''Night Slaves'' is a 1970 American television science fiction horror film directed by

Ted Post Theodore I. Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television. Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including '' Rawhide'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''The Twilight Zone'' ...

and starring

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: '' Mr. Novak'', '' The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', '' Doc Elliot'', ...

and

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...

. It was based on a 1965 novel by science fiction writer

Jerry Sohl Gerald Allan Sohl Sr. (December 2, 1913 – November 4, 2002) was an American television scriptwriter and science fiction author who wrote for ''The Twilight Zone'' (as a ghostwriter for Charles Beaumont), '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', '' The Out ...

, best known for writing episodes of '' The Outer Limits'', '' Star Trek'', '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' and as ghostwriter for Charles Beaumont on three episodes of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. ''Night Slaves'' aired as part of the ABC Network's ''Movie of the Week'' series.

Plot

Clay and Marjorie, an estranged married couple, take a vacation together while Clay recuperates from a serious auto accident. They end up in a sleepy little town which seems to be normal, except at night when the townspeople begin acting strangely and leave town in trucks, always returning by morning. Marjorie also begins to act strangely, and no one has any memories of their nighttime activities. Only Clay is unaffected due to the presence of a metal plate in his head, and no one believes his story.

Cast

as Clay Howard *

as Marjorie Howard *

Scott Marlowe Scott Gregory Marlowe (born Ronald Richard DeLeo; June 24, 1932 – January 6, 2001)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration was an American actor who had a starring role in the 1957 teen exploitation film '' ...

as Matt Russell *

Andrew Prine Andrew Lewis Prine (February 14, 1936 – October 31, 2022) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life and career Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Miami Jackson High School in Miami, Prine attend ...

as Fess Beany / Noel *

Tisha Sterling Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling (born December 10, 1944) is a retired American actress. She is the only daughter of actor Robert Sterling and actress Ann Sothern. Life and career Sterling was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced ...

as Annie Fletcher / Naillil *

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

as Sheriff Henshaw *Morris Buchanan as Mr. Hale * John Kellogg as Mr. Fletcher

Production

The TV movie features the debut of actress

Sharon Gless Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (1982 ...

. The teleplay was co-written by Robert Specht who had contributed to the TV series '' The Outer Limits'' and '' The Immortal''. Sohl noted that he was "very pleased with the whole thing...as a matter of fact, it interested me. They did a marvelous job." Ted Post had directed Franciscus the year before on ''

Beneath the Planet of the Apes ''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. The film stars Ja ...

'' and had high regard for Franciscus as an actor. Post worked as a director on TV series, TV movies and theatrical films but brought more than the usual "director-for-hire" ethos, often seeking to improve scripts or refine actors' performances to meet the needs of the material.Joe Russo and Larry Landsman, Planet of the Apes Revisited (2001)

Release

The film originally aired on September 29, 1970, on the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

(ABC).

References

External links