Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (6 Feb. 1989)

An egocentric psychic murders his old mentor, a magician charged to expose him as fraud, by beheading him while he's rehearsing his guillotine trick.

Director:

Leo Penn

Writers:

Richard Levinson (creator), William Link (creator),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Anthony Andrews, Karen Austin

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Anthony Andrews	...	Elliott Blake
Karen Austin	...	Dr. Paula Hall
James Greene	...	Bert Spindler
Alan Fudge	...	Mr. Harrow
Dana Andersen	...	Dori
Robert Costanzo	...	Sgt. Russo
Anthony Zerbe	...	Max Dyson
Michael Bacall	...	Tommy
Charles Howerton	...	Colonel Eckherdt
Milt Kogan	...	Medical Examiner
Tony Amendola	...	Clergyman
Rob Garrison	...	Young Man
Frank Simons	...	Polygraph Operator
Lenny Hicks	...	Eddie

Storyline

Famous (and fraudulent) psychic Elliot Blake uses his old mentalist skills to live a lavish lifestyle at the expense of a psychic research institute and hopefully, the US Government. What seems at first like a threat, a test devised by a well-known magician and debunker of psychics, turns out to be his chance for revenge against his former mentor. What he can't foresee is a police lieutenant who knows all the tricks.

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Plot Keywords:

psychic | magician | mentor | guillotine | beheading | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1989 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first Columbo episode to air under "The ABC Mystery Movie" (1989).

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Quotes

Max Dyson: Just so we understand each other, I've tested hundreds of you people;
[sarcastically]
Max Dyson: your incredible, mystical, psychic gifts.
Elliott Blake: Surely some were genuine?
Max Dyson: None. Not a one. Nothing I couldn't explain and duplicate. That's in case anyone here thinks I'm a believer.

User Reviews

The glories of Pasadena

For the past 30 years, Pasadena has been one of the major filming locales in the world of filmdom.

There were a couple Banacek episodes in the early '70s that particularly showcased two of Pasadena's more famous attractions, the Norton Simon Museum and the Pasadena Playhouse.

Also, an episode of the Munsters from the mid'60s gave viewers a terrific view of Jackie Robinson Field across from the Rose Bowl when Leo Durocher discovered that Herman could hit a baseball 8 blocks.

However, nothing I've seen utilizes the Rose Bowl City quite like this Columbo TV movie.

While examining what's known as "Remote Viewing," i.e., projecting one's thought through space to picture places and events in one's mind from great distance, the locations being "Viewed" are Pasadena's beautiful landmark "Suicide Bridge"; an office tower on Lake Ave. & Colorado Blvd. (Colorado Blvd. is the Rode Parade route); and its classic 1920s city hall, which was used in countless Mission Impossible episodes (among other shows) as a foreign palace, foreign embassy, etc.

BTW, this TV Movie is one of the best of the latter day Columbo's, after Peter Falk's long layoff from the character.