IMDb > "Columbo" How to Dial a Murder (1978)
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"Columbo" How to Dial a Murder (1978)



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Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   478 votes
Director:
Writers:
Tom Lazarus (teleplay)
Anthony Lawrence (story)
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Contact:
View company contact information for How to Dial a Murder on IMDbPro.
TV Series:
Original Air Date:
5 April 1978 (Season 7, Episode 4)
Plot:
Dr. Eric Mason is a self-controlled man and he teaches how to get control over one's own life. His wife... more | full synopsis
User Comments:
Williamson is good, but don't say 'Rosebud'. more (13 total)

Cast

  (Episode Credited cast)

Peter Falk ... Columbo

Nicol Williamson ... Dr. Eric Mason

Kim Cattrall ... Joanne Nicholls
Joel Fabiani ... Dr. Charles Hunter
Frank Aletter ... Dr. Garrison
Tricia O'Neil ... Mrs. Cochran - the dog trainer

Ed Begley Jr. ... Officer Stein
Fred J. Gordon ... Technician
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Additional Details

Runtime:
Germany:70 min | USA:73 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Norway:11 (2007) (DVD) | Sweden:15 (2007) (DVD) | Denmark:15 (2007) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (2007) (DVD) (self applied)
Company:

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Lt. Columbo: Most people could sit and listen to somebody talking about their personality for hours - Lord knows *I* could. more
Movie Connections:
References Two Tickets to London (1943) more

FAQ

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
Williamson is good, but don't say 'Rosebud'., 4 January 2003
Author: heathblair from London, England

British actor, Nicol Williamson, as the guest murderer, earns his transatlantic paycheck in this fine story. As always with Columbo, the culprit is rich, resourceful and highly intelligent, and Williamson's take on the character, a motivational psychologist, is detailed and meticulous. It may not be his finest screen performance (check out The Bofors Gun and Inadmissible Evidence), but he makes a worthy foil to Falk.

The story has some interesting cultural asides, such as L.A.'s burgeoning self-help craze of the 70's, and the cult of the movies, particularly Citizen Kane; something which proves to be both the killer's murder weapon and his eventual undoing.

The only let-down is the somewhat low-key ending. I would have preferred more of a flourish from both actors, but it wasn't really in the script for them.

Over all, it's an intelligent and interesting movie. Patrick Williams' ethereal/ominous music (woodwinds and low strings) is rather good, and which, once or twice, quotes a fragment of Bernie Herrmann's Psycho score; why? For the hell of it. And why not?

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