Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Blu-ray Discs and New DVDs Planned for the 2 Pilot Telefilms The Night Stalker ('72) and The Night Strangler ('73) are in-the-works from Kino Lorber
Posted by David Lambert	1/09/2018
In 1972, the ABC network aired a telefilm, The Night Stalker. It was based on a then-unpublished novel, The Kolchak Papers, and stared Darren McGavin as "Carl Kolchak." The network followed it up in 1973 with a second telefilm, The Night Strangler, based on a new original story. They planned on a third telefilm for 1974, but instead changed over to a weekly TV series, still starring McGavin as the title character, and called it "Kolchak: The Night Stalker.. The program ran for 20 episodes, an hour each. In 1998 there was a DVD release of The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler by Anchor Bay. In 2004 the folks at MGM re-released it as The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler Double Feature DVD set. In 2005 the studio which owns the main episodes released a "Universal Classic Television" set of Kolchak: The Night Stalker on 3 double-sided DVDs. In 2016 Universal re-released those 20 episodes on 5 single-sided DVDs as Kolchak: The Night Stalker - The Complete Series. Those are still available, but the original two "pilot" telefilms have not been. Now Kino Lorber is changing that with plans to re-release 1972's The Night Stalker and 1973's The Night Strangler separately...no double features this time! Get one by itself, on DVD or Blu-ray Disc, and leave the other alone if you prefer. Or just buy them both! But individually; no combo deal. They will be newly restored onto 4K prints and then the DVD and Blu-ray masters will be struck from those. Here's what Kino Lorber is saying: Coming Soon on DVD and Blu-ray! Brand New 4K Restorations! To be sold separately! The Night Stalker (1972) Starring Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Charles McGraw, Kent Smith, Elisha Cook Jr., Stanley Adams & Larry Linville Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey (The House That Would Not Die) The Night Strangler (1973) Starring Darren McGavin, Jo Ann Pflug, Simon Oakland, Scott Brady, Wally Cox, Margaret Hamilton, John Carradine, Al Lewis & Richard Anderson Directed by Dan Curtis (Trilogy of Terror) Our thanks to longtime reader Sean Doyle for being the first to tip us off about KL's plans! Below is an image that Kino Lorber posted at their Facebook page, with information about these early plans. We'll update you as soon as we have more details, including a release date! Stay tuned...