''Night Slaves'' is a 1970 American television science fiction

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Ted Post Theodore Ian 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 Zo ...

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'', ''Naked City (TV series), Naked City'', ''The Investigators (1961 TV series), T ...

and

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. In a career spanning over seven decades, she won an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Directors Guil ...

. 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 ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' 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 series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

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

Movie of the Week A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

'' 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 Marlowe (born Ronald Richard DeLeo; June 24, 1932 – January 6, 2001)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American actor. He had starring roles in the teen exploitation film '' The Cool and th ...

as Matt Russell *

Andrew Prine Andrew Lewis Prine (February 14, 1936 – October 31, 2022) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life Prine was born in 1936, in Jennings, Florida. He was raised in a farming community. Career Early beginnings In the ...

as Fess Beany / Noel *

Tisha Sterling Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling (born December 10, 1944)Hubler, Richard G. (June 1959)"A belle named Sothern" ''Coronet''. p. 44. Retrieved March 8, 2024. "Sterling enlisted to fight in World War II. They were divorced in 1949. But this time ...

as Annie Fletcher / Naillil *

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 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. He made his a ...

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 known for her television roles. She portrayed Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series '' Cagney & Lacey'' (1982–88 ...

. The teleplay was co-written by Robert Specht who had contributed to the TV series ''

'' 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 from a screenplay by Paul Dehn, based on a story by Dehn and Mort Abrahams. The film is the sequel to ''Planet of the Apes'' (1968) and the second ...

'' 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.

Release

The film originally aired on September 29, 1970, on

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

Reception

Reviewing the film in the present day, Brian Schuck wrote:

''Night Slaves'' sets up a spooky atmosphere in its first half, but mitigates it to an extent with a soap-opera-ish love triangle involving Clay, Marjorie and the crazy girl. And then there’s the reveal that comes way too early in the film, further dissipating the suspense.
But don’t let that deter you too much. ''Night Slaves plot is sneakily subversive, especially considering that it was broadcast at the height of
Cesar Chavez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...
's national fame leading the
United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the National Farm Workers Associatio ...
on behalf of exploited
migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...
. In that context, ''Night Slaves'' jolts with its depiction of middle-class white people being herded onto trucks and hauled off to do some mysterious involuntary labor.

References

External links

* {{Ted Post 1970 films American science fiction horror films 1970 horror films ABC Movie of the Week 1970 television films American horror television films American science fiction television films 1970s science fiction horror films Films directed by Ted Post Films scored by Bernardo Segall 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1970 science fiction films English-language science fiction horror films