A Deadly State of Mind

Episode aired Apr 27, 1975
TV-PG
1h 10m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

2.4K

YOUR RATING

Peter Falk and George Hamilton in A Deadly State of Mind (1975)

Cop Drama Police Procedural Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

During a physical altercation, a psychiatrist who specializes in hypnosis kills the husband of a patient with whom he's been having an affair and convinces the wife to lie to the police; it'... Read allDuring a physical altercation, a psychiatrist who specializes in hypnosis kills the husband of a patient with whom he's been having an affair and convinces the wife to lie to the police; it's up to Lt. Columbo to discover the truth.During a physical altercation, a psychiatrist who specializes in hypnosis kills the husband of a patient with whom he's been having an affair and convinces the wife to lie to the police; it's up to Lt. Columbo to discover the truth.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

2.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
This is one of the few episodes of Columbo (1971) in which the original murder is a spontaneous act. In most episodes, the murder is carefully planned.

Goofs
There was a blind witness present when the murderer's car hit a column. Surely the car was damaged and either material from the bumper smeared on the column or material from the column smeared on the bumper, but the police failed to check for any such evidence.

Quotes
Charles Whelan: [watching a rat in a maze] He looks just like one of my junior editors!
Dr. Anita Borden: We call her Willy.
Charles Whelan: Sorry, I don't have a Willy.

Soundtracks
Mazurka No.6 in A Minor, Op.7 No.2
(uncredited)
Composed by Frédéric Chopin
From the audio unit which Columbo switches on

User reviews34

Review

Featured review

9/10

Very strong episode

It isn't the best of the lot, but A Deadly State of Mind is a very strong episode. It is efficiently directed and constructed story-wise, with some nice writing, striking filming, excellent music and the pacing I had no problem with at all. The acting is great, Peter Falk is outstanding as always and George Hamilton out of the two episodes he starred in gives the better one of his performances here, his murderer is arrogant, yet likable and is a strong opponent for Columbo and they are well served with some juicy scenes with them together. Lesley Ann Warren was also lovely beyond words as Nadia. Overall, a strong episode benefited by some great acting and efficient directing and plot. 9/10 Bethany Cox