Dan Curtis

Creator

Dan Curtis

Born — Died

1927-08-12 — 2006-03-27

Place of birth

Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

Known for

Creator

Credits

42 titles

Daniel Mayer Cherkoss (August 12, 1927 – March 27, 2006), known by his pen name Dan Curtis, was an American director and producer of television and film, best known for creating the horror soap Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows ran from 1966 to 1971 for a record-setting 1,225 episodes. Curtis also produced the 1991 revival, which was canceled after twelve episodes due to low ratings. He also served as executive producer for a WB reboot; however, it was canceled before the pilot episode aired. His series of macabre films include The Night Stalker (which inspired the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker), Intruders, The Night Strangler, House of Dark Shadows, Night of Dark Shadows, Burnt Offerings, Tri…

Known for

Film credits

Series credits

Behind the camera

The Night Stalker poster
6.9

Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.

The Night Stalker

1972

Curse of the Black Widow poster
5.2

Tony Franciosa plays a detective who's on the trail of a murderer whose mutilated and predominantly male victims are found encased in silken cocoons...

Curse of the Black Widow

1977

Dracula poster
6.2

Dracula is searching for a woman who looks like his long dead wife.

Dracula

1974

Dracula poster
6.2

Dracula is searching for a woman who looks like his long dead wife.

Dracula

1974

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang poster
3.9

A light-hearted view of the Dalton Gang's legendary raid on Coffeyville, Kansas and the years leading up to it as the brothers form themselves into a gang of horse thieves and train and bank robbers with their arch enemy, Detective Will Smith, constantly on their heels.

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang

1979

Burnt Offerings poster
6.4

A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.

Burnt Offerings

1976

Burnt Offerings poster
6.4

A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.

Burnt Offerings

1976

Burnt Offerings poster
6.4

A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.

Burnt Offerings

1976

The Love Letter poster
6.5

20th century computer games designer Scott, Civil War buff, buys an antique desk from that era and, while polishing it, he discovers a secret compartment in which sits an unmailed letter--a letter written by a young poet named Lizzie over a century earlier. Touched by her yearning for passion, he writes her back, egged on by his mystically inclined mother. Magically, his letter reaches Lizzie and they begin a correspondence that threatens Scott's impending marriage but promises to bring fulfilment to Lizzie. Spanning the Civil War to the present, the perils of Lizzie's war-torn situation threaten her safe passage into the future. Will their love endure the test of time?

The Love Letter

1998

The Love Letter poster
6.5

20th century computer games designer Scott, Civil War buff, buys an antique desk from that era and, while polishing it, he discovers a secret compartment in which sits an unmailed letter--a letter written by a young poet named Lizzie over a century earlier. Touched by her yearning for passion, he writes her back, egged on by his mystically inclined mother. Magically, his letter reaches Lizzie and they begin a correspondence that threatens Scott's impending marriage but promises to bring fulfilment to Lizzie. Spanning the Civil War to the present, the perils of Lizzie's war-torn situation threaten her safe passage into the future. Will their love endure the test of time?

The Love Letter

1998

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster
6.7

In this Dan Curtis production of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Jack Palance stars as Dr. Henry Jekyll, a scientist experimenting to reveal the hidden, dark side of man, who, in the process of his experiment, releases a murderer from within himself.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1968

Trilogy of Terror poster
6.3

A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college professor is aggressively pursued by one of her students; a prudish brunette determines that her free-spirited blonde sister is evil; and a woman's night turns upside down after she purchases an ancient Zuni fetish doll.

Trilogy of Terror

1975

Trilogy of Terror poster
6.3

A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college professor is aggressively pursued by one of her students; a prudish brunette determines that her free-spirited blonde sister is evil; and a woman's night turns upside down after she purchases an ancient Zuni fetish doll.

Trilogy of Terror

1975

Trilogy of Terror II poster
5.2

Three tales of terror: in "The Graveyard Rats" lovers murder the woman's older husband and encounter horror when they attempt to rob his grave; "Bobby" is the story of a woman who summons her son back from the dead; and in "He Who Kills" an African doll goes on a murderous rampage.

Trilogy of Terror II

1996

Trilogy of Terror II poster
5.2

Three tales of terror: in "The Graveyard Rats" lovers murder the woman's older husband and encounter horror when they attempt to rob his grave; "Bobby" is the story of a woman who summons her son back from the dead; and in "He Who Kills" an African doll goes on a murderous rampage.

Trilogy of Terror II

1996

Dead of Night poster
6.1

This anthology tells three stories: a man buys a car that takes him back and forth through time; a tale of vampires; and a distraught mother asks for her drowned son to come back to life and gets more than she bargained for.

Dead of Night

1977

Dead of Night poster
6.1

This anthology tells three stories: a man buys a car that takes him back and forth through time; a tale of vampires; and a distraught mother asks for her drowned son to come back to life and gets more than she bargained for.

Dead of Night

1977

Our Fathers poster
6.5

In the '80s, priests and especially the Father Geoghan arrested for sexual abuse of minors. Cardinal Law, also indicted, and the diocese was aware of the actions of these men of the church and was kept secret for years, until the victims decide to seek redress.

Our Fathers

2005

House of Dark Shadows poster
6.6

Barnabas Collins searches for a cure for vampirism in order to marry a woman resembling his long-lost fiancée Josette.

House of Dark Shadows

1970

House of Dark Shadows poster
6.6

Barnabas Collins searches for a cure for vampirism in order to marry a woman resembling his long-lost fiancée Josette.

House of Dark Shadows

1970

Night of Dark Shadows poster
6.5

Recently married, Quentin and Tracy Collins have just moved into Collinwood, a New England estate that has long been in the Collins family and which Quentin has just inherited. They soon find themselves plagued by spirits of past residents.

Night of Dark Shadows

1971

Night of Dark Shadows poster
6.5

Recently married, Quentin and Tracy Collins have just moved into Collinwood, a New England estate that has long been in the Collins family and which Quentin has just inherited. They soon find themselves plagued by spirits of past residents.

Night of Dark Shadows

1971

Scream of the Wolf poster
6.4

A big-game hunter comes out of retirement to help track down a killer wolf, and begins to suspect that it isn't a wolf but an animal that can take human form.

Scream of the Wolf

1974

Scream of the Wolf poster
6.4

A big-game hunter comes out of retirement to help track down a killer wolf, and begins to suspect that it isn't a wolf but an animal that can take human form.

Scream of the Wolf

1974

The Turn of the Screw poster
6.6

In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.

The Turn of the Screw

1974

The Turn of the Screw poster
6.6

In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.

The Turn of the Screw

1974

The Invasion of Carol Enders poster
4.9

Television thriller about a woman is possessed after a brutal attack.

The Invasion of Carol Enders

1974

The Invasion of Carol Enders poster
4.9

Television thriller about a woman is possessed after a brutal attack.

The Invasion of Carol Enders

1974

Melvin Purvis G-Man poster
6.2

Agent Melvin Purvis is placed in charge of running down notorious killer Machine Gun Kelly, and sets out to do just that.

Melvin Purvis G-Man

1975

Melvin Purvis G-Man poster
6.2

Agent Melvin Purvis is placed in charge of running down notorious killer Machine Gun Kelly, and sets out to do just that.

Melvin Purvis G-Man

1975

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July poster
8.0

A little girl convinces her attorney father to defend a mute war veteran accused of murdering a store owner.

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July

1978

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July poster
8.0

A little girl convinces her attorney father to defend a mute war veteran accused of murdering a store owner.

When Every Day Was the Fourth of July

1978

The Norliss Tapes poster
6.2

A newspaper publisher listens to the personal tapes of investigative reporter David Norliss, who has disappeared during an investigation. The tapes tell the story of that investigation, involving a recent widow whose late husband has been seen working in his private studio. As Norliss and the widow investigate, they unravel a plot involving Voodoo and the walking dead.

The Norliss Tapes

1973

The Norliss Tapes poster
6.2

A newspaper publisher listens to the personal tapes of investigative reporter David Norliss, who has disappeared during an investigation. The tapes tell the story of that investigation, involving a recent widow whose late husband has been seen working in his private studio. As Norliss and the widow investigate, they unravel a plot involving Voodoo and the walking dead.

The Norliss Tapes

1973

The Night Strangler poster
6.7

After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?

The Night Strangler

1973

The Night Strangler poster
6.7

After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?

The Night Strangler

1973

Express to Terror poster
9.0

A gambling addict, mobsters, movie producers and others are plagued with murder while aboard a high-speed rail train. This pilot episode for the short-lived "Supertrain" series (which lasted just 9 episodes) was released to home video as a independent feature.

Express to Terror

1979

The Great Ice Rip-Off poster
7.5

A retired cop goes up against a slick jewel thief and his gang, who have pulled a diamond heist and are trying to smuggle the diamonds cross-country.

The Great Ice Rip-Off

1974

The Great Ice Rip-Off poster
7.5

A retired cop goes up against a slick jewel thief and his gang, who have pulled a diamond heist and are trying to smuggle the diamonds cross-country.

The Great Ice Rip-Off

1974

Mrs. R's Daughter poster
7.5

When a young woman is brutally raped and beaten, her mother sets out to find justice for her.

Mrs. R's Daughter

1979