"Columbo" Étude in Black (1972)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Nicholas Colasanto
(more)

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay)
Richard Levinson (story) ...
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TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

17 September 1972 (Season 2, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

An amoral conductor murders the gifted pianist with whom he is having an affair. Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Pianist | Murder | Musician | Mistress | Asphyxiation

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
John Cassavetes	...	Alex Benedict
James Olson	...	Paul Rifkin
Blythe Danner	...	Janice Benedict
Anjanette Comer	...	Jenifer Welles
Myrna Loy	...	Lizzy Fielding
James McEachin	...	Billy
Don Knight	...	Mike Alexander
Pat Morita	...	The House Boy
Michael Pataki	...	Sam
Michael Fox	...	Dr. Benson
Dawn Frame	...	Audrey
Charles Macaulay	...	Durkee
George Gaynes	...	Everett
Wallace Chadwell	...	TV director
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henry Beckman	...	Man reviewing news clippings (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Frank (mechanic) (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Colasanto		(credit only)
John Cassavetes		(uncredited)
Peter Falk		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Steven Bochco		(teleplay)
Richard Levinson		(story) &
William Link		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	associate producer
Dean Hargrove	....	producer

Original Music by
Dick DeBenedictis		(as Dick De Benedictis)

Cinematography by
Harry L. Wolf		(director of photography) (as Harry Wolf)

Film Editing by
Buddy Small		(as Budd Small)

Art Direction by
Archie J. Bacon		(as Arch Bacon)

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.		(as John McCarthy)

Production Management
Henry Kline	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brad H. Aronson	....	assistant director (as Brad Aronson)

Sound Department
Edwin S. Hall	....	sound

Special Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grady Hunt	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist

Music Department
Henry Mancini	....	composer: "Mystery Movie" theme
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main titles
Jackson Gillis	....	executive story consultant

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Levinson		creator
William Link		creator

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Runtime:

90 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

This is the debut episode for Dog, Columbo's pet basset hound.

Goofs:

Continuity: Alex Benedict has long hair, in the Maestro tradition: curling over his ears, covering his neck, flipping up in back and generally flying around in disarray. But there is a memorable (and largely irrelevant) scene where Columbo visits Alex Benedict's home, and ends up asking about how much he pays in taxes, how big the house is, etc. In this scene, John Cassavetes' hair is visibly shorter than before or afterwards - trimmed farther up on his ears, neatly poufed all around, and shaved in back to expose his neck. The likely explanation is a bit of "Columbo" history: this scene was probably part of the extra footage added after the network ordered director Cassavetes to lengthen the episode, from 90 minutes to 2 hours, and Cassavetes apparently got a haircut before the additional scene was shot.

Quotes:

Janice Benedict: How well did you know her, Alex?
Alex Benedict: Oh, you know.
Janice Benedict: I don't know.
Alex Benedict: Now what is that supposed to mean?
Janice Benedict: You know her phone number by heart.
Alex Benedict: I know a lot of telephone numbers of people I work with by heart.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: Blueprint for Murder (#1.7)" (1972)

A Columbo adventure that hits the right notes in most places!

A slightly unoriginal plot aside, this is a well-unravelled, holding Columbo story, highlighted by some thoughtfully conceived and executed sequences involving real-life friends Peter Falk and John Cassavetes; a fact which unquestionably amplifies the script's effectiveness.

Ordinarily, the quality of the sequences of banter between detective and villain is a significant yardstick in the overall success of the episode; in this case, despite this characteristic, other scenes could have been expanded to better effect - no motive is really ever discussed and Columbo seems to latch onto the villain with less evident evidence than in some other experiences (the important factors about the pink carnation are not significantly developed until later).

One other slight fault is that there are less pieces of evidence to grab hold of here, but in one respect, the script-writer is very clever in intimating that the carnation is going to play an important part in this story, but the nailing of the villain is perhaps not as straightforward as one might have expected.

Generally, a very pleasing episode, which is not as predictable as one may think.