Blueprint for Murder (9 Feb. 1972)

Elliot Markham, a brilliant architect and con-man, murders a Texas millionaire and hides his body in order to keep his visionary construction project financed.

Director:

Peter Falk

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay), William Kelley (story),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Patrick O'Neal, Janis Paige

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Patrick O'Neal	...	Elliot Markham
Janis Paige	...	Goldie Williamson
Pamela Austin	...	Jennifer Williamson
John Fiedler	...	Doctor
Forrest Tucker	...	Bo Williamson
Bettye Ackerman	...	Miss Sherman
John Finnegan	...	Carl
Nick Dennis	...	Guard
Robert Gibbons	...	Clerk
Cliff Carnell	...	Officer Wilson
Jimmy Joyce	...	Workman

Storyline

Bo Williamson comes back from Europe after a travel two months long and finds a surprise: his wife Jennifer financed the project of building a new town. Bo, crazy for horses and country music, is raving mad at this and confronts the architect Elliot Markham who had got the original idea. Then Bo disappears and it looks as a new travel is began. But his first wife Goldie thinks he has been killed and Lt. Columbo begins his inquiry.

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Plot Keywords:

architect | country music | construction | texas millionaire | murder | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1972 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of the very few episodes where viewers do not see the murder being committed.

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Goofs

When Elliot Markham is lecturing on Egyptian Architecture, behind him is a drawing of a cross-section of a pyramid with its passageways. When the camera zooms in on Columbo, who has just entered the lecture, and then focuses back to Elliot Markham, the passageways on the pyramid are shaped differently to what was previously shown.

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Quotes

Bo Williamson: I'm gonna tell yuh somethin', Jackson Boy, my wallet is a lot more important to me than my name.

User Reviews

The Columbo movie directed by Peter Falk himself.

This is the only actual Colubmo movie fully directed by Peter Falk himself. It's pretty much a Columbo movie by the numbers, that features all of the usual ingredients and way things are constructed.

The movie begins just as a missing person case but of course Columbo soon starts to learn that there has happened more, especially when the missing person's car gets found and he begins investigation in his own typical distinctive manner of playing dumb and annoy his suspects.

But like I said before, it's a pretty formulaic and standard made Columbo movie. Peter Falk's directing is good but it just ain't anything special. The best Columbo movies are something special because of their daring directing and approach. This movie just isn't an example of this. Peter Falk might also not had been completely satisfied with his work, since he never directed a movie again, till this very day.

The movie might also be a bit too slow moving for my taste. The movie could had used some more interaction between Lt. Columbo and the murderer, played by Patrick O'Neal. Perhaps Peter Falk was also standing behind the camera for this one, his character is maybe not as prominently featured on screen as is the case in most other Columbo movies. It takes a while for things to take shape and for Columbo to focus on his main suspect. It's just not as well and solidly constructed as most other Columbo movies.

Luckily the movie gets better as it heads toward the ending. It features a great build up ending, that begins about 15 minutes before the end credits role, when Columbo starts to dig for the body at a construction site. Things get tense, since also we as the viewers have no idea were the body is this time and also Columbo starts to question himself whether or not he is on the right track with this one (or perhaps isn't he?).

Nothing bad but it overall is just a bit too standard to consider this one of the better Columbo movies, despite its great finale.

7/10

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