This title is now available via Sinister Cinema. The print is in great shape with just a few frame jumps scattered throughout the film. This pilot plays out like you would expect it to. The script is tight to keep the film to @60 minutes. It does have the feel and pacing of a television episode but is done well. The acting is good and the film is very atmospheric. I was surprised to see Leslie Nielson in the lead role. He has a rather evil looking dwarf for a manservant. I kept looking for Werner Klemperer as I noticed his name in the opening credits but must admit he got by me. I only found him by checking the acting/character names at the end of the film. He is in heavy makeup while on screen and even his voice is not recognizable. One negative note is the soundtrack composed by Lalo Shifrin. It contains some mighty cheesy organ playing and detached female vocalizing not unlike the original Star Trek theme! Catch this if you can. It's a neat little thriller and you could do a lot worse.
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rwagn8 May 2010
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SnoopyStyle6 September 2017It's 1890 San Francisco and a killer is on the loose. Brett Kingsford (Leslie Nielsen) is a rich Sherlock-like sleuth and an expert in the supernatural. Nikola is his diminutive man-servant and Evelyn Lang is his fiancée. Brett follows the tiny figurines found at the murder sites to an oriental demon. His friend Robert Vandenburg (Mark Richman) is disturbed with surprising connections to the murders.
This theatrical movie is only an hour long. It does feel shortened as a full length movie. It's too bad because I was going along on the ride. It turns out that it may have been a pilot for a never-developed show. I can absolutely see it as a modern supernatural mystery series. Nielsen is great as a Sherlock Holmes like character. It's set up for an intriguing early supernatural TV show and a missed opportunity. -
hitchcockthelegend16 October 2017Dark Intruder is directed by Harvey Hart and written by Barre Lyndon. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Gilbert Green, Charles Bolender, Mark Richman, Judith Meredith and Werner Klemperer. Music is by Lalo Schifrin and cinematography by John F. Warren.
A murderous fiend is terrorising San Francisco 1890, so supernatural expert Brett Kingsford (Nielsen) takes special interest in the crimes.
A pilot for a TV show that wasn't picked up, Dark Intruder is a whole bunch of spooky fun. Clocking in at just under an hour in length, the pic makes up for what it lacks in mystery inventiveness, with sheer schlocky shenanigans. Moody courtesy of the period setting, complete with lots of fog, shadows and gaslights, the narrative indulges us in gods, oriental mysticism and Sumerian demons, whilst a dwarf, a sinister fortune teller and a mandrake plant all add quirky qualities to the play. There's even a kicker at the finale, so as to not rest on its laurels.
Recommended for sure. 6.5/10 -
Leslie Nielsen is energetic, to say the least, as Bret Kingsford, ostensibly a playboy to everyone he knows in late 19th century San Francisco. But there is more to him than meets the eye. He is an expert on the occult, and secretly helps the local police force when a horrible string of murders are committed. Somehow his soon-to-be-married friend is involved, and Bret suspects someone or something not quite human is at the bottom of it. Leslie dons disguises to meet with the police chief to protect his social status, his victorian mansion has secret doors and passageways, and he plays at being uninterested while mentally taking notes and then disappears, leaving his guest staring at an empty chair. He's somewhat miscast in this film as a playboy, but when he throws off that persona he's fantastic. The foggy atmosphere of San Francisco is used to great effect to enhance the supernatural aura of the film.
This was a failed pilot produced by Jack Laird, who went on to produce "Night Gallery" a few years later, and was released theatrically at a few theaters. It's impossible to find, but deserves to be seen as the unique production it is. In some ways it is a clear precursor to "Kolchak, the Nightstalker", and also to the wonderful demon-themed TV movie "Spectre". -
This fast-paced film breaks no boundaries, and yet remains a solid little chiller-thriller with an amusing central performance from Leslie Nielsen. This is one of those films which they just don't make anymore, an old-fashioned thriller in which Nielsen and his friends try to work out the motive of a murderer and stop him killing again. It's all very conventional, and yet there is something about it which raises it above average. Perhaps the atmospheric scenes of a shadowy mutant stalking about in the shadows, murdering people, which brings to mind one of the better versions of Jack the Ripper. Or maybe it's Nielsen himself, who brings a lot of comedy to the film, perhaps practising for his later roles as a comedy star in hits like the NAKED GUN films.
Here, Nielsen plays a character who acts like an American Sherlock Holmes, although this man's identity and history is never revealed to us (this was to be the pilot for a never-made television series). His character isn't very well developed, which is probably a flaw in the script instead of with Nielsen's light performance. I mean, he keeps on disguising himself as to protect his identity, but for what reason? If Nielsen's character had been fleshed out a little more it would have given us a stronger lead to identify with - as it is, we don't really feel or care for him throughout the film.
The plot keeps us guessing by dropping clues in every ten minutes or so (the film only runs for an hour, so we never have long to wait), and even draws in some occult science - including a horrible statue, made with flesh and bone, which feels "hot". The twist ending is surprisingly downbeat, and all the more effective (although Nielsen's closing jokes seem to be rather misplaced). The makeup for the deformed killer is quite good, and there's a wonderful transformation sequence where a man dissolves from being handsome into a clawed fiend. The violence, unfortunately, is kept strictly offscreen, although there are a couple of fight scenes which involve Nielsen getting scratched by the killer's clawed hands.
Mark Richman is very good in a supporting role and reminded me of a young Charles Dance - his blackouts here are especially unnerving, when we don't know what they mean. The only false note is with the insubstantial female lead, who literally does nothing for the film's short running time except scream occasionally. A sign of the times. There's even a dwarf servant in there for good measure. This light, easy entertainment is never made anymore, and I really do miss it after watching films like this. DARK INTRUDER is an engaging, and best of all, fun thriller, an oddity which deserves to be tracked down. -
ctomvelu116 April 2013Atmospheric TV movie about a Sherlock Holmes type (Leslie Nielson) who occasionally assists the San Francisco police with serious crimes. Set in 1890, the whole thing feels very Jack the Ripper-ish, and there is a Mr. Hyde styled monster running loose in town seemingly killing people at random. Nielson's breezy private detective eventually puts two and two together, and realizes the creature has something very specific in mind with each murder. Mark Richman plays a troubled acquaintance who may hold the key to the mystery, and Werner Klemperer of all people plays the Mr. Hyde-ish killer. Tame by today's standards, this low-budget but fanciful tale still packs a punch. Later released theatrically. Too bad it wasn't shot in color. Nielson, whose hair was still dark in those days, is an absolute hoot.
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Hey_Sweden11 November 2017"Dark Intruder" stars the incomparable Leslie Nielsen as Brett Kingsford, an occult expert who is brought in to help the police investigate a series of ritualistic slayings. In each case, an ivory carving of a gargoyle is left at the scene. Brett has a friend, an importer named Robert Vandenburg (Peter Mark Richman), who is deathly afraid that he might be responsible, given that he is prone to blackouts.
Set in San Francisco in 1890, this decent spook show was a busted pilot for a proposed TV series, which then ended up playing in a number of theatres. Therefore, it's not exactly highly cinematic, but it's certainly a respectable effort, just the same. It makes one think that any series that might have resulted would at least be fairly entertaining. Director Harvey Hart ("The Pyx") gives it superb atmosphere and suspense, and the period recreation is reasonably impressive. Granted, the story (credited to Barre Lyndon) falls short in terms of the mystery quotient, but overall this is fun and a painless way to kill just under an hour.
Nielsen is fun, as usual, playing an unflappable hero with a sense of humour. Richman delivers the standout performance as the story's ultimately tragic character. There's a show stopping role for Werner Klemperer as the mysterious Professor Malaki, an energetic portrayal by Judi Meredith as Roberts' fiancée Evelyn, solid work by Gilbert Green as the police inspector, and an appealing performance by Charles Bolender as Bretts' diminutive butler Nikola. Character actors Vaughn Taylor, Peter Brocco, Bill Quinn, and Richard Venture lend some valuable support.
Punctuated by a shuddery score by Lalo Schifrin, "Dark Intruder" is definitely good of its kind, and worth a look for any fan of genre TV of this period, or Leslie Nielsen completists.
Six out of 10. -
preppy-39 October 2021This takes place in 1890 San Francisco. A series of vicious murders has been happening with a mystical statue is left next to each of the victims. The police call in Brett Kingsford (Leslie Nielsen) an occult expert to help them. This was originally a pilot for a TV series but no one bought it. So they added some footage to make it a short (59 minutes) but feature length movie and released it theatrically. It LOOKS great--beautiful sets and costumes and plenty of eerie atmosphere. Also Nielsen is great in his role. However the script is heavy-handed and convoluted with some truly questionable plot twists. However it's been praised to the high heavens by many critics. Use your own judgment.
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Bunuel197623 January 2010This was another last-minute inclusion in the ongoing Halloween Horror challenge, and one which also proved among the most rewarding viewings so far. I first knew of it from Leonard Maltin's *** capsule review in his esteemed "Film Guide", where the piece's TV origins ("Black Cloak" was actually the working title) and "one-of-a-kind" nature are mentioned. I was surprised to find it a period piece, but the end result still elicits a definite "Twilight Zone" feel – while anticipating, in concept and abrasive hero (ideally cast Leslie Nielsen and, who, incidentally, has a midget for valet/assistant!), the "Kolchak" series from the early 1970s. Despite the obvious low budget at the director's disposal, the film evokes a flawless Gothic atmosphere throughout. The fascinating plot involves a "House Of Wax"-type disfigured 'monster' – given an appropriately creepy make-up and played, of all people, by an unrecognizable Werner Klemperer of "Hogan's Heroes" fame! – causing havoc in fog-bound San Francisco (the attacks are quite vicious for a film of this kind), whose dual identity is gradually disclosed. There is, however, a method to his madness: a calling-card is left at the murder sites in the form of a mystical spoke-wheel; the period between each killing gets proportionally smaller; while the victims are eventually revealed to have been involved in his back-story. The level of suspense (and action) is considerable – especially in view of the film's very brief duration, a mere 59 minutes! – notably Nielsen's own numerous brushes with the monster (including one in which the hero spells out his suspicions to the Police Chief after yet another murder unaware that the villain is still present in the room with them!). The final twist, then, is the icing on the cake – with the tale having already reached a satisfactory conclusion, the script is seen to have one more ace up its sleeve. As can be expected, given the film's rarity, the print utilized could do with a restoration – but, really, this is no more than a minor quibble, when all the various components had come perfectly together to produce a classy (and memorable) show.
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arthur_tafero19 September 2021I like all of the Leslie Neilson comedies; he is a talented satirist. I believe this must have been one of his last dramatic roles before he realized he would be much more comfortable in comedy than in drama. There is even (spoiler alerts) a line from this film that predicts that event "Can't you be serious for even one minute?" The answer, of course, is no. There are a number of hilarious lines in this film that have more ham and baloney than a large German deli. One of my favorites is one from the police detective who actually says ".... Hmmm. One third of three is one". I swear to God he says this. More spoiler alerts: Neilson is cast as an 1890s sort of Bat Masterson occultist. That is funny in itself. The plot revolves around a Chinese/Indian/Mideast (they left nothing to chance) occultist, who is an evil twin. Now, try not to laugh at that. An Englishman plays an aged Chinese gentleman, which is both hilarious and racist at the same time. The evil twin looks like the Elephant Man on steroids. I can just imagine this film as a midnight special cult film at one of those revival houses in Greenwich Village. People could come dressed up as 1890s men and women, wear claws like the monster, and utter all the inane, silly, and fairly hilarious lines from the film with its pseudo-Taoist-Hindu malarkey. Real Taoist and Hindu philosophy has nothing at all to do with this baloney. So much fun to watch, I am going to see it again.
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Strapping bon vivant in gaslight San Francisco (played with self-amused assurance by Leslie Nielsen)--an apparent specialist in demonology--is called upon by the police commissioner to help with a serial killer case making headlines. It seems the cloaked strangler stalking the fog-enshrouded streets leaves behind a gargoyle head with his victims, causing the detective to think demonic possession may be involved. "Dark Intruder" (awful title!) isn't really an occult thriller at all; the explanation of the mystery (delivered in two parts!) is actually more outlandish or absurd than supernatural. Meant as a TV pilot (with a 59-minute running time), the movie is sloppily-directed, over-decorated and features numerous genre clichés (a brazen claw clasping a railing after our hero has walked passed, the shadow of the monster looming over a door, etc.). However, Nielsen is good, the sound effects are creepy, a fight scene at night is well-staged, and there's a decent (if familiar) visual at the end featuring an elaborate make-up effect. Charles Bolender (as Nielsen's impeccably-dressed little person manservant) is a terrific addition, but Judi Meredith's nervous bride-to-be is useless (and she sounds dubbed to boot). Not terrible, but really only for curious thriller-buffs. ** from ****
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Long before he became an immortal slapstick icon with his role as Frank Drebin in "The Naked Gun" (and became typecast as such until his death), Leslie Nielsen actually was a pretty versatile actor and appeared in numerous cult movies. He starred in the classic fifties Sci-Fi movie "Forbidden Planet" and in the schlocky seventies eco-horror flick "Day of the Animals", for example. Very few people know, however, that Leslie was also the star of this unsold and meanwhile long forgotten pilot episode of a supernaturally themed period series entitled "The Dark Cloak". The pilot film – with an extremely short running time of barely 59 minutes – takes place in the year 1891 in the moody and fog-enshrouded streets of San Francisco. Nielsen is Brett Kingsford, a rather eccentric private investigator specialized the occult. He has a midget butler named Nikolai and doesn't want the world to know that he collaborates with the police, so he disguises whenever they meet to discuss a case. The city is plagued by a series of violent killings, seemingly committed by a monstrous being. Robert Vandenburg, a personal friend of Kingsford who's about to be married, fears that he commits the murders in a sort of trance, but our paranormal investigator suspects there is another explanation.
The Brett Kingsford character is intelligent and slightly arrogant, like Sherlock Holmes, and Nikolai often acts like a miniature version of Dr. Watson. The monstrous murderer is very much like Mr. Hyde (the malicious other side of Dr. Jekyll), while the timing and decors immediately remind you of numerous movies about the infamous Jack the Ripper stories. Most likely these are all the reasons why the TV-series never came and "Dark Intruder" remained an independently released feature film. It's too reminiscent to a lot of other movie franchises and potential sponsors probably didn't want to get accused of being derivative and/or unoriginal. But it nevertheless remains a damn shame that "Dark Intruder" became so obscure, as it's a splendid mystery/thriller with a compelling and convoluted plot, witty and creative comical elements and great performances. The murders as well as various other sequences are tense and hugely atmospheric. The script contains some delightful dialogs, like: "I sense strong psychic indications in this room. Yeah, try using that in court!" and the climax has a nice unexpected twist in store. -
BandSAboutMovies6 February 2021Why is this movie only 59 minutes long? That's because it was a failed pilot for a TV series that would have been called The Black Cloak. The series would have been produced by Alfred Hitchcock's television company, Shamley Productions, but it was considered too scary and violent for TV.
NBC sold it to Universal Pictures, where Hitchcock was under contract, and it played on double bills with William Castle's I Saw What You Did.
Written by Barré Lyndon (The Lodger, George Pal's The War of the Worlds) and directed by Harvey Hart (The Pyx), this opens with a caped killer - I love that Wikipedia refers to him as a "hump-backed, long-fingernailed, black hat-wearing, caped and demonically-growling figure" - murdering a woman before introducing us to Brett Kingsford (Leslie Nielsen!). He's a supernatural detective with a dwarf sidekick named Nikola who is on the trail of a Summarian demon that wants a body of its own.
That sentence alone should make you want to watch this.
That Summarian demon is using a series of Jack the Ripper inspired murders in San Francisco to enter our world. At each murder scene, police find an ivory statue that has a demon coming out of a man. With each new killing, the statue changes more and more.
As if things can't get any stranger, an antique dealer just happens to have a mummified creature with a seven-spoked wheel, with each of the parts of the wheel representing a different murder that will happen. And before long, that killer is going to be coming for our hero.
Look for Peter Mark Richman (the annoying heel Charles McCulloch from that time Jason went to New York City), Judi Meredith (Jack the Giant Killer), Werner Klemperer (forever Colonel Klink), Bill Quinn (Dead and Buried), Vaughn Taylor (Psycho) and Peter Brocco (What's the Matter with Helen?).
Jack Laird, who produced this, would go on to create Night Gallery with Rod Serling. Any of the silly parts of that show - like the ones starring Nielsen - can be blamed on him. -
Surely someone should have seen the gleem in Leslie Nielsen's eyes in this, but he had to wait another 15 years to get to play comedy. There's a tongue in his cheek in this TV pilot that got rerouted to the big screen, and he's a lot of fun to watch. But other than the fact that the plot of this film and many elements about it were things that couldn't be shown on TV at the time, this was not right for big screen viewing either. That's obvious nearly 60 years later watching this on a digital TV that certain elements about the quality of the film makes it appear as if this would be greatly diluted as a big screen entry. It easily could have been moved to late night TV, or aired at 10:00 p.m. With a warning.
The film surrounds a series of Jack the Ripper type murders in San francisco, and it appears that they are going to tie the killings from London in with that other foggy city on the bay. Leslie Nielsen is an expert on the occult who becomes involved with the investigation, aided by the likes of professor Werner Klemperer and friend Peter Mark Richman. The lovely Judith Meredith has a weird sounding voice, like something you would hear on Rocky and Bullwinkle or the Underdog cartoon series.
My issue with this being shown on the big screen deals with the fact that there are a lot of scenes that utilize a fog machine, and that overwhelms the picture. Enlarge a TV screen to even the smallest cinema screen, and it would look painfully blurry. The music is also a negative distraction, almost headache inducing. But they did do a good job with what they had for a budget, and indeed, it is very spooky, especially when you get to see the actual monster and find out its agenda. Obviously they couldn't show anything dealing with the occult on TV in time slots where children might be watching, and this definitely has plenty of moments that are disturbing in a very spiritual way. -
dphelan-117 April 2006As a second feature in 1965, this arrived with little fanfare and was probably dismissed by most viewers. Since it was a discarded pilot for a series called " The Black Cloak'' that was never picked up, the studio probably figured they could a make a buck or two on it. But then when people saw it they realized that like the 1966 Chamber of Horrors ( which had some similar plot elements) , this was a little masterpiece of moody economical horror. Mark Richmond and Leslie Nielsen are terrific as the villain and hero. The creepy black and white photography is atmospheric and the tone is one of dread and impending doom. I saw this once in the theater 41 years ago and I would love to see it again. Why not release this on DVD ?
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jamesjustice-9221 April 2023Dark intruder was supposed to be a pilot of an upcoming TV series produced by Alfred Hitchcock's studio which never materialized and I'm hugely disappointed it didn't because I sure liked this little 58 minute movie and I'd love to see more of such an unusual character as Brett Kingsford.
Leslie Nielsen plays Brett in a manner both diverse and everyday but keeps it cool also. He is kind of a private investigator and an occult expert who gets himself into a serial killer's case and helps the commissioner dig down to the truth who's behind the murders and uncovers some pretty horrific things for 1960s cinema.
The movie itself, although billed as horror, mixes many other genres in it: a little bit of psychological thriller, a whole lot of mystery, some eclectics, some romance and a couple of ounces of comedy - brought solely by Nielsen himself. His Brett is a charismatic protagonist, a little arrogant but self-aware and confident, he knows exactly what he wants and how to get it and it's a joy to follow his character around this hour.
Spooky, darkened cinematography and menacing music score by Lalo Schifrin sets you perfectly for a ride you will not forget. The movie's only flaw is that the narrative is too rushed and incomplete and it feels exactly like a TV pilot but not a full-fledged motion picture; had it been made with additional 20-30 minutes of runtime where the viewers get to really know who Brett Kingsford is and where he comes from plus additional scenes setting up secondary characters, it would have been one of the best horror movies ever but we have what we have. -
lindakoplovitz11 January 2022This movie has haunted me for most of my life. I saw it when I was a teenager. I am now 69. I haven't seen it since it was released in 1965. I would like to see it again. I've searched for it. It's not anywhere. There are so many 1950 style B movies that are available. Dark Intruder is so much better than the material being offered on channels like Crackle. If someone had the power, please make this movie digitally available.