Synopsis
Includes:
Columbo: Murder in Malibu (1990)
Columbo Goes to College (1990)
Columbo Cries Wolf (1990)
Columbo: Agenda for Murder (1990)
Columbo: Uneasy Lies the Crown (1990)
Columbo: Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo (1990)
Columbo: Murder in Malibu
The murder of a popular romance novelist sets America's favorite rumpled detective on the case. Columbo gets off on the wrong gumshoe when he forces an innocent gigolo to confess to the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Columbo Goes to College
Where Columbo (Peter Falk) goes, can murder be far behind? In Columbo Goes to College, the rumpled TV sleuth shows up on campus as a guest lecturer on criminology. His visit coincides with the machinations of two rich and arrogant frat boys (Justin Rowe and Cooper Redman) who utilize "remote control" to kill the professor who's threatened to expel them. In the tradition of Compulsion, the snide young killers flaunt their intellectual superiority before the seemingly ingenuous Columbo. No wonder these boys were on the verge of flunking out--they'd never bothered to check up on Columbo's previous track record for convictions. Outside of the novel setting, Columbo Goes to College is a by-rote rehash of an old formula; even Peter Falk seems bored. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Columbo Cries Wolf
This is one of the many made for TV movies revolving around the popular disheveled character created by Peter Falk - Lieutenant Columbo, of Homicide. In this one, the lack of a corpse doesn't hinder our trench-coat wearing detective as he tries to pin the murder on the supposed corpse's business partner, the owner of a men's magazine. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
Columbo: Agenda for Murder
This 2-hour TV movie was originally presented as an installment of The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie in February of 1990. Patrick McGoohan (who also directed) plays a vice presidential candidate whose best friend murders a blackmailing racketeer. With "damage control" foremost in his mind, McGoohan arrange to make the murder look like a suicide. At this point, Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) enters, and it's "cat and mouse" for the remaining 90 minutes. The 1990 Columbo episodes alternated on the Saturday Mystery Movie with three other series: Cristine Cromwell, B.L. Stryker and Kojak. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Columbo: Uneasy Lies the Crown
The title of this 2-hour Columbo entry is one of the most grievous puns ever perpetrated on the public. The "crown" in question is a gold one, placed in the murder victim's tooth by dentist James Read. Seeking redress against his wife's lover, Read has administered a slow-acting and untraceable poison in the victim's dental crown. Had not Columbo been assigned to the case, Read might have gotten away as clean as a hound's tooth (sorry!) Nancy Walker and Dick Sargent make cameo appearances in Uneasy Lies the Crown, which originally aired April 28, 1990 on ABC's Saturday Mystery Movie series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Columbo: Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo
This was one of the highest-rated of the Columbo 2-hour TV movies of the 1990s. The story begins as Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) solemnly attends his wife's funeral. Mrs. C. was poisoned, and the murderer is guest star Helen Shaver. When her husband died in prison, Shaver swore revenge on the three men responsible for his incarceration. She kills the first two men outright, but when she levels her sights at Columbo, Shaver decides to make the detective "feel her pain" through the loss of a loved one. A twist ending caps this intriguing entry. Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo was first presented March 31, 1990, as part of ABC's Saturday Mystery Movie anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
