The Norliss Tapes (1973)
Director:
Dan Curtis
Writers:
William F. Nolan (teleplay), Fred Mustard Stewart (story)
Stars:
Roy Thinnes, Don Porter, Angie Dickinson
Author William F. Nolan and producer/director Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) combined forces for the made-for-TV The Norliss Tapes. Roy Thinnes stars as Dan Norliss, an investigative reporter specializing the supernatural. Norliss' tapes consist of his observations when tracking down a report about a "walking dead man." As it happens, the tapes seem to be all that is left of Norliss, who has completely disappeared. The Norliss Tapes was the pilot for a series which failed to secure a network slot (perhaps no one wanted a program with a nonexistent hero!). An earlier failed attempt by Curtis to build a series around a paranormal investigator resulted in the 1969 pilot In the Dead of Night.