Columbo: Butterfly in Shades of Grey (1993) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers:

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

Release Date:

10 January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

Plot:

L.A. radio moderator Chase kills Jerry Winters, a member of his staff who tried to help Chase's daughter...

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Answering Machine | Murderer | Radio Station | Radio Show Host

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Lieutenant Columbo
William Shatner	...	Fielding Chase
Molly Hagan	...	Victoria Chase
Jack Laufer	...	Gerald 'Gerry' Winters
Richard Kline	...	Louis 'Lou' Cates
Yorgo Constantine	...	Station Manager
Mark Lonow	...	Theodore 'Ted' Malloy
Beverly Leech	...	Deirdre 'DeeDee' Ross
Brian Markinson	...	Deirdre's Agent
Robin Clarke	...	Senator Gordon Madison
Christopher Templeton	...	Marian Burke
John C. Anders	...	Officer Davis
Denice Kumagai	...	Martha (as Denice Kumagi)
Deryl Caitlin	...	Second Biker (as Deryl Caitlyn)
Glenn Taranto	...	Engineer

Runtime:

USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Second appearance by William Shatner as the villain in an episode of Columbo.

Goofs:

Continuity: Radio commentator Fielding Chase wears a pencil-thin mustache, so wispy and light that it's barely visible even in most close-ups, except while he is talking to Columbo at the murder scene, when the mustache is suddenly, dramatically darker brown. Part of his disguise at the murder scene? Not likely, since the mustache was lighter during the murder itself, and is already back to its light and thin appearance when Fielding brings Columbo into his home afterward.

Quotes:

Soap Opera Director: Okay... homeless people, go home!

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: Lady in Waiting (#1.5)" (1971)

A great match for Shatner and Falk again

For Columbo fans, William Shatner plays the controlling Fielding Chase who kills a man who can separate him from his adoptive daughter played wonderfully by Molly Hagen. The key to solving the case is as fascinating as the actual murder. Columbo figures out who done it but how does he catch him. As in any Columbo feature, all the crimes are solved by one loose thread or link. It is nice to see Three's Company Richard Kline as his daughter's friend and literary agent. William Shatner plays Fielding Chase as the overly protective suffocating surrogate father to Molly Hagen's character in this film. It is a believable one and fun to watch anyway. Like I said, I will watch Columbo all the time. I am waiting for the Columbo Cable Channel.