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Columbo
S7.E3
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IMDbPro

Make Me a Perfect Murder

  • Episode aired Feb 25, 1978
  • TV-PG
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
Peter Falk and Trish Van Devere in Make Me a Perfect Murder (1978)
CrimeDramaMysteryThriller

An executive secretary for a TV network kills her boss and lover after he broke up with her and passed her over for a promotion she believes she deserves. Lt. Columbo is on the case.An executive secretary for a TV network kills her boss and lover after he broke up with her and passed her over for a promotion she believes she deserves. Lt. Columbo is on the case.An executive secretary for a TV network kills her boss and lover after he broke up with her and passed her over for a promotion she believes she deserves. Lt. Columbo is on the case.

  • Director
    • James Frawley
  • Writers
    • Robert Blees
    • Richard Levinson
    • William Link
  • Stars
    • Peter Falk
    • Trish Van Devere
    • Laurence Luckinbill
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    2.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • James Frawley
    • Writers
      • Robert Blees
      • Richard Levinson
      • William Link
    • Stars
      • Peter Falk
      • Trish Van Devere
      • Laurence Luckinbill
    • 57User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos12

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    Top cast33

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    Peter Falk
    Peter Falk
    • Columbo
    Trish Van Devere
    Trish Van Devere
    • Kay Freestone
    Laurence Luckinbill
    Laurence Luckinbill
    • Mark McAndrews
    James McEachin
    James McEachin
    • Walter Mearhead
    • (as James Mc Eachin)
    Ron Rifkin
    Ron Rifkin
    • Luther
    Lainie Kazan
    Lainie Kazan
    • Valerie Kirk
    Bruce Kirby
    Bruce Kirby
    • TV Repairman
    Kip Gilman
    Kip Gilman
    • Jonathan
    • (as Kenneth Gilman)
    Patrick O'Neal
    Patrick O'Neal
    • Frank Flanagan
    Milt Kogan
    Milt Kogan
    • Dubbing Chief
    Dee Timberlake
    Dee Timberlake
    • Madge
    Don Eitner
    Don Eitner
    • Pete Cockrum
    Morgan Upton
    Morgan Upton
    • Ames
    Joe Warfield
    Joe Warfield
    • Al Staley
    George Skaff
    • The Producer
    Jerome Guardino
    Jerome Guardino
    • Sgt. Burke
    Susan Krebs
    Susan Krebs
    • Wendy
    H.B. Haggerty
    H.B. Haggerty
    • Masseur
    • Director
      • James Frawley
    • Writers
      • Robert Blees
      • Richard Levinson
      • William Link
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews57

    7.52.7K
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    Featured reviews

    6planktonrules

    Good...but a bit padded.

    Kay (Trish Van Devere) is the personal assistant for a network programmer. When she learns he's getting a promotion, she's shocked to learn that he is NOT giving her his old position. So, she's apparently been sleeping with the guy but for nothing! However, she is NOT a woman to be trifled with and she comes up with a plan to murder him and get away with it. Can she do this and still manage to defeat Columbo?!

    This is a decent episode (though my wife disliked it quite a bit) but it was heavily padded. For example, in one worthless scene, Columbo is staring at some computerized graphics...and it went on and on and on. Unnecessary and evidence that there just wasn't enough plot. It's a shame they didn't make the show 10-15 minutes shorter....it would have improved it.

    By the way, if you DO watch the episode I'd love to know your opinion, as in some ways I think they were vaguely hinting at Kay having a lesbian relationship.
    7gene-07202

    Trish is Incredible

    Trish Van Devere goes all out. A woman so ruthless and ambitious but also very flawed. I cannot figure out if she is "Bi-Sexual" or just pretending to be one or the other to get ahead. She does cover for her friend who has a melt down. But does not even hesitate to take out another lover who spurns her and does not reward her attentions with a new job. A very enjoyable episode. She makes a formidable and dangerous adversary
    7jamiecostelo58

    An enjoyable Columbo mystery

    Trish Van Devere revels her role as Kay Freestone, a high-flying TV producer who murders her boyfriend after he fails to give her a well-earned promotion. Devere portrays Freestone in a strong-minded manner, a woman who takes absolutely no prisoners in her goal to reach the top. But she didn't count on a certain Lt. Columbo! This story is told to great effect, with great interaction between Devere and the legendary Peter Falk, although I did feel as if Lainie Kazan's character Valerie Kirk was rather unnecessary. As usual with the Columbo series, we get the usual gaffes and humorous moments, in this case, involving a car crash in which our great Lt. has to wear a neck brace, as well as a scene in which his television is being repaired! A satisfactory conclusion brings the case to a head, and left me very convinced (as Columbo usually does). A thoroughly enjoyable episode in the Columbo series. 7/10
    J. Spurlin

    The opening sequence is some of the best stuff in the series—but things go slack in this disappointing effort

    Kay Freestone (Trish Van Devere) is a West Coast TV executive whose boss, Mark McAndrews (Laurence Luckinbill), is also her secret lover. When he gets promoted to a position in New York, he dumps her—and even denies her the job he's leaving. Her consolation prize is a new Mercedes. She's more interested in the gun he drops on the bed—after he jokingly invites her to shoot him. Joking or not, she takes him up on it. Later, he's found shot to death in his office. Kay seems to have been in the projection room when it happened. She was screening her pet project—a violent TV film called "The Professionals"—for her superiors. When our rumpled, redoubtable Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) investigates, he learns this Emmy-winning producer can commit a bloody act just as well as film it.

    This would have been a top-notch "Columbo" episode if about twenty minutes had been trimmed off. The first section of the film—the murder sequence and everything leading up to it—is some of the best stuff in the series. Freestone's use of a tape recording is an especially effective dramatic device.

    After the murder there are two impressive scenes—one in an elevator with Freestone and Columbo, and another surreal sequence, where he harasses her via the multiple TV screens in her control booth. Most everything else is slack. There is a long, pointless scene where Columbo fools around with the TV equipment. There's a needless subplot with Lainie Kazan (who is too young to be playing an aging Judy Garland-like has-been). There's a limp scene where Columbo confronts Freestone at her old, now-abandoned home and offers sympathy.

    Some of these scenes seem to be an attempt to make the villain more human than usual. That's fine, but the "Columbo" formula demands that any confrontation between detective and quarry be tense. "Columbo" works because of its formula, not in spite of it. The closer it hues to it, the better it is.

    The formula also demands that what finally trips up the killer be a surprise. The ending here is very predictable. "Columbo" fans will want to watch this one, despite its flaws. Others, beware.
    stones78

    He almost deserved it!

    I'm not saying any person should be killed, but the coldness Mark(Laurence Luckinbill)gives to Kay(Trish Van Devere), after getting a big time job offer, even made ME want to hit him. Let me mention that Van Devere is terrific as the scorned woman, and she was the best among a field of Patrick O'Neal, who was also very good in a cameo or 2, Lainie Kazan, whose New York accent you could chop off with an ax, Ron Rifkin, reliable James McEachin, and Columbo veteran Bruce Kirby. The best scene for me was when Columbo is getting his TV fixed, as the repairman(Kirby)talks to Columbo about his dog, who is also in the shop. Kirby and Peter Falk have good chemistry together, although Kirby's characters usually talk down to Columbo. Look for the rare appearance of a late 70's Mustang, a strange looking model which doesn't get much publicity. Although I sometimes criticize how silly the murderer acts around Columbo, I felt Van Devere gave a somewhat realistic performance as the walls came closing in on her.

    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Playland Arcade scenes were filmed at the Santa Monica, California Looff Hippodrome. This location also was used as the carousel where Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman's character in The Sting (1973)) lived and worked. In The Sting, the carousel was located in Chicago.
    • Goofs
      The image of Columbo's car sitting in the parking lot can be seen reflected in the glass of the CNC building as Kay enters it before she commits the murder.
    • Quotes

      Columbo: [entering Kay's office] That's a very impressive desk, Ma'am. You can run the world from a desk like that.

      Kay Freestone: The world doesn't count - just the West coast.

    • Connections
      Features Bolero (1934)
    • Soundtracks
      This Old Man
      (uncredited)

      Traditional English children's marching song

      Whistled by Columbo (Peter Falk)

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    FAQ1

    • How does Mark let Kay know that he's bought her a Mercedes?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 25, 1978 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Mord in eigener Regie
    • Filming locations
      • 26646 Latigo Shore Drive, Malibu, California, USA(Mark McAndrews' beach house)
    • Production company
      • Universal Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 40m(100 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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