Playback
- Episode aired Mar 2, 1975
- TV-PG
- 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
A gadget-happy inventor murders his mother-in-law; Lt. Columbo is on the case.A gadget-happy inventor murders his mother-in-law; Lt. Columbo is on the case.A gadget-happy inventor murders his mother-in-law; Lt. Columbo is on the case.
Photos
Herbert Jefferson Jr.
- S. Baxter
- (as Herb Jefferson Jr.)
Frank Baxter
- Officer Bronson
- (uncredited)
Henry
- Columbo's Dog
- (uncredited)
Mike Lally
- Man in Snack Bar
- (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey
- Man in Art Gallery
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPeter Falk traveled all the way to Switzerland to persuade Oskar Werner in person to take part in this segment.
- GoofsColumbo has the security video (a wide shot of the room) enhanced and is able to read the wording on a card on the mantelpiece, thereby nullifying the suspect's alibi. This would have been impossible. It is stretching technology and image-enhancement way too far to be able to extract a clear image of the card from something that occupies only a few lines of the video image and to manufacture information that was simply not there in the original image.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Remington Steele: Stronger Than Steele (1985)
Featured review
A good "Columbo" entry, though not especially well shot or staged
Harold Van Wick (Oskar Werner) just loves inventing gadgets, and his house is filled with them. But investing in new technology is sending his family's electronics company deep into the red. His mother-in-law (Martha Scott) decides to remove him as head of the company and threatens to show her daughter (Gena Rowlands) evidence of his infidelity. He thinks his inventions will help him commit the perfect murder. Later it seems his mother-in-law was shot by an intruder while he was at an art gallery. But clever gadgets aren't enough to fool our rumpled, redoubtable Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk).
This "Columbo" episode, directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, has several flaws in the way it is shot and staged. An early scene shows Van Wick shaking hands with, and speaking to, his wife's brother (Robert Brown), who is awkwardly kept off screen too long before we get a good look at him. An insert shot, of a toy clown in a chair, is grainy and looks like a still photograph blown up. As we watch the murder tape along with the characters, we feel we ought to see the moment when the recorded footage changes to the "live" footage—but we don't. My least favorite: the mother falls face down when she's shot, but her body is facing up. We see the murder tape several times, and just once we barely see her about to turn around as she falls; but unless we slow down the DVD (which the original viewers couldn't do) it looks like a continuity error.
Even though this shorter-than-average episode stops the story for extraneous comic business (Columbo with his dog; Columbo baffled by modern art), there seems to be a scene missing. I would have liked to see Van Wick return to the house from the art gallery and remove the key evidence. Instead, we cut from him leaving the gallery to Columbo appearing in the driveway.
Still, this is a good entry, with a strong cast, a good script and a satisfying ending. Just don't expect it to look as polished as Steven Spielberg's "Murder by the Book."
This "Columbo" episode, directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, has several flaws in the way it is shot and staged. An early scene shows Van Wick shaking hands with, and speaking to, his wife's brother (Robert Brown), who is awkwardly kept off screen too long before we get a good look at him. An insert shot, of a toy clown in a chair, is grainy and looks like a still photograph blown up. As we watch the murder tape along with the characters, we feel we ought to see the moment when the recorded footage changes to the "live" footage—but we don't. My least favorite: the mother falls face down when she's shot, but her body is facing up. We see the murder tape several times, and just once we barely see her about to turn around as she falls; but unless we slow down the DVD (which the original viewers couldn't do) it looks like a continuity error.
Even though this shorter-than-average episode stops the story for extraneous comic business (Columbo with his dog; Columbo baffled by modern art), there seems to be a scene missing. I would have liked to see Van Wick return to the house from the art gallery and remove the key evidence. Instead, we cut from him leaving the gallery to Columbo appearing in the driveway.
Still, this is a good entry, with a strong cast, a good script and a satisfying ending. Just don't expect it to look as polished as Steven Spielberg's "Murder by the Book."
helpful•85
- J. Spurlin
- Jan 24, 2007
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