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Columbo: Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star (1991) (TV)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
29 April 1991 (USA)
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Plot:
Lt. Columbo matches wits with a defense lawyer who has never lost a case in his career. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe.
Another 2 nominations
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User Comments:
Not brilliant but an enjoyable Columbo despite the problems and logic leaps
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Peter Falk | ... | Columbo | |
| Shera Danese | ... | Trish Fairbanks | |
| Cheryl Paris | ... | Marcy Edwards | |
| Julian Stone | ... | Neddy Malcolm | |
| Sondra Currie | ... | Sgt. Hubach | |
| Little Richard | ... | Himself | |
| John Martin | ... | Sam Marlowe | |
| Steven Gilborn | ... | George, medical examiner | |
| John Finnegan | ... | Chief Quentin Corbett | |
| Grant Heslov | |||
| Dabney Coleman | ... | Hugh Creighton | |
| Deborah Rose | ... | Housekeeper | |
| Tad Horino | ... | Gardener Ando Miaki | |
| Joseph Chapman | ... | Prosecutor | |
| Ann Weldon | ... | Judge |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Murder of a Rock Star (Canada: English title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
Germany:91 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)
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Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
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Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: Miaki's calendar clipboard, seen in an early scene, indicates that the month is August 1991; but the alibi photo, taken the same day, shows the date as 3-11-91.
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Quotes:
Lt. Columbo:
You know, in all the years I've had this car, this is the first time I've ever had the top down!
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Movie Connections:
Followed by Columbo: It's All in the Game (1993) (TV)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (14 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Columbo: Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star (1991) (TV)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | IMDb Crime section |
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When his ex-rock star partner threatens to expose him unless he pay her off, successful lawyer Hugh Creighton kills her but makes it look like her lover that did the crime. He is helped by the fact that her lover flees the scene giving the police someone to chase while Creighton makes sure everyone gets to see his grief. However with Columbo on the case nothing is ever that simple and all it takes is a few out-of-place things and he immediately has doubts. With Creighton using his considerable experience in the court to help him, Columbo digs deeper.
As with many TV film series (such as Perry Mason), if you like one or two of them then you'll pretty much like them all. This entry in the Columbo series pretty much follows the usual formula we know the killer and the "perfect" plan but then watch Columbo follow his hunch and gradually starts to pick holes in the story he is told before eventually finding enough to prove his suspicions. Knowing this ahead of time won't ruin anything for you; it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually simple enough for the series to do the business although I have had my fingers burnt with some of the "new" Columbo's. This one is actually pretty good though despite having some side additions that are unnecessary and don't really work. The plot is reasonably good and is well delivered although at times it is a bit of a stretch a problem to some viewers but most Columbo fans will just accept this as par for the course. The attempts at comedy are reasonably good but the scenes that place Columbo in, say, an interrogation room don't really fit with the formula.
The main winners for the film are the performance from the lead two. Falk is good even if the material isn't totally true to his character; but when given the chance he is really good as shown in the hilarious but mocking conclusion. Coleman is hardly a classic foil but at least he is up for some cat'n'mouse and his abrasive performance fits the film pretty well. The support is not as good; not so much in the bigger roles (which are all fine) but in the small additions like "regular" character George (Gilborn) and the pointlessly feisty Currie; although Little Richard at least is a strange find.
Overall though this should please fans even if it is not up to the standards of the original Columbo episodes. The main two are good together and the plot moves along well apart from a few big leaps here and there (and one weirdly creepy moment with a Columbo "mask"). Good enough for fans then but probably not strong enough to win new ones.