"Columbo" Swan Song (1974) (1974)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Nicholas Colasanto

Writers:

David Rayfiel (teleplay)
Stanley Ralph Ross (story)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

3 March 1974 (Season 3, Episode 7)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Gospel Singer | Murder | Airplane | Plane | Pilot

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Johnny Cash	...	Tommy Brown
Ida Lupino	...	Edna Brown
John Dehner	...	Roland Pangborn
Sorrell Booke	...	J.J. Stringer
Bill McKinney	...	Luke Basket
Vito Scotti	...	Mr. Grindell
Janit Baldwin	...	Tina
John Randolph	...	The Colonel
Lucille Meredith	...	Lady
Richard Caine	...	Bennett
Don Mantooth	...	Phil (as Donald Mantooth)
Jefferson Kibbee	...	Frank
Bonnie Van Dyke	...	Maryann
Douglas Dirkson	...	Jeff (as Doug Dirkson)

Runtime:

99 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:

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

Goofs:

Continuity: Columbo calls out to a mechanic working on an airplane in the hanger. The mechanic looks up and stands up straight. A second later, the mechanic is back under the hood of the airplane working on the engine as if he never stood up.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: Any man who can sing like that can't be all bad

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Columbo: The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case (#6.3)" (1977)

It's Johnny Cash!

When Academy Award nominee Joaquim Phoenix was researching Johnny Cash, he mentioned this Columbo episode in particular. Johnny Cash plays a man who is very similar in some respects to his real personality. They're both musicians and singers but that's it. Johnny's character is a recovering criminal who married Ida Lupino's character who is overly zealous about God and religion. When her character learns of her husband's straying with younger girls, he decides to off them on the plane but survives. Anyway, I love watching Johnny Cash and Peter Falk together. I love the scene where Columbo researches parachutes and goes into the sewing room where the woman thinks she is losing her mind. Anyway, I remember that scene in particular as he tries to figure out how he did it. In the end, it's just worth watching. It's for Johnny Cash fans especially. He would have been a wonderful actor as well as singer.