A Matter of Honor
- Episode aired Feb 1, 1976
- TV-PG
- 1h 10m
When a famous bullfighter's trusted bookkeeper turns up dead in a bullring, Lt. Columbo suspects murder--with a bull as the murder weapon.When a famous bullfighter's trusted bookkeeper turns up dead in a bullring, Lt. Columbo suspects murder--with a bull as the murder weapon.When a famous bullfighter's trusted bookkeeper turns up dead in a bullring, Lt. Columbo suspects murder--with a bull as the murder weapon.
- Commandante Sanchez
- (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
- Miguel
- (as Emilio Fernandez)
- Chambermaid
- (as Evita Munoz Chachita)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the beginning, Ricardo Montalban, who plays Louis Montoya, is watching what is supposed to be an old clip of himself as a young matador. The clip he is watching is actually from the movie Santa (1943), in which Montalban plays a bullfighter.
- GoofsIn the beginning, when Montoya asks Miguel to check on loose cows on the south pasture, the horse behind Miguel has no tack (no saddle, harness, halter, etc.). Montoya gives Miguel a bottle, and when Miguel turns to mount the horse, it's completely tacked up.
- Quotes
Lt. Columbo: You know, I think my wife was right. Something wrong with me. Supposed to be on vacation, and right away I'm thinking like a cop. That's called, uh, occupational hazard.
Jaime: "Occupational hazard?" Uh, what is that?
Lt. Columbo: That's, uh, when wherever you go you take your work with you.
Jaime: Oh, I see. Uh, we call that "loco."
- ConnectionsEdited into The In-Laws (1979)
No dog in this one though. The car figures in the plot. And the script is engaging as Colombo, a complete ignoramus when it comes to Mexican culture, unravels a plot centering on bullfighting mores.
Here's Montalban's car caretaker (Jorge Rivero, who was the strutting Pierre Cordona in Hawks' "Rio Lobo") to Colombo: "Why are you asking me all these questions?" Colombo: "I can't help being a policeman. It's an occupational hazard." Rivero: "Occupational hazard?" Colombo: "Yes, that's what we call it. No matter where you go you take your work with you." Rivero: "Oh. We call that 'loco'."
Interesting location shooting too, presumably Tijuana. Colombo is waylayed by the Mexican police while carrying one of those multi-striped woven bags that every American tourist must buy. Many of the crew were Mexican, and the score is written by an Hispanic too, and sounds appropriate.
Most of the actors are up to par, except for Martinez who, in this company, sounds lightweight. And the girl is, how you say, no importa? But Ricardo Montalban should receive some kind of prize from the Gerontological Society of America. Holy Guacamole, that man looks good. He's awesomely fit, and handsome too. And he does a splendid job in the role of Senor Montoya, El Matador. Stern, proud, and irritable. The whole episode is, in a way, a tribute to the Mexican film industry, what with Montalban, Rivero, and the son of Pedro Armendariz, all of them stars in their own country. (Where is Gabriel Figueroa?)
The audience learns a little about bullfighting too (but not much). If there's a problem, it's a problem that tended to recur in the series. Colombo stumbles accidentally on clues and interprets them with improbable accuracy. Sometimes he seems to have ESP. He walks into a room he's never been in before, glances around the walls, walks over and picks up what looks like one pool cue out of half a dozen in a rack, and says, "This was Hector's lance?" How did he know that? He practically intuits the nature and method of the murder.
But it doesn't matter. It's an enjoyable entry.
- rmax304823
- Mar 12, 2004
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- Also known as
- Blutroter Staub
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