The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
A város, amely rettegett a naplementétől
Igaz történet alapján. 1946-ban egy rejtélyes, csuklyás gyilkos tartja rettegésben Texarkana városát. A tettes újra és újra lecsap, a rendőrség pedig tehetetlen.
Before the "Phantom-attacks", which occurred about eight months after World War II, Texarkana was pleasant and citizens were preparing for a good future. On the night of Sunday, March 3, 1946, Sammy Fuller and Linda Mae Jenkins park on a lovers' lane. Soon, the hood of the car opens and closes and a man with a bag over his head with holes cut out for his eyes is seen holding wires he had yanked from the engine. While Sammy tries starting the car, the man breaks his window and pulls him out, cutting him on the broken glass. The man then gets inside the car with Linda.
The next morning, Linda is found on the side of the road barely alive. While at the crime scene, Deputy Norman Ramsey reports that both victims are still alive. He leaves a message for Sheriff Barker to meet him at Michael-Meagher Hospital. At the hospital, a doctor tells Sheriff Barker that Linda was not raped but that her back, stomach, and breasts were "heavily bitten; literally chewed." At the police station, Barker suggests to Police Chief Sullivan to warn teens and college students from parking on lonely roads.
On March 24, while investigating a lovers' lane in heavy rain, Ramsey hears gunshots and finds Howard W. "Buddy" Turner dead in a ditch and the corpse of his girlfriend, Emma Lou Cook, tied to a tree. Ramsey spots the hooded man escaping in a car. Panicked, the town sells out of guns and other home safety equipment. Sheriff Barker calls in help and tells Ramsey they are getting the most famous criminal investigator in the country, the "Lone Wolf" of the Texas Rangers, Captain J.D. Morales. After arriving, Morales explains he will be in charge of the investigation and calls the unidentified attacker a Phantom. Ramsey is assigned to assist Morales, and Patrolman A.C. "Sparkplug" Benson is to be his driver....
Directed by Charles B. Pierce
Written by Earl E. Smith
Produced by
Charles B. Pierce
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Starring
Ben Johnson
Andrew Prine
Dawn Wells
Narrated by Vern Stierman
Cinematography Jim Roberson
Edited by Tom Boutross
Music by Jaime Mendosa-Nava
Cast
Ben Johnson as Captain J.D. Morales, based on the lead investigator, Texas Rangers Company B Captain M. T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas
Andrew Prine as Deputy Norman Ramsey, a fictional character slightly based on Bowie County Sheriff Bill Presley
Dawn Wells as Helen Reed, based on Katie Starks, from the final pair of actual victims
Jimmy Clem as Sgt. Mal Griffin
Jim Citty as Police Chief R.J. Sullivan
Charles B. Pierce as Patrolman A.C. Benson, a fictional comic-relief character
Robert Aquino as Sheriff Otis Barker
Cindy Butler as Peggy Loomis, based on victim Betty Jo Booker, from the third pair of actual victims
Christine Ellsworth as Linda Mae Jenkins, based on Mary Jeanne Larey, from the first pair of actual victims
n addition, other victims are played by: Mike Hackworth as Sammy Fuller, based on Jimmy Hollis, from the first pair of actual victims; Misty West and Rick Hildreth as murdered couple Emma Lou Cook and Buddy Turner, respectively, based on the second pair of actual victims, Richard L. Griffin and Polly Ann Moore; and Steve Lyons as Roy Allen, based on Paul Martin, from the third pair of actual victims. Bud Davis plays Phantom Killer, whose face is never seen. Narration throughout the film was provided by Vern Stierman.