Runtime: 98 minutes
Directed by: Richard Irving
Starring: Peter Falk, Gene Barry, Katherine Justice, William Windom, Nina Foch
From: Universal Television
Would you believe this is my first experience w/ Columbo? Technically, I saw small fragments of the show when it was on in the early 90's when my Mom watched it, but a full episode was never seen until last night via Tubi. To clarify, this and another movie of similar length were pilots to a TV show that had a few episodes per year for most of the 70's. It and a few other shows of the same format were on NBC on a program known as The NBC Mystery Movie. Episodes were 90 minutes and they alternated between Columbo and a few other similar detective programs. That format is so alien now it had to be elaborated upon.
Anyhow, it was nice to see Peter Falk in his iconic role and while not everything about the character was dialed in at the time, in general the idea's the same. He looked & dressed shabby, was forgetful, disarmed people by actually being pretty intelligent, etc. The format of each Columbo episode itself was also different: instead of the viewer attempting to solve the crime along with the detective, we get to see the crime happen then our favorite Lieutenant attempting to crack the case despite the best efforts of the perpetrator or perpetrators.
Here, a brilliant psychiatrist murders his wife & is assisted in this scheme by his girlfriend. Despite all his planning, flaws are present and Columbo discovers them. Believe it or not, the character was based on a stage play, which this was adapted from. At times there are long stretches of dialogue between just two characters; that was fine with me as the main cast delivered & I was never not riveted. The fact that there was a groovy jazz score and a lead character I fell in love with... while I'm unable to review the episodes of the TV series here on Letterboxd that doesn't mean I won't watch & enjoy those as the entire show is on Tubi.
No comments:
Post a Comment