What a cast. Darren McGavin and Carol Lynley are more or less in their prime but the production has a striking assembly of supporting players that must by this time have been living on residuals -- Claude Akins, Kent Smith, Ralph Meeker, Elishah Cook Jr., and Charles McGraw whose face is now as mauled as his voice. Reminds me of John Ford's collection of falling stars in "The Last Hurrah." The plot is standard. McGavin is a hungry reporter in Las Vegas, always at odds with his boss, Simon Oakland, and pretty much hated by everyone else in authority. A number of young ladies are killed, their blood drained, and on the rare occasions when the killer is encountered, blunt force by the police doesn't stop him and neither do bullets. McGavin concludes that they're dealing with a vampire. When the scoffing is over, the authorities reluctantly accept his conclusion as well as his means of dealing with the vampire -- a crucifix, a wooden stake, and a mallet.
The logic of the story is flawed. This is a kind of black comedy and a TV production so not much care goes into it. An informant tells McGavin the address of the vampire's house. The reporter then investigates the house, although it's night and we know the blood sucker is awake at night. Why not wait until dawn, you ask? Well, then you have no rough-and-tumble encounter between the Baron and McGavin. McGavin naturally loses the wrestling match but is saved by the arrival of a friend in the police department. Together -- and with the help of the crucifix and the Las Vegas desert sunlight -- they manage to destroy the monster. Not that it does McGavin any good. The police force the paper to kill the story and boot the reporter out of town.
McGavin does well enough by the role of the cocky newspaperman. If sometimes he seems kind of dumb, well we all have our dumb moments. Lynley is luscious but is only there to prove that Darren McGavin's character is heterosexual. The supporting actors do the best they can with their roles. I prefer Kent Smith as the patient, reasonable, accommodating figure from the cat movies of Val Lewton. And I can't help wondering what Claude Akins would do in a sympathetic role.
The logic of the story is flawed. This is a kind of black comedy and a TV production so not much care goes into it. An informant tells McGavin the address of the vampire's house. The reporter then investigates the house, although it's night and we know the blood sucker is awake at night. Why not wait until dawn, you ask? Well, then you have no rough-and-tumble encounter between the Baron and McGavin. McGavin naturally loses the wrestling match but is saved by the arrival of a friend in the police department. Together -- and with the help of the crucifix and the Las Vegas desert sunlight -- they manage to destroy the monster. Not that it does McGavin any good. The police force the paper to kill the story and boot the reporter out of town.
McGavin does well enough by the role of the cocky newspaperman. If sometimes he seems kind of dumb, well we all have our dumb moments. Lynley is luscious but is only there to prove that Darren McGavin's character is heterosexual. The supporting actors do the best they can with their roles. I prefer Kent Smith as the patient, reasonable, accommodating figure from the cat movies of Val Lewton. And I can't help wondering what Claude Akins would do in a sympathetic role.