"Columbo" Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (1989)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Leo Penn

Writers:

Richard Levinson (creator) &
William Link (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

6 February 1989 (Season 8, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Psychic | Magician | Guillotine | Mentor | Fraud

Cast

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

Runtime:

Germany:87 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Sweden:15 (2007) (DVD) | Norway:15 (2007) (DVD) | Denmark:15 (2007) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (2007) (DVD) (self applied) | Finland:S (1989) (VHS) | Netherlands:6 | UK:PG | Australia:PG | USA:Unrated

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

When Tommy does the card trick for Columbo in the magic shop he holds the deck a bit too high for the camera angle - you can see that, in fact, the entire deck is made up of Aces of Diamonds.

Quotes:

Bert Spindler: He was loved. Well, not by those mind readers and psychics; they weren't so crazy about him, once he got on their case. But magicians loved him. I loved him.
Lt. Columbo: I've never seen so many wonderful tricks. Those beautiful Chinese rings, and that terrific birdcage. Once, on a vacation with Mrs. Columbo, I saw a magician make a tiger disappear right out of the ring, but I've never seen a trick like that guillotine trick upstairs. That must be some dangerous trick.
Bert Spindler: Not if you're careful. Max built in some safeguards, made it all foolproof.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: A Case of Immunity (#5.2)" (1975)

a winning newer Columbo

When Columbo returned to television in the late '80s, the integrity of the original series was usually in place. The qualities that made Columbo tops were never more apparent than in "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine," with guest stars Anthony Andrews, Anthony Zerbe, and Karen Austin. Andrews plays a psychic being wooed by a government organization for his gifts, but of course, they want to see proof. He is connected with a psychic institute run by beautiful Karen Austin, who not only wants the credibility a win like this could give her institute, but Andrews himself. She is running tests and helping him cheat.

Enter Zerbe, a magician who makes his living debunking psychics. He is brought in by the government to administer special tests to Andrews. Turns out, he and Andrews knew each other once, long ago, in a third world prison, and when Zerbe saw his chance to get out, he did, leaving Andrews behind. There is a hint here of more than just a prison friendship - in the hands of two excellent actors like Zerbe and Andrews, they have etched these characters and their relationship with a lot of layers. Andrews plays the card of their old friendship to get Zerbe to give him elaborate tests that are carried out by trickery, and then sanction him as real to the government. This accomplished, Andrews plays the revenge card for what Zerbe did by abandoning him years ago and, in a remarkable scene, gets rid of him. It's brilliantly done as the murder is never shown, but it makes you sick anyway.

It's up to Columbo to debunk the psychic and reveal him for what he really is, a cold-blooded killer. Watch Columbo figure out the tests, with the help of a boy who is a magic aficionado, and be prepared to be caught up in the scenario and feel like you've just seen a pretty great magic show. One of the truly great Columbos.