"Columbo" Requiem for a Falling Star (1973)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (written by)
Richard Levinson (creator) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

21 January 1973 (Season 2, Episode 5)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A faded movie actress commits murder. Lt. Columbo, one of her biggest fans, is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Star | Murder | Crime Investigation | Criminal Investigation

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Anne Baxter	...	Nora Chandler
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Frank Simmons
Frank Converse	...	Mr. Fallon
Pippa Scott	...	Jean Davis
Mel Ferrer	...	Jerry Parks
Edith Head	...	Herself
Sidney Miller	...	Director (as Sid Miller)
William Bryant	...	Sgt. Jeffries
John Archer	...	Paul
Jack Griffin	...	Gate guard
Robert E. Meredith	...	Joe
Bart Burns	...	Sgt. Fields
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dianne Turley Travis	...	Blonde In Road (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Quine

Writing credits
Jackson Gillis		(written by)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

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

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
David Dowell	....	assistant director (as David M. Dowell)

Sound Department
Edwin S. Hall	....	sound

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
Jackson Gillis	....	executive story consultant

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures

Special Effects

• Universal Title (optical effects)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

Germany:60 min (cut version) | USA:70 min | Germany:70 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Goofs:

Continuity: A blonde girl in grey dress climbs the same stairs twice during the conversation between Lt. Columbo and Mr. Fallon.

Quotes:

Jerry Parks: [Points to his head] You can't get a search warrant for what's in here.
Nora Chandler: You couldn't get a bus fare for what's in there!

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971)

so-so

This particular episode isn't one of my favorites, perhaps because there's too many hammy scenes with many over-the-hill performers of yesteryear, including Anne Baxter, Kevin McCarthy(who is rather funny here, if not intentional), Mel Ferrer, etc. This is not to say that this episode isn't fun and interesting, because it is, but it's hard to like any of the characters, mainly it's because they're all slimy, pretentious Hollywood types. To me, this compares to another Columbo entry titled "Last Salute to the Commodore", where everyone including Columbo, are forcing these over-the-top lines and trying very hard to be funny with a bunch of unsympathetic characters, although I like "Requiem" slightly better because of the twist of who gets killed and why. There are some nice shots of what looks to be a real movie set and we get the feel of what it's like behind the scenes shooting a movie, but unfortunately there wasn't much more redeeming values in this episode for me.