Murder, Smoke and Shadows (27 Feb. 1989)

An egocentric wunderkind director murders a childhood friend who threatens to expose his negligent complicity in the death of his sister years earlier.

Director:

James Frawley

Writers:

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

Stars:

Peter Falk, Fisher Stevens, Molly Hagan

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Fisher Stevens	...	Alex Bradey
Molly Hagan	...	Ruth 'Ruthie' Jernigan
Nan Martin	...	Rose Walker
Jeff Perry	...	Leonard Fisher
Steven Hill	...	Mr. Marosco
Jerome Guardino	...	Sergeant Burke
Elizabeth Ruscio	...	Fran
Al Pugliese	...	Phil Crossette
Time Winters	...	Stan
Gayle Harbor	...	Lisa
Stewart J. Zully	...	Sewell
Avner Garbi	...	Kardarsian
Meg James	...	Tour Guide
Lisa Barnes	...	Waitress

Storyline

This time Columbo pits his wits against a movie director who murders an old friend on a set, because this friend is in possession of a damaging piece of film, on which the actress died and isn't helped by the movie director.

---

Plot Keywords:

director | movie director | murder | actress | camera crew | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1989 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Columbo spots a couple of ice-cream sodas left on the counter in Alex Brady's office, known as his "boys' club". One glass is almost full, the other about half-full. Not only can we see this, but Columbo comments on it at length, theorizing with uncanny accuracy how the full and the half-full glasses show what happened earlier, when the victim was visiting Brady's office. The moment Columbo leaves, Brady rushes to the soda glasses, to destroy the evidence. Inexplicably, he finds both glasses are now empty except for a milky residue.

---

Quotes

Alex Bradey: Coincidence is what makes a story, Lieutenant. Without coincidence, life runs evenly like a train on a track. Coincidence is a trainwreck, violence, suffering, and guilt.

---

Connections

References Dracula (1931)

User Reviews

A good episode and entertaining!

What makes Columbo work in my opinion is that despite the seriousness of the crime which is always murder that there is light-heartedness. Fisher Stevens is the star of his own movie. The cast is excellent besides Stevens and Peter Falk as the dashing Columbo. You have Molly Hagen who is underused in the industry and has appeared in another Columbo as Fisher's girlfriend. They also have Nan Martin who is wonderful as the woman who helps and hurts the lead character. Anyway, the filmmaker played by Fisher Stevens does learns the hard way by trying to fool Columbo. You can't fool or mess with him around or you'll get caught. He always catches his man or woman. This episode could have been better but it's not bad.