The Vampire
- Episode aired Oct 4, 1974
- 52m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
649
YOUR RATING
Sent to L.A. to interview a controversial guru, Kolchak's more interested in tracking down and stopping an extremely vicious female vampire.Sent to L.A. to interview a controversial guru, Kolchak's more interested in tracking down and stopping an extremely vicious female vampire.Sent to L.A. to interview a controversial guru, Kolchak's more interested in tracking down and stopping an extremely vicious female vampire.
Noel De Souza
- Chandra
- (as Noel de Souza)
Alice Backes
- Elena Munoz
- (uncredited)
Nick Dimitri
- Football Player
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was actually a reworking of a preexisting script. The original plan had been to set the story in New York, where both Kolchak and Vincenzo had wound up after being kicked out of Seattle. Also, the vampire was going to be Skorzeny, last seen in the original movie, mysteriously back from the dead. Then, word arrived that Kolchak had been green-lit for a series, so the story was reworked into its present form.
- GoofsWhen Kolchak comes into his hotel room for the first time, there's the sound of someone casually whistling. It's clear from the shots of Kolchak's face that he's not whistling. He subsequently turns on the TV to the news, so the whistling isn't coming from the TV. Kolchak is the only one in the room, so who is whistling?
- Quotes
Tony Vincenzo: I'm tired of it, Kolchak. I am fed up. I've got a brother-in-law who's got a 14 year old he's always bailing out of juvenile hall, but I've got you, and you are worse!
- ConnectionsReferences Horror of Dracula (1958)
Featured review
Da Spider Spinnink Her Web For Kolchak, Da Unvary Fly.
In many ways this episode is an improvement over the full-length television movie that appeared two years earlier in 1972, although the monsters are the same -- vampires. For one thing, there is more of Simon Oakland as Kolchak's boss at the news service. Not much, but more. For another, and this may be a little difficult to grasp, the story is better structured. More thought has been woven into the script. I'll give one example of what I mean.
Kolchak is sent from Chicago to Los Angeles to interview a famous guru, similar to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that the Beatles were enthralled by. But the guy has flown the coop. Meanwhile Kolchak has picked up the scent of a local vampire. Still, in order to file his story about the interview and satisfy his boss, Kolchak visits the guru's now empty house, where a pretty real estate agent who majored in journalism tries to sell him the mansion. Kolchak recruits her. She will write stories about the guru under his name, while he pursues the vampire.
So far, so good. And so what? But here's what I mean by structure. The pretty agent works hard at putting the reports together, although Kolchak has to warn her against using "oft" and "nary" in a news report. Back in Chicago, Oakland gets the report and calls Kolchak. Yes, says Kolchak, I wrote it. Pretty good, eh? But no, it's not! shouts Oakland. It reads exactly like a REAL ESTATE AD. Three luscious bedrooms, an adobe gazebo, and so forth. It has nothing to do with the guru. And Kolchak is teetering on the brink of unemployment. One of the writers had to plant that joke, and to do it they had to take the context of the entire story into account. It isn't much, but it's evidence that some work had gone into the writing. It's the sort of thing that's completely lacking in the 1972 movie.
But then there is generally more humor sprinkled through the narrative, often no more than one liners. Kolchak makes a pest of himself with the police lieutenant (the splendid William Daniels) and when the lieutenant asks angrily what paper Kolchak works for, he answers blithely, "The Manchester Guardian", tips his hat and makes a hasty exit. Now known simply as "The Guardian," it's one of the most famous and respected newspapers in the world.
He passes himself off to a reluctant informant as an agent of the "I.N.S.", which sounds terrifying but only stands for International News Service. He arranges for a visit from a hooker he's identified as a vampire and when she enters his darkened hotel room, he suddenly switches on the light and lunges toward her, holding a big crucifix in front of him. But it's the wrong girl. She's startled and asks, "Okay, what's going on, Father." All of this is underplayed, not stressed.
I keep calling him "Kolchak" instead of "Darren McGavin" because it's hard not to. He inhabits the role, a hypermanic, stuttering Type A personality. He gets professional support from the other performers. The episode is fast and satisfying.
Kolchak is sent from Chicago to Los Angeles to interview a famous guru, similar to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that the Beatles were enthralled by. But the guy has flown the coop. Meanwhile Kolchak has picked up the scent of a local vampire. Still, in order to file his story about the interview and satisfy his boss, Kolchak visits the guru's now empty house, where a pretty real estate agent who majored in journalism tries to sell him the mansion. Kolchak recruits her. She will write stories about the guru under his name, while he pursues the vampire.
So far, so good. And so what? But here's what I mean by structure. The pretty agent works hard at putting the reports together, although Kolchak has to warn her against using "oft" and "nary" in a news report. Back in Chicago, Oakland gets the report and calls Kolchak. Yes, says Kolchak, I wrote it. Pretty good, eh? But no, it's not! shouts Oakland. It reads exactly like a REAL ESTATE AD. Three luscious bedrooms, an adobe gazebo, and so forth. It has nothing to do with the guru. And Kolchak is teetering on the brink of unemployment. One of the writers had to plant that joke, and to do it they had to take the context of the entire story into account. It isn't much, but it's evidence that some work had gone into the writing. It's the sort of thing that's completely lacking in the 1972 movie.
But then there is generally more humor sprinkled through the narrative, often no more than one liners. Kolchak makes a pest of himself with the police lieutenant (the splendid William Daniels) and when the lieutenant asks angrily what paper Kolchak works for, he answers blithely, "The Manchester Guardian", tips his hat and makes a hasty exit. Now known simply as "The Guardian," it's one of the most famous and respected newspapers in the world.
He passes himself off to a reluctant informant as an agent of the "I.N.S.", which sounds terrifying but only stands for International News Service. He arranges for a visit from a hooker he's identified as a vampire and when she enters his darkened hotel room, he suddenly switches on the light and lunges toward her, holding a big crucifix in front of him. But it's the wrong girl. She's startled and asks, "Okay, what's going on, Father." All of this is underplayed, not stressed.
I keep calling him "Kolchak" instead of "Darren McGavin" because it's hard not to. He inhabits the role, a hypermanic, stuttering Type A personality. He gets professional support from the other performers. The episode is fast and satisfying.
helpful•123
- rmax304823
- Jun 18, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- 1486 North Sweetzer Ave. Los Angeles, California, USA(The abandoned mansion lair of Catherine Rawlins - the vampire - is actually the historic Mt. Kalmia estate)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime52 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content