How to Dial a Murder

Dr. Eric Mason (Nicol Williamson) is a guy who is not about to receive an award from the American Humane Association, that's for sure! As part of his VERY elaborate scheme at revenge, he's trained his Dobermans, Laurel & Hardy, to go mad and kill when they hear a trigger word! Well, his scheme DOES work....but what the psychologist didn't know is that Columbo was on the case AND Columbo never seems to lose a case!

This is a very good episode. While farfetched and too complicated, the murder was pretty cool and the plot very good. My only reservation is the character played by Kim Cattrall. Her acting was fine...that wasn't the problem. But her character seemed underwritten--like some editing occurred and much of her role was reduced. This made her being there in the first place confusing.

I must say I really liked the director approach of the movie from James Frawley. It's the second Columbo movie I've seen so far which got directed by him and it was the second one from him that I loved. He directed a total of 6 Columbo movies throughout his career, of which this one was his third. The directing is done with lots of style, which makes the movie great to watch and provides it with some good pace as well.

The movie actually knows to create a good general thriller atmosphere and style, also not in the least thanks to the musical score from Patrick Williams, who did the score for all of James Frawley's Columbo movies. It's a style which I really loved about this movie and makes it more special to watch than just the average Columbo movie entry.

It has actually a quite far fetched main plot but nevertheless you'll buy it, thanks to the skillful directing and storytelling of it all.

The movie features a 'great' killer, portrayed by Nicol Williamson. He gives away one fine performance and is a worthy opponent for the good old Lieutenant. The movie also features a still very young Kim Cattrall. Funny thing is that she also made her debut in a movie called "Rosebud", the word that plays a key element in this movie, which of course refers to the 1941 Orson Welles classic "Citizen Kane".

The movie has all of the typical great Columbo movie elements in it, including some great relieving humor at points.

Another real fine Columbo movie from James Frawley!

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

British actor, Nicol Williamson, as the guest murderer, earns his transatlantic paycheck in this fine story. As always with Columbo, the culprit is rich, resourceful and highly intelligent, and Williamson's take on the character, a motivational psychologist, is detailed and meticulous. It may not be his finest screen performance (check out The Bofors Gun and Inadmissible Evidence), but he makes a worthy foil to Falk.

The story has some interesting cultural asides, such as L.A.'s burgeoning self-help craze of the 70's, and the cult of the movies, particularly Citizen Kane; something which proves to be both the killer's murder weapon and his eventual undoing.

The only let-down is the somewhat low-key ending. I would have preferred more of a flourish from both actors, but it wasn't really in the script for them.

Over all, it's an intelligent and interesting movie. Patrick Williams' ethereal/ominous music (woodwinds and low strings) is rather good, and which, once or twice, quotes a fragment of Bernie Herrmann's Psycho score; why? For the hell of it. And why not?

A very good, and above average, Columbo episode. This is caused by that it makes small variations from the classic scheme. The motive of the murder isn't present at the beginning, which is something, that really improves the movie. Columbo is playing up against Dr. Eric Mason (nicely played by Nicol Williamson), who doesn't loose his temper as much as the characters that Columbo previously met.

The third main character, Joanne Nicholls, should have a special mention, since she is not only played extremely well - by Kim Cattrall, later of "Sex And The City" fame (however her role in this movie is the complete opposite, a true romantic who has her teddy bear as her true companion) - but also that her unbalanced character adds well to the movie plot.

And ad with that, some great incidental music, good directing spots (particularly in a wordless sequence with Columbo and the dog trainer), a generally good script(rarely have I laughed so much in a Columbo movie, and the many references to old movies - particularly Citizen Kane - and psychology are well-put and well used), and that Peter Falk seems in top shape makes it a great movie, and a Columbo classic.

Nicol Williamson stars as a behavioral psychologist named Eric Mason whose wife recently died in a car crash, and whom he believes was having an affair with his best friend Dr. Charles Hunter, so Mason decides to murder him by cruelly using his specially trained Dobermans to attack him when the phone rings and a certain control word is spoken aloud. The crime is discovered by his young live-in girlfriend(played by Kim Cattrall) whose call for help brings in Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) who admirers Eric's taste in Cinema, but is appalled by his murder method, so making this arrest will be especially satisfying... Unusually violent episode with Williamson a particularly odious villain who gets his much deserved comeuppance.