In the Dead of the Night (1969 short)
In the Dead of the Night (1969), AKA Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon
Summary
Investigator Jonathon Fletcher and his assistant Sajeed Rau investigate supernatural incidents that the local authorities either cannot or will not tackle, beginning with the case of Angela Martin, who has inherited an allegedly haunted house. This was a pilot for an unsold horror/suspense/supernatural series in a similar spirit to The Night Stalker and The Norliss Tapes, all three being supernatural detective show concepts created by Dan Curtis, released instead as a TV movie.
Details
- Release Date: 1969
- Country/Language: US, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror, Mystery; Made-for-TV
- Setting: Modern (1960s/1970s)
- Runtime: 1 hr
- Starring: Cal Bellini, Thayer David, Marj Dusay
- Director: Lela Swift
- Writer: Dan Curtis, Sam Hall
- Producer/Production Co: Dan Curtis, Dan Curtis Productions, ABC
- View Trailer: (link)
- IMDB Page: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: no rating (equivalent to a TV-G or TV-PG)
As a made-for-1960s-TV project, it would have been designed to be more or less family-friendly to get past network standards and practices. Expect little more than some very tame "Adult Content" and an occasional light Profanity, with some mild 60s-TV-friendly Violence.
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)
I've not seen this, but it's unlikely the series would have delved very far into weird territory until later in its life, had it been sold. It sounds like this TV movie/pilot works on a similar premise to the CoC scenario "The Haunting and might be mined for a variant on the basic paranormal-investigators-in-a-haunted-house story.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Ben Spurling at HorrorPedia (link)
Synopsis (SPOILERS)
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
Investigator Jonathon Fletcher and his assistant Sajeed Rau investigate supernatural incidents that the local authorities either cannot or will not tackle, beginning with a woman who has inherited an allegedly haunted house; she does not believe the house is haunted, but cannot sell it to prospective buyers who do believe in the haunting. The investigation soon gets complicated when the heiress is possessed by the ghost.... After exercising the spirit and burning the mansion down in classic Gothic horror movie tradition, Fletcher and Sajeed ask the heiress Angela Martin to join their adventures as she is sensitive to the paranormal.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
- Piloted as a TV show for ABC, but failed to sell; it aired on ABC instead as a TV movie. Later released on DVD as a special feature with the similarly titled "Dead Of Night" TV film from 1977.
Associated Mythos Elements
- (TO_DO)
- race: Ghosts
Keeper Notes
