Columbo: Season 3, Episode 7

Swan Song (3 Mar. 1974)

TV Episode  -   -  Crime | Drama | Mystery
7.7
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Ratings: 7.7/10 from 901 users  
Reviews: 22 user | 4 critic

A gospel singer wants to be rid of his zealous wife. But a murder made to look like an airplane accident does not fool the wily Lt. Columbo.

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Title: Swan Song (03 Mar 1974)

Swan Song (03 Mar 1974) on IMDb 7.7/10

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Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Tommy Brown
...
Edna Basket Brown
...
Roland Pangborn
...
J.J. Stringer
Bill McKinney ...
Luke Basket
...
Mr. Grindell
Janit Baldwin ...
Tina
...
The Colonel
Lucille Meredith ...
Jean the seamstress
...
Bennett
Don Mantooth ...
Phil (as Donald Mantooth)
Jefferson Kibbee ...
Frank
Bonnie Van Dyke ...
Maryann Cobb
Douglas Dirkson ...
Jeff the airport mechanic (as Doug Dirkson)
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Storyline

A popular folk singer's plane has crashed. Two passengers have died, and one has escaped with minor injuries. Was it really an accident? How could it not have been? Or, was it really a nearly perfect murder? Columbo is called in to find out. Written by Cindy

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis


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Details

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Release Date:

3 March 1974 (USA)  »

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Technical Specs

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Color:

(Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

In-joke: Tommy Brown refers to his unseen music arranger as "Nick Solacanto"; the director of the episode is Nicholas Colasanto. See more »

Goofs

When Tommy is playing with the band in the back yard, you can tell his singing is amplified. However, there is no microphone. See more »

Quotes

Lt. Columbo: Any man that can sing like that can't be all bad
See more »

Soundtracks

"I Saw the Light"
(uncredited)
Written by Hank Williams
Performed by Johnny Cash
See more »

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User Reviews

 
An enjoyable "Columbo" show for fans; but Johnny Cash doesn't quite pull it off
22 December 2006 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Tommy Brown (Johnny Cash) is a hugely successful gospel singer unable to enjoy the usual benefits of his fame and wealth. His zealous wife (Ida Lupino) can prove he had committed statutory rape with one of his backup singers, Tina (Janit Baldwin). With this weapon she blackmails him from enjoying the company of other women and even from spending his own money. She wants every penny to go towards building a tabernacle for the Lord. Brown, an experienced pilot, takes his wife and Tina up in a plane; but he's the only one who comes back down alive. It's up to our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) to figure out how he did it.

This is a fairly entertaining episode, but it has serious flaws. The effectiveness of the murder sequence is undermined by some awful special effects showing the plane in bad weather and the equally phony-looking shots from inside the plane. The script is badly padded: the comic sequences with the funeral director, the colonel and the seamstress all could have been cut, and no one would have missed them. Johnny Cash is an okay actor: he's naturally talented but too inexperienced to pull off a role this large and complex—even though it was clearly tailored for him. Still, the plotting is good if you ignore the extraneous scenes; and the ending is satisfying. Cash sings two or three enjoyable songs; and his acting is best in the scenes that are always the heart of any "Columbo" episode: when the clever killer and the brilliant detective match wits. Fans will enjoy this one.


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