Requiem for a Falling Star

I know that many of you won't care about this, but in this episode of "Columbo" you have a cameo by Edith Head...the 8x Oscar winning fashion designer. There just aren't that many opportunities to see and hear Ms. Head. For old movie fans, this is reason enough to see the show. Add to that Anne Baxter, Mel Ferrer and Kevin McCarthy and you've got a pretty incredible cast in this show!

Nora Chandler (Baxter) is a super-famous aging actress. She also happens to be a dandy murderer! Early on in the show, she blows up her assistant and it appears that she meant to blow up someone else instead. But killing folks is like eating potato chips to Chandler, as soon she tries another killing and it turns out killing is something she's pretty good at doing! Columbo eventually figures it all out...and you realize HE is the better actor!

This is a neat behind the scenes episode where you get to see how films are made. Add to that the cast and a few interesting twists and you have the recipe for a better than average installment in the series.

By the way, this is a very, very minor quibble. On TV and in movies, cars blow up MUCH faster and easier than in real life. The exploding gas tank happened way too quickly to be realistic....but again, it's a very minor problem.

Peter Falk as the ever persistent Lt. Columbo has a real conflict of interest. Pippa Scott the secretary of big screen star Anne Baxter is killed in a staged automobile wreck after she met sleazy tabloid columnist Mel Ferrer to offer up some proof on her boss. Ferrer is a real bottom feeder, even stooping to some shtupping with Scott to get a real bit of gossip about Baxter. The woman really has something to hide.

Columbo has two big problems with this case, first it looks like the target might have been Mel Ferrer who has a phone book list of enemies who'd like to do him in. Secondly the motive for Baxter doing the deed isn't obvious. Columbo will have to literally dig up the truth to clinch his case.

Kevin McCarthy and Frank Converse round out the list of guest stars in this episode. Baxter is both a sympathetic yet an egotistical suspect, not an easy thing to pull off yet she does it. Her fans will be especially impressed with this episode.

To start with, I always forget the episode with Anne Baxter who I believe is one of America's greatest actresses. Also, I can't forget Kevin McCarthy who is equally prolific and long overlooked as one of America's most talented and versatile actors. Anyway, the story of Anne Baxter playing a movie star who lives on the lot and refuses to turn over the property for tons of money is suspicious. Anyway, Columbo smells murder when her beloved assistant, Jean Davis, is murdered. Falk and Baxter's scenes together are always worth watching again and again. Falk's Columbo is starstruck but not dumbstruck by seeing a movie star involved in such a crime. Anne Baxter's character could have used a little more work in the storyline but she does a superb job in acting her out and she is simply of the grandest actresses of old Hollywood.

Frankly, when considering a "Columbo" plot revolving around a faded actress, the 1975 "Forgotten Lady," with Janet Leigh, is far more memorable than this exploration of 70s TV movie-making. The plot seems to borrow bits from various Hollywood sources, such as Shirley Temple and her bungalow at 20th Century Fox in the 30s, etc.

I always enjoy Anne Baxter's performances, but this comes across as a bit over-the-top. Granted, the script requires that she intentionally overact for Columbo, but at times, her supposed "natural" scenes are also a bit camp/vamp.

Even when this first aired in January, 1973, I knew who Edith Head was, and got a kick seeing her cameo.

Director Quine was also at the helm of my least-favorite episode, the one shown prior to this,"Dagger of the Mind." Both exhibit unnecessary scenery chewing, and stray from the formula that usually makes any "Columbo" episode a television classic.

REQUIEM FOR A FALLING STAR is one of the more efficient Columbo episodes I've seen. The short running time means that the plot is very fast paced and the viewer has barely been introduced to the main cast members before the murder plot is set in action. Overall this is a professional-looking production with slick photography and a fine little script that gets to the heart of the characters involved while offering up more than a few surprises as the running time progresses.

The notable thing about REQUIEM FOR A FALLING STAR is the exemplary cast of former Hollywood stars, all of whom acquit themselves in the professional way you'd imagine. Anne Baxter is the guest villain and brings a level of authenticity to the proceedings as well as a slight sadness which Peter Falk trades on very well. This is one of those episodes where he's slightly in awe of the murderer so their scenes are quite sweet and special. Further support comes from an acidic Mel Ferrer and a brash Kevin McCarthy, while real-life fashion designer Edith Head has a cameo playing herself. It's good stuff and a classic episode for the show.