"Columbo" Fade in to Murder (1976)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

Lou Shaw (teleplay) and
Peter S. Feibleman (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

10 October 1976 (Season 6, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Ward Fowler is an actor of a soap opera and his character is Detective Lucerne. His producer is Claire Daley...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Actor | Murder | Murder Investigation | Detective Series

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
William Shatner	...	Detective Lucerne / Ward Fowler
Bert Remsen	...	Mark
Alan Manson	...	Sid Daley
Lola Albright	...	Clare Daley
Danny Dayton	...	Director
Timothy Carey	...	Tony (as Timothy Agoglia Carey)
Walter Koenig	...	Sgt. Johnson
John Finnegan	...	Assistant Director (as J.P. Finnegan)
Victor Izay	...	Conroy
Shera Danese	...	Molly
Jimmy Joyce	...	Camera Operator
Frank Emmett Baxter	...	Walter Gray
Fred Draper	...	Joseph (first scene, flubbed line)

Runtime:

Germany:70 min | Italy:71 min | USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:11 (2007) (DVD) | Sweden:15 (2007) (DVD) | Denmark:15 (2007) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (2007) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Ward Fowler and Mark are watching a Dodgers baseball game at night. When the game is shown on TV it is a bright sunny day.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Columbo: I sometimes have a funny effect on people, being a police lieutenant. At least I hope that's what it is.

Movie Connections:

References Jaws (1975)

Personal favorite

Although this isn't the best Columbo episode, that distinction goes to Any Port in a Storm, but I digress. I recall seeing this episode for the first time back in the early 1990's in Philly, and I remember enjoying the bond between the detective and the killer, played hammingly by William Shatner. Even though Columbo is out for blood, he seems to get very friendly with Shatner's Detective Lucerne, another TV detective, so naturally the 2 play off each other's roles and challenge each other to solve the current case, which of course Shatner tries to accuse himself, and perhaps confuse Columbo. There's also a hilarious fake Jaws rip-off in this episode, as an ode to Spielberg, who directed a Columbo years before. My main problem is Shatner basically makes himself look guilty and leads Columbo to follow the clues, especially how Lucerne questions his own alibi. Other than that, this is a funny episode where the 2 main actors are obviously enjoying themselves. Look for the early VCR in the episode, which Lucerne/Ward Fowler tells Columbo it costs $3,000. Good lord.