''Dead of Night'' is a 1977 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

anthology horror film starring Ed Begley Jr.,

Anjanette Comer Anjanette Comer (born August 7, 1939) is an American actress. Early years Born in Dawson, Texas to Rufus Franklin Comer, Jr., and Nola Dell “Sue” (Perkins) Comer, she attended Dawson High School. She gained acting experience at the Pasadena ...

, Patrick Macnee,

Horst Buchholz Horst Werner Buchholz (4 December 1933 – 3 March 2003) was a German actor who appeared in more than 60 feature films from 1951 to 2002. During his youth, he was sometimes called "the German James Dean". He is perhaps best known in English- ...

and

Joan Hackett Joan Ann Hackett (March 1, 1934 – October 8, 1983) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. She starred in the 1967 western ''Will Penny''. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Golde ...

. Directed by

Dan Curtis Dan Curtis (born Daniel Mayer Cherkoss; August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006) was an American director, writer, and producer of television and film, known among fans of horror films for his afternoon TV series ''Dark Shadows'' (1966–1971) and ...

, the film consists of three stories written by

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...

(although the first segment, "Second Chance", was adapted from a story by

Jack Finney Walter Braden "Jack" Finney (born John Finney; October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American writer. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including '' The Body Snatchers'' and '' Time and Again''. The former was the ba ...

) much like the earlier ''

Trilogy of Terror ''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 coll ...

''. The film originally premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on March 29, 1977.

Plot

"Second Chance"

The first segment features Ed Begley Jr. as a man who restores a 1926 roadster and finds himself transported back in time. ;Cast * Ed Begley Jr. as Frank * E. J. André as Mr. McCauley *

Ann Doran Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark (James Dean) in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and serv ...

as Mrs. McCauley *

Christina Hart Christina Hart (born July 21, 1949) is an American film producer, film director, playwright and retired actress. She teaches acting at the Hollywood Court Theater. She has appeared in such films as ''The Stewardesses'' (1969), '' The Mad Bomb ...

as Helen

"No Such Thing as a Vampire"

The second segment features

as a woman who seems to be actively terrorized by a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

. Patrick Macnee plays her husband who attempts to deal with her terror by engaging the services of a friend, Michael (

). ;Cast * Patrick Macnee as Dr. Gheria *

as Alexis *

Elisha Cook Jr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film ...

as Karel *

as Michael

"Bobby"

The third and final segment deals with the grieving feelings of a mother (

) for her drowned son, Bobby ( Lee H. Montgomery) and the lengths she will go to see him again. This story, an original script written for ''Dead of Night'', was later remade for the Dan Curtis omnibus movie '' Trilogy of Terror II'' with different actors. ;Cast *

as Mother * Lee H. Montgomery as Bobby

Home video

''Dead of Night'' was released on DVD by

Dark Sky Films MPI Media Group is an American producer, distributor and licensor of theatrical film and home entertainment. MPI's subsidiaries include MPI Pictures, MPI Home Video, Gorgon Video, and the horror film distributor Dark Sky Films. The company is lo ...

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 Lela Swift (born Lillian Siwoff; February 1, 1919 – August 4, 2015) was a television director and producer, best known for her work on ''Dark Shadows'', which she also produced from 1970–71, and '' Ryan's Hope''. Early life She was born i ...

, which was the pilot for a ''Dead of Night'' television series that was never picked up.

References

External links

* 1977 films 1977 horror films 1977 television films 1970s fantasy films 1970s supernatural horror films American horror anthology films American horror television films American supernatural horror films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Richard Matheson Films directed by Dan Curtis Films with screenplays by Richard Matheson Films set in Illinois NBC network original films 1970s American films {{US-tv-horror-film-stub American vampire films