Synopsis
Includes:
Columbo: Fade in to Murder (1976)
Columbo: Old Fashioned Murder (1976)
Columbo: The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case (1977)
Columbo: Try & Catch Me (1977)
Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder (1978)
Columbo: Murder Under Glass (1978)
Columbo: How to Dial a Murder (1978)
Columbo: The Conspirators (1978)
Columbo: Fade in to Murder
No synopsis available.
Columbo: Old Fashioned Murder
No synopsis available.
Columbo: The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case
The setting for this 2-hour Columbo TV drama is a club for geniuses. One of the members is Theodore Bikel, whose business partner Sorrell Booke has been embezzling funds to keep Bikel's wife (Samantha Eggar) in luxury. Murdering Booke, Bikel calls upon his reserves of brilliance to cover up all traces of his crime. But he hasn't reckoned with Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk), who may not exactly be in the genius category, but is certainly no slouch when it comes to using his little grey cells. The key prop in this outing is a phonograph. Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case first aired May 22, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Columbo: Try & Catch Me
Rumpled gumshoe Columbo matches wits with a best-selling mystery writer in this episode from the popular mystery series. Police detective Frank Columbo (Peter Falk) is brought in to investigate when Edmund Galvin (Charles Frank) is murdered. Galvin's wife, Phyllis, died in a mysterious boating accident several months earlier, and Phyllis' aunt, Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon), the author of a series of popular murder mysteries, has her own ideas about who committed the crime and why. However, the longer Columbo looks into the case, the more he's convinced Abigail knows more than she's telling. Columbo: Try and Catch Me also features Mariette Hartley and G.D. Spradlin. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder
Trish Van Devere plays a television executive (evidently inspired by Faye Dunaway in Network) in the made-for-TV Make Me a Perfect Murder. Denied a promotion, Ms. Van Devere retaliates by "cancelling" her boss--permanently. Utilizing her knowledge of TV mysteries, she manages to misdirect the trail of evidence. But Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) isn't quite as gullible as your average TV fan. Make Me a Perfect Murder was the February 25, 1978 installment of the ongoing Columbo series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Columbo: Murder Under Glass
No synopsis available.
Columbo: How to Dial a Murder
At first glance, How to Dial a Murder would seem to be a TV remake of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. But no, it's a 90-minute installment in the Columbo series, as we soon discover. Nicol Williamson guest stars as a wealthy psychologist and movie buff. He has already murdered his wife, and now he intends to do in her lover. To deflect suspicion from himself, he sets up the killing by phone. The victim-to-be answers, is prodded into repeating the word "Rosebud"-and is then torn asunder by Williamson's dobermans, who've been conditioned to attack upon hearing this verbal clue. Williamson manages to be miles away when the murder is pulled off. Still, the diligent Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) manages to beard the culprit in his memorabilia-laden den. How to Dial a Murder originally aired April 15, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Columbo: The Conspirators
The Conspirators was one of four Columbo feature-length TV specials irregularly scheduled during the 1977-1978 TV season. The titular conspirators are Irish political terrorists, funded by Americans. Clive Revill is an Irish poet who murders an arms dealer (Bernard Behrens) while the poet is gunrunning to his compatriots in Ireland. The murderer is certain that he's thoroughly covered her tracks--until Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) shambles onto the scene. Columbo: The Conspirators was filmed at a time when Peter Falk was insisting that he would hang up the lieutenant's raincoat for good; no way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
