Columbo: Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star

PLOT: A middle-aged lawyer (Dabney Coleman) learns that his companion, a former rock star (Cheryl Paris), has been having an affair at his beach house with her former drummer, but he can't throw her out without great compensation due to her threats to expose his illegal tactics. So he murders her at the beach house, framing her lover. Shera Danese plays the attorney's assistant, who wants a piece of the pie. Little Richard has a bit part.

COMMENTARY: This is a solid episode of the revival series highlighted by Coleman's arrogant lawyer locking horns with the disheveled detective and a case dependent on distinctive wine bottles and a dubious speeding ticket in Pasadena. The striking Denese was Peter Falk's wife for 34 years (until his death) and appeared in six episodes of the series.

GRADE: B+

At one point in this episode, Columbo arrives to the scene of the crime to examine some champagne corks. It's raining outside and he's let in by the maid who is extremely annoyed by his presence. He comes through the door wearing a black trucker cap reading NFI in big white letters. This is the episode my great-Uncle Marty told me about when I was ten years old, visiting him in Malibu with my brother and grandmother. He told my brother and I that he and Peter Falk had hung out at some point, and that Uncle Marty had been wearing this NFI hat (I don't have any idea where he got it). Peter Falk, being an inquisitive guy, asked my great uncle, "So, ah, what does NFI stand for?' to which Marty answered, "No F------ Idea!" Peter Falk apparently thought this was so funny that he just had to wear the hat in the episode he was currently filming! My great uncle even showed us a picture of him and Falk together wearing matching NFI hats! We always liked this story but, because he never told us the title, we could never find the episode and I was starting to think it didn't really exist until very recently I found it in the complete Columbo set! This probably means nothing to anyone else but it made me hoot with joy! Overall a fun episode with one very special scene of Columbo examining corks and questioning an angry maid all while wearing an NFI hat. Now where do I get one of those hats?

When his ex-rock star partner threatens to expose him unless he pay her off, successful lawyer Hugh Creighton kills her but makes it look like her lover that did the crime. He is helped by the fact that her lover flees the scene – giving the police someone to chase while Creighton makes sure everyone gets to see his grief. However with Columbo on the case nothing is ever that simple and all it takes is a few out-of-place things and he immediately has doubts. With Creighton using his considerable experience in the court to help him, Columbo digs deeper.

As with many TV film series (such as Perry Mason), if you like one or two of them then you'll pretty much like them all. This entry in the Columbo series pretty much follows the usual formula – we know the killer and the "perfect" plan but then watch Columbo follow his hunch and gradually starts to pick holes in the story he is told before eventually finding enough to prove his suspicions. Knowing this ahead of time won't ruin anything for you; it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually simple enough for the series to do the business although I have had my fingers burnt with some of the "new" Columbo's. This one is actually pretty good though despite having some side additions that are unnecessary and don't really work. The plot is reasonably good and is well delivered although at times it is a bit of a stretch – a problem to some viewers but most Columbo fans will just accept this as par for the course. The attempts at comedy are reasonably good but the scenes that place Columbo in, say, an interrogation room don't really fit with the formula.

The main winners for the film are the performance from the lead two. Falk is good even if the material isn't totally true to his character; but when given the chance he is really good – as shown in the hilarious but mocking conclusion. Coleman is hardly a classic foil but at least he is up for some cat'n'mouse and his abrasive performance fits the film pretty well. The support is not as good; not so much in the bigger roles (which are all fine) but in the small additions like "regular" character George (Gilborn) and the pointlessly feisty Currie; although Little Richard at least is a strange find.

Overall though this should please fans even if it is not up to the standards of the original Columbo episodes. The main two are good together and the plot moves along well apart from a few big leaps here and there (and one weirdly creepy moment with a Columbo "mask"). Good enough for fans then but probably not strong enough to win new ones.

Although we've owned (and have repeatedly viewed) the complete collection for years; this is my first episode review. You know what that means?

I only have 68 to go.

Ok, Dabney Coleman actually does a pretty good job here. The story line is pretty good and the "clue collection/interpretation process", by Columbo is Ok, not bad/not great.

It's a bit slow and Falk even more so. Still, it's far superior entertainment than 99% of anything else y'all can find on the boob tube.

Slow at times but still, decent intrigue.

Bob R.

Superb episode. Extremely difficult frame-up by brilliant defense lawyer picked apart step by step by Columbo, until he is stumped by a seemingly foolproof alibi. The way he cracks it, and the manner of proving it provides for one of the most shocking and fabulous Columbo finales of all. Dabney Coleman is really good as the murderer, who thinks he can arrogantly get away with anything because of his unbeaten record as a murder defense lawyer and his powerful connections in the system. It seems to give Columbo an extra desire to get him, and you can hear the joy in his voice when he finally gets the last laugh and nails him. However, I do wish Falk had not included his wife Shera Danese in six episodes. If ever there was a case of nepotism, this was it. As superb as he was as an actor, that is how bad she was as an actress. But if that was the price to pay for enjoying Falk's immense talents in 68 Columbo episodes, I'll gladly pay it. However, after reading the other reviews, I realize that many people missed the main clue (e.g., eralan_uk), which ruined the whole episode for them. Without including a spoiler here (as I have carefully avoided them in all my reviews, so viewers can have advance notice of the quality of the episode beforehand), allow me to add this critical info. If you miss one cryptic early allusion to it, you will not be able to figure out how a person can create a complex fake alibi for a murderer, yet not suspect him as the murderer until after the fact. The answer is that the person unwittingly created the alibi, thinking it was for some other purpose, and only put two and two together after the fact. So pay careful attention when that person first reveals their suspicions to the murderer, as she briefly explains what she had been asked to do earlier, and how that led to her current suspicions. The full meaning of her cryptic comments only become clear later on, when the fake alibi is revealed.