Dead of Night (1977 film)

Last updated
Dead of Night
Genre
  • Horror
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
Based onSecond Chance
by Jack Finney
Written by Richard Matheson
Directed by Dan Curtis
Starring Ed Begley Jr.
Ann Doran
Patrick Macnee
Joan Hackett
Elisha Cook Jr.
Music by Robert Cobert
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producer Robert Singer
Cinematography Ric Waite
Editor Dennis Virkler
Running time76 minutes
Production company Dan Curtis Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMarch 29, 1977 (1977-03-29)

Dead of Night is a 1977 American made-for-television anthology horror film starring Ed Begley Jr., Anjanette Comer, Patrick Macnee, Horst Buchholz and Joan Hackett. Directed by Dan Curtis, the film consists of three stories written by Richard Matheson [1] (although the first segment, "Second Chance", was adapted from a story by Jack Finney [2] ) much like the earlier Trilogy of Terror . The film originally premiered on NBC on March 29, 1977.

Contents

Plot

"Second Chance"

College student and vintage car enthusiast Frank restores a 1926 Jordan Playboy which was wrecked in a collision with a train in which the driver and passenger were both killed. He takes it for a drive and finds himself transported back in time. While exploring the area, he notices a couple driving off with the Playboy and runs in front of it to stop them. They briefly argue, with the driver insisting that the car is his own before driving off again. Frank realizes he cannot report the incident to the police without showing them his driver's license, and the date of birth on it would expose him as being from the future. Resigned, he takes a rest by the side of the road, and when he awakes he is back in the present, his car gone.

Years later, Frank's new girlfriend Helen McCauley introduces him to her parents, who own a 1926 Jordan Playboy. Her father tells Frank that if he restores the car, he can keep it in exchange for his getting to drive it one last time. Her mother recounts how he almost got them both killed in the car; he was driving towards train tracks and realized at the last moment that he would not make it across in time, pulling to a halt. His suspicions aroused, Frank checks the license plate and confirms it is the same car which was "stolen" from him during his trip back in time. He wonders if the car has a mind of its own and took him back in time specifically so that he would delay the McCauleys for the few seconds necessary to avert their fatal collision with the train. He also realizes that this alteration of the past caused the existence of Helen, who he loves and a few years later marries.

Cast

"No Such Thing as a Vampire"

A woman, Alexis, repeatedly awakes to find bleeding punctures wounds in her throat, making the entire household believe she is being victimized by a vampire. Terrified, all the servants save one, Karel, quit the household and spread word of the vampire attacks through the town. Her husband attempts to deal with the terror by adorning the house with garlic and searching local tombs, to no avail. He resorts to engaging the services of a friend, Michael.

However, after Michael arrives, Alexis's husband drugs him to make him sleep. He is in fact responsible for the "vampire attacks" on his wife, using a hypodermic needle to draw blood from her neck. He squirts blood from the needle across Michael's mouth and plants his unconscious body inside a coffin in the attic. He then summons Karel and contrives for them to find the seemingly vampiric Michael in the coffin. At his orders, Karel kills Michael with a stake. The entire situation was a scheme devised by Alexis's husband to murder Michael, who he believes was having an affair with Alexis, in a way that no blame could be attached to him.

Cast

"Bobby"

It has been some time since Bobby drowned, but his mother Alma still has not broken the news to her own mother. While her husband is away on business, she determines to raise Bobby from the dead. Armed with a magic book, she conjures up dark forces to bring her son back. Before she goes to bed, a thunderstorm approaches the beach house. Hearing a knock, she opens the door to discover Bobby. After she dries him off and feeds him, he explains that he never died at all, but was washed ashore and taken in by some strangers. Due to the trauma of his near-drowning, he only recently remembered who he is. However, Bobby acts completely mad. He cuts off the electricity and terrorizes Alma in the dark house with a sledgehammer and a butcher knife. Alma realizes that it is not Bobby who returned to her, but a demon, as he says "Bobby hates you, Mommy, so he sent me instead," revealing his demonic face.

This story, an original script written for Dead of Night, was remade for the Dan Curtis omnibus movie Trilogy of Terror II .

Cast

Home video

Dead of Night was released on DVD by Dark Sky Films in 2009. The DVD includes a 1969 TV episode, "A Darkness at Blaisedon" written by Dan Curtis and Sam Hall and directed by Lela Swift, which was the pilot for a Dead of Night television series that was never picked up. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Night of Dark Shadows</i> 1971 film by Dan Curtis

Night of Dark Shadows is a 1971 horror film by Dan Curtis. It is the sequel to House of Dark Shadows. It centers on the story of Quentin Collins and his bride Tracy at the Collinwood Mansion in Collinsport, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam McCall</span> Fictional character from General Hospital

Sam McCall is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Created by Charles Pratt, Jr. and Robert Guza, Jr., the character made her debut on the episode airing on October 1, 2003, portrayed by Kelly Monaco. Sam is the daughter of mob boss Julian Jerome and attorney Alexis Davis, born and placed for adoption when both were teenagers. She arrived in town as a con artist trying to reverse her family's bad luck by destroying the five lucky cards of the "Dead Man's Hand." Upon her arrival, she was characterized as a "sexy bad girl, with a nose for intrigue." Since her introduction, the character has matured into a self-assured and confident woman, while still retaining traces of her adventuresome, bad girl ways.

<i>Drowning Mona</i> 2000 American film

Drowning Mona is a 2000 American crime comedy film starring Danny DeVito as Wyatt Rash, a local police chief from Verplanck, New York, who investigates the mysterious death of Mona Dearly, a spiteful, hard-drinking, loud-mouthed, abusive woman, hated by all who knew her, who drove her son's car off a cliff and drowned in a river. The film received negative reviews from critics.

"Bad Girls" is episode fourteen of season three of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Doug Petrie, directed by Michael Lange, and first broadcast on February 9, 1999 on The WB.

<i>House of Dark Shadows</i> 1970 film by Dan Curtis

House of Dark Shadows is a 1970 American feature-length horror film produced and directed by Dan Curtis, based on his Dark Shadows television series. In this film expansion, vampire Barnabas Collins searches for a cure for vampirism so he can marry a woman who resembles his long-lost fiancée Josette.

Alexis Davis (<i>General Hospital</i>) Fictional character

Alexis Davis is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. Nancy Lee Grahn originated the role on September 26, 1996. She is the daughter of Mikkos Cassadine and Kristin Bergman. She is also the mother of Sam McCall, Kristina Davis and Molly Lansing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Strode</span> Character in the Halloween franchise

Laurie Strode is a character from the Halloween series. She first appeared in Halloween (1978) as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers, in which she was portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. Created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, Laurie appeared in nine of thirteen films in the series. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, and comic books.

<i>Trilogy of Terror</i> 1975 television film by Dan Curtis

Trilogy of Terror is a 1975 American made-for-television anthology horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black. It features three segments, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The first follows a college professor who seeks excitement with her students; the second is about twin sisters who have a bizarre relationship. These two segments were adapted by William F. Nolan. The third, adapted by Matheson himself, focuses on a woman terrorized by a Zuni fetish doll in her apartment. Black stars in all three segments, and plays dual roles in the second.

<i>Trilogy of Terror II</i> 1996 American made-for-television anthology horror film

Trilogy of Terror II is a 1996 American made-for-television anthology horror film and a sequel to Trilogy of Terror (1975), both directed by Dan Curtis. The film follows the formula of the original, with one female lead playing parts in each of three segments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McBain (character)</span> Soap opera character

John McBain is a fictional character on the American daytime dramas One Life to Live and General Hospital, portrayed by Michael Easton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Jacks</span> Soap opera character

Jerald "Jerry" Aloysius Jacks is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. He was portrayed by Julian Stone from April 10, 1998 to December 14, 1999. In January 2007, the role was recast with Sebastian Roché, who was initially introduced as a terrorist named Mr. Craig, with his true identity remaining hidden until a few months later. Roche has held the role sporadically since, with his latest arc occurring from August to September 2012. He returned for one episode on December 18, 2012 and made a second return for multiple episodes starting September 30, 2013. After last appearing on December 3, 2013, Roché made several guest appearances throughout October 2014. He once again reprised the role of Jerry on December 10, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dex Dexter</span> Fictional character from Dynasty

Farnsworth "Dex" Dexter is a fictional character on the ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty. Portrayed by Michael Nader, the character was introduced as a love interest for Alexis Colby in the series' fourth season in 1983. He became her third husband, and arguably the second great love of her life, after Blake Carrington. Even after the end of their marriage, Dex remained a strong force in Alexis's life. Dex Dexter remained on the series until its final episode in 1989.

<i>The Night Stalker</i> (1972 film) 1972 television horror film by John Llewellyn Moxey

The Night Stalker is an American made for television horror film which aired on ABC on January 11, 1972, as their ABC Movie of the Week. In the film, an investigative reporter, played by Darren McGavin, comes to suspect that a serial killer in the Las Vegas area is actually a vampire.

<i>Dark Shadows</i> (2004 TV pilot) Unaired television pilot

Dark Shadows is a one-hour television pilot that was a remake of the 1966–1971 gothic soap opera television series Dark Shadows. The pilot was commissioned by The WB and produced in 2004, but not picked up for a series.

<i>The Merry Gentleman</i> 2008 American film

The Merry Gentleman is a 2008 neo-noir film directed by Michael Keaton, and starring Keaton and Kelly Macdonald. It is about a woman who leaves an abusive relationship to start a new life in Chicago, where she forms a friendship with a hitman who is undergoing his own emotional crisis.

<i>Vampires vs. the Bronx</i> American comedy horror film

Vampires vs. the Bronx is a 2020 American comedy black horror film directed by Oz Rodriguez and written by Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway. The film follows a group of teenagers who are forced to protect their neighborhood in the Bronx when a gathering of vampires invades. It stars Jaden Michael, Gerald W. Jones III, Gregory Diaz IV, Sarah Gadon, Method Man, Shea Whigham, and Coco Jones.

References

  1. ↑ New Triolgy Of Terror On DVD: Dead Of Night!, Paper, January 29, 2009[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ McKendry, Rebekah (October 20, 2014), 30 for 31: "DEAD OF NIGHT" (1977), Fangoria, archived from the original on March 24, 2017, retrieved November 23, 2016
  3. ↑ Carman, Keith (January 25, 2009), Dead Of Night, Exclaim!


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.