"Columbo" Étude in Black (1972)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Nicholas Colasanto

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay)
Richard Levinson (story) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

17 September 1972 (Season 2, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

An amoral conductor murders the gifted pianist with whom he is having an affair. Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Pianist | Murder | Musician | Mistress | Asphyxiation

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
John Cassavetes	...	Alex Benedict
James Olson	...	Paul Rifkin
Blythe Danner	...	Janice Benedict
Anjanette Comer	...	Jenifer Welles
Myrna Loy	...	Lizzy Fielding
James McEachin	...	Billy
Don Knight	...	Mike Alexander
Pat Morita	...	The House Boy
Michael Pataki	...	Sam
Michael Fox	...	Dr. Benson
Dawn Frame	...	Audrey
Charles Macaulay	...	Durkee
George Gaynes	...	Everett
Wallace Chadwell	...	TV director

Runtime:

90 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

This is the debut episode for Dog, Columbo's pet basset hound.

Goofs:

Plot holes: While Alex Benedict takes great pains not to leave fingerprints from his right hand as he climbs through the washroom window, John Cassavetes rests his bare left hand on the tiled wall at least twice, leaving distinct hand and fingerprints.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Columbo: I have a thought. Listen to this; what if she didn't commit suicide?
Alex Benedict: Isn't that peculiar? Because that's what I was gonna say. I was awake, almost all night, thinking about the same thing!
Lieutenant Columbo: No kidding.
Alex Benedict: Yes...only I rejected the idea.

One of my personal favorites!

This Columbo episode is one of the better and perhaps one of my personal favorites. The cast includes Rosemary's Baby John Cassavetes as the maestro, his wife played by Blythe Danner (Gwyneth Paltrow's mom) and his mother-in-law played by Myrna Loy (one of America's greatest leading actresses in film of our time). Anyway I disagree with anybody who criticizes against this film. This episode is one of my favorites because you have an excellent cast who do a superb job in performing. I love watching Columbo with his beloved dog who he never names in the series. This time, the episode focuses in on classical music at the Hollywood Bowl, one of L.A.'s attractions. Of course, Columbo becomes as interested in classical music as he does anything else involving a crime.