Cast and Crew: Richard Matheson (Teleplay); Dan Curtis (Producer); Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Claude Aikens, Larry Linville

What It’s About:  Rumpled gadfly reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) uncovers the story of his life while investigating a series of strange murders in Las Vegas…but will he survive long enough to tell it?

Why Watch it Today?:  The X-Files, which premiered 20 years ago today,  counted the TV series spawned by today’s TV Movie of the Day, Kolchak:  The Night Stalker, as one of its main inspirations.  While the series is a heck of a lot of fun, and quite creative in it’s increasingly odd monsters of the week, this first TV movie shows why a series was even commissioned:  it’s an excellent horror film with a great cast, especially McGavin.