The Norliss Tapes - Dan Curtis

Directed by Dan Curtis
USA 1973

Another Dan Curtis niche gem in the mold of Kolchak The Night Stalker - which had a similar pilot-film (The Night Strangler / The Night Stalker) before evolving into the cult TV series. The Norliss Tapes fell short of that never being picked up for broadcast .

A newspaper publisher listens to the personal tapes of investigative reporter David Norliss (Roy Thinnes), who has disappeared during an investigation. The tapes tell the story of that investigation, involving a recent widow (Angie Dickenson) whose late husband has been seen working in his private studio. As Norliss and the widow investigate, they unravel a plot involving Voodoo and the walking dead..

Gary W. Tooze

Television Premiere: February 21st, 1973

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DVD Review: Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Anchor Bay - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:11:45
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.0 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Also on DVD trailers DVD Release Date: October 3rd, 2006 Keep Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

Bare-bones DVD from Anchor Bay looks acceptable in its original 1.33 aspect ratio - probably very much as it appeared on TV some 30 years ago - decent color and standard sharpness. Audio was clear. No optional subtitles are offered and the only extra are trailers for other DVD releases.

This brought back nostalgia feelings of Kolchak and I kind of wish this had been picked-up as it had a decent premise - much more subtle than The Night Stalker. Angie Dickinson looked gorgeous as usual and if I was disappointed in anything - it was that the entire TV film was too short with a rushed ending. This was nice to see and a bit of a shame it is only a one-off. Fans of this genre/style will enjoy.