11/15/06: Columbo: "How To Dial A Murder" (1978)We've discussed
Columbo before, but the final seasons were just released on DVD. We're referring, of course, to the vital
Columbo of 1971 through 1978. Forget the later episodes that ran up to 2003. The quality control was gone, and so was the time and place. Why would anyone watch Columbo waste his time after 1978? The murderer would only walk once he landed in front of Judge Ito. (And thus begins our moratorium on O.J. references.)
Older readers may remember the perpetual plot: A powerful person commits a clever murder, and Lt. Columbo comes stumbling in to reveal where the killer went wrong. There was no traditional whodunit. The fun was in watching the rumpled and distracted detective being taken for a fool.
The popular belief is that Columbo tripped up murderers through his annoying persistence. Analysis shows, however, that Columbo's constant questioning was simply his way of letting the murderer know that the crime was already solved. This initially played like a quaint kind of sadism. It would certainly have been unlikable with anyone besides Peter Falk in the title role.
It also helped that Columbo was (as noted earlier) a watchdog against the post-hippie mentality. Plenty of
Columbo villains were privileged cads in hip outfits and drunk on relaxed moral standards. The show was set in a time where rules were rapidly changing. There are episodes where you can see Columbo carrying the burden. As the initial series came to an end, the detective began to show real bitterness beneath his amiable exterior--which brings us to "How To Dial A Murder."
Nicol Williamson stars as a celebrity psychiatrist full of glib advice. His own murderous plot--involving Dobermans trained to kill--is nicely contrived. This doesn't make for much of a mystery, but Columbo has a field day with this manipulative man-child. The detective takes the case personally. Columbo loves dogs, and he's offended to see a murderer using them for his dirty work.
That kind of thing always brings out the best and worst in Columbo. Don't forget that this is the same character who once planted evidence to get a confession out of Richard Basehart. We're not trying to create a pop-psychiatry theme week, but "How To Dial A Murder" has what might be the defining moment between Columbo and a creep. You know Williamson's smarmy character is doomed once the doctor engages the detective in word association:
"Work."
"Justice."
And justice, in the world according to Columbo, was nothing more than getting to the truth.
Make it your own: Like we said, the final two
Columbo seasons are now in a combined
box set. That's no real bargain. The sixth season was really brief. Anyway, some people will have to own it right away. Others are better off waiting for Universal to release the inevitable box of the complete series.
