"Columbo" Mind Over Mayhem (1974)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Alf Kjellin

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay) and
Dean Hargrove (teleplay) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

18 February 1974 (Season 3, Episode 6)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The director of a government institute that employs various scientific geniuses commits a clever murder. But another kind of genius is on the case: Lt. Columbo.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Junkie | Scientist | Crime Solving | Computer Programmer

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
José Ferrer	...	Dr. Marshall Cahill (as Jose Ferrer)
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. Howard Nicholson
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Neil Cahill (as Robert Walker)
Lee Montgomery	...	Steve Spelberg (as Lee H. Montgomery)
Jessica Walter	...	Margaret Nicholson
Lou Wagner	...	Ross
Arthur Batanides	...	Murph (as Art Batanides)
Darrell Zwerling	...	Motel Manager
Charles Macaulay	...	Farnsworth
John Zaremba	...	Coroner
William Bryant	...	Fields
Bert Holland	...	Whitehead
Ed Fury	...	Plainclothesman
Jefferson Kibbee	...	Jeff
Dianne Turley Travis	...	Lady Scientist (as Dianne Turley)
Deidre Hall	...	Receptionist
Dennis Robertson	...	1st Reporter
Luis Moreno	...	Officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robby the Robot	...	MM7 (uncredited)

Directed by
Alf Kjellin

Writing credits
Steven Bochco		(teleplay) and
Dean Hargrove		(teleplay) &
Roland Kibbee		(teleplay)
Robert Specht		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	associate producer
Dean Hargrove	....	executive producer
Roland Kibbee	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dick DeBenedictis		(as Dick De Benedictis)

Cinematography by
William Cronjager		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald LaVine

Art Direction by
John W. Corso

Set Decoration by
Bill McLaughlin		(as William McLaughlin)

Production Management
Brad H. Aronson	....	unit manager (as Brad Aronson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Phil Cook	....	assistant director (as Phillip Cook)

Sound Department
Wallace R. Bearden	....	sound (as Wallace Bearden)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grady Hunt	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist (uncredited)

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

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main titles
Bill Malone	....	robot furnished by

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Viasat3 (2008) (Hungary) (TV) (re-release)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

Germany:70 min | USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Screenwriters Steven Bochco and Dean Hargrove had the chance to pay tribute to Steven Spielberg, who had directed "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971) earlier in the series: one of the younger characters in "Mind over Mayhem" is called Steve Spelberg.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: Oh, a think tank! I read about that in the paper. That's a place full of geniuses, isn't it? May I ask what you do here, Sir?
Dr. Marshall Cahill: I'm the director.

Movie Connections:

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

Possibly the most outdated Columbo movie around.

The earliest Columbo movie entry dates back from 1968 but yet no other Columbo movie seems as old as this one. The silly outdated technical and scientific elements and the presence of Robby the Robot makes this movie feel and look outdated which does take away some of the quality of the overall movie but nevertheless doesn't prevent the movie from being not entertaining or bad to watch.

Nevertheless I don't really count this movie among one of the best out of the long running Columbo series. The story and especially its settings were not really interesting enough and the movie also really lacked a good well known actor opposite Peter Falk. It's not that José Ferrer is a bad actor but he just didn't played his role very interestingly, which caused his presence and role to be a forgettable one. There also isn't enough interaction between him and Lt.Columbo, which normally really is a requirement for a good Columbo movies.

There were more clues left out for Lt. Columbo than usual, which is also one of the reasons why the story isn't among the best out of all the Columbo movies.

Quite funny how Robby the Robot often keeps popping up in movies and series. He made his first appearance in 1956 in the science-fiction movie "Forbidden Planet" and continues appearing in movies till this present day. His role in this movie is also quite big and significant for the movie its main plot.

It remains a well made movie and a pleasant enough to watch murder-mystery but it's perhaps a tad bit more forgettable than most other average Columbo entries.

7/10