"Columbo" Murder Under Glass (1978)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Robert Van Scoyk (written by)
Richard Levinson (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

30 January 1978 (Season 7, Episode 2)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Paul Gerard is a famous gourmet and his books about restaurants can decide the fate of a chef. In his way...

Plot Keywords:

Book | Gourmet | Police | Murderer | Detective Series

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Louis Jourdan	...	Paul Gerard
Shera Danese	...	Eve Plummer
Richard Dysart	...	Max Duval
Mako	...	Kanji Ousu
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Vittorio Rossi
Larry D. Mann	...	Albert
France Nuyen	...	Miss Choy
Antony Alda	...	Mario
Todd Martin	...	Sgt. Burke
Fred Holliday	...	Crawford
Alberto Morin	...	Chef Louis
Jim Murphy	...	Charlie
Carolyn Martin	...	Lady Cashier
Miyako Kurata	...	1st Geisha

Runtime:

Germany:70 min | Italy:74 min | USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

This is the final "Columbo" episode in which the actor playing the murderer, Louis Jourdan, is older than Peter Falk.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the killer (Mr. Gerard) advises his lover Eve to travel to Europe they hug. Several continuity errors with position of her arms from shot to shot.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: I expected to see you at Mr. Rossi's funeral. I guess you couldn't make it.
Paul Gerard: I never go to funerals. I prefer to remember my friends as I saw them last.
Lt. Columbo: I believe Mr. Rossi was yelling at you when you saw him last. Isn't that right, sir?
Paul Gerard: You mustn't take me literally, Lieutenant.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: Dead Weight (#1.3)" (1971)

Really classic!

For those who might think, that television productions could never touch the glory of Hollywood productions, this Columbo episode is one of the best examples to doubt. Even Columbosists, I think, would agree, that this is one of the best episodes of the confused detective and the best thing about it, it's absolutely timeless!

There's not much to say about Peter Falk's performance... GREAT as in each minute, we've seen of Columbo. But fortunately, the producers were able to capture an outstanding guest star: Louis Jourdan. While many musical stars, who had problems to get engagements after the breakdown of the studio system, were featured as guests in Columbo episodes, Jourdan probably gives one of the most outstanding performances. (Sure, he wasn't one of those who had problems to get other engagements) I also recommend this episode to those people, who know Jourdan only as Gigi's lover Gaston. No, he was able to do much more!

In its length of just 75 minutes, the production is as attractive as a major Hollywood production. Highly recommended to anybody, not only to television buffs!