Murder by the Book

Episode aired Sep 15, 1971
TV-PGTV-PG
1h 16m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

4.2K

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Jack Cassidy in Murder by the Book (1971)

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Drama

Mystery

When one member of a mystery writing team wants to break from his less talented partner, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.When one member of a mystery writing team wants to break from his less talented partner, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.When one member of a mystery writing team wants to break from his less talented partner, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

4.2K

YOUR RATING

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Peter Falk and Rosemary Forsyth in Murder by the Book (1971)

Barbara Colby in Murder by the Book (1971)

Jack Cassidy and Martin Milner in Murder by the Book (1971)

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Storyline

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One half of a murder-mystery writing team kills his more talented partner after the latter announces his intentions to go solo which would ultimately leave the former in financial ruin. Later a grocery store owner, who has important information pertaining to the case and has romantic desires for the killer, sees this incident as an opportunity to blackmail him into having a relationship with her. Feeling cornered, he kills her and tries to make it look like she'd fallen off a boat and drowned in a drunken stupor.

mercedes benz

dunhill cigarette lighter

murder disguised as accident

dead body in a car trunk

water fountain

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Trivia
The inscribed mystery novel that Ken Franklin gives to Miss LaSanka is titled "Prescription: Murder", the same title as the first Columbo movie, Prescription: Murder (1968).

Goofs
When Columbo makes Joanna Ferris an omelet, he says: "I'll tell you what the secret is to a good omelet -- no eggs, just milk." She laughs at Columbo's mistake. [In the original script, the line is: "The secret is just eggs, no milk."]

Quotes
Lilly La Sanka: I trust you, Ken - really - but we all have our dark sides, don't we? Just wouldn't be very intelligent of me to be alone with you in a small boat.

Connections
Featured in The 24th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1972)

Soundtracks
Love Theme from 'Red Sky At Morning'
Composed by Billy Goldenberg
Heard during the bar scene

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Review

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8/10

"Murder by the Book" (1971)

PLOT: One member of a popular mystery writing team (Jack Cassidy) murders his partner (Martin Milner) after he threatens to go off on his own. He claims he was 2 hours away at his cabin-on-the-lake while his partner was shot at the office in Los Angeles. Rosemary Forsyth plays the victim's wife while Barbara Colby is on hand as a flirtatious neighbor at the cabin.

COMMENTARY: This was the first episode of the series after the two pilot movies and therefore has a shorter runtime of 75 minutes. It was directed & co-written by Steven Spielberg when he only 24 years-old, just a few years before his great success with "Jaws" (1975).

This is one of my favorite episodes of the series, highlighted by the conniving Cassidy, who would reappear in two future installments, the problematic "Publish or Perish" (1974) and the excellent "Now You See Him" (1976). He made for such a sly antagonist, but perished prematurely at the age of 49 in late 1976 from a house fire.

GRADE: A-

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