Dark 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

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.

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.

This 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.