"Columbo" Playback (1975)

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

David P. Lewis (written by) &
Booker Bradshaw (written by) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

2 March 1975 (Season 4, Episode 5)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A gadget-happy inventor murders his mother-in-law; Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Mother In Law | Murder | Gadget | Detective | Electronics Expert

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Oskar Werner	...	Harold Van Wick
Gena Rowlands	...	Elizabeth Van Wick
Robert Brown	...	Arthur Meadis
Patricia Barry	...	Francine
Martha Scott	...	Margaret Meadis
Herb Jefferson Jr.	...	Baxter
Trisha Noble	...	Marcy Hubbard
Bart Burns	...	Thompson
Steven Marlo	...	Policeman
Joe Ohar	...	Attendant (as Joe O'Har)

Runtime:

USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Quotes:

Harold Van Wick: Mother dear, have you done something to your hair?
Margaret Meadis: No?
Harold Van Wick: That's what I thought.

Soundtrack:

Ballade No.1 in g-minor, op.23

Another wacky episode

I suppose when one runs out of ideas, something interesting must come of it, such as this episode called Playback, about the head of an electronics firm who has his house surrounded by cameras and perhaps an early version of the Clapper to help his invalid wife, who's unaware of his penchant for the ladies. I'll spare all the details as you've seen them on here already, as Oskar Werner looks like he came off the Hogan's Heroes set as you can chop off his German accent with an ax, but he is devilishly charming, along the lines of another Columbo villain, and probably the best in Jack Cassidy. Anyway, as another reviewer mentioned Columbo has a cold early on, but it magically disappears a few scenes later, as he begins his hunt for the killer. A few moments worth some mentioning is the addition of his beloved pooch, who's always a treat in any given episode and the funny, but painful scene at the art gallery, as Columbo mistakes an air conditioning vent for an art piece, which is funny but I don't buy that anyone is that stupid. Add in Gena Rowlands, a close friend of Peter Falk's and it makes this version more interesting, but the high point is Werner, who I haven't seen since, but he is funny and throws verbal barbs to the woman he's about to murder.

Overall, this isn't one of my personal favorites, but include the gadgets, a German killer, digital watches, Columbo's dog and we have an episode that is still worth watching.