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"Columbo" How to Dial a Murder (1978)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
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...
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| full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
Williamson is good, but don't say 'Rosebud'.
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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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
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.
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Movie Connections:
References Two Tickets to London (1943)
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This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (13 total)
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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?