirdlookindog]

Darren McGavin and Barry Atwater in The Night Stalker (1972).

#the night stalker #kolchak #darren mcgavin #barry atwatwer #1972 #1970s movies #tv movie #john llewellyn moxey #horror #mystery

[patart-illustrations-stuff]

Darren McGavin as 

KOLCHAK, The Night Stalker

#kolchak #Darren McGavin #carl kolchak #the night stalker