"Columbo" Short Fuse (1972)

Director:

Edward M. Abroms

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (teleplay)
Lester Pine (story) ...
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TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

19 January 1972 (Season 1, Episode 6)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A chemical plant's director gets threats and issues threats, and one of the employees develops and plants a bomb in his car. When the car turns out to be missing, Columbo is called to find out what happened.

Plot Keywords:

Threat | Murder | Bomb | Chemical Factory | Police Investigation

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Roddy McDowall	...	Roger Stanford
Anne Francis	...	Valerie Bishop
James Gregory	...	David L. Buckner
Ida Lupino	...	Doris Buckner
William Windom	...	Everett Logan
Steve Gravers	...	Sergeant
Lawrence Cook	...	Murphy
Rosalind Miles	...	Nancy
Lew Brown	...	Farrell
Jason Wingreen	...	Policeman
Eddie Quillan	...	Ferguson
Stuart Nisbet	...	Pinstripe
Annette Molen	...	Girl
Jim Neumarker	...	Plainclothesman
George Sawaya	...	Man

Directed by
Edward M. Abroms

Writing credits
Jackson Gillis		(teleplay)
Lester Pine		(story) &
Tina Pine		(story) and
Jackson Gillis		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Richard Levinson	....	producer
William Link	....	producer
Robert F. O'Neill	....	associate producer
Everett Chambers	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Gil Melle		(as Gil Mellé)

Cinematography by
Harry L. Wolf		(director of photography) (as Harry Wolf)

Film Editing by
John Kaufman		(as John Kaufman, Jr.)

Art Direction by
Archie J. Bacon		(as Arch Bacon)

Set Decoration by
Charles S. Thompson

Production Management
Henry Kline	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kevin Donnelly	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Melvin M. Metcalfe Sr.	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burton Miller	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor

Music Department
Henry Mancini	....	composer: "Mystery Movie" theme

Other crew
Steven Bochco	....	story editor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main titles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Levinson		creator
William Link		creator

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Universal Title (titles & optical effects)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2004)

Filming Locations:

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

The last episode of the first season of "Columbo" to be filmed, though it aired before "Columbo: Blueprint for Murder (#1.7)" (1972)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the elevator up the cliff in the last scene. Throughout the scene, the black tape strips on the box disappear and reappear without anyone removing or reapplying them.

Quotes:

Doris Buckner: I called the Commissioner and he said he'd send his very best man.
Roger Stanford: Is that a fact.
Lt. Columbo: My wife says I'm the second-best, she claims there are eighty men tied for first.

The Best Columbo Episode!

"Columbo: Short Fuse" is quite special. It is my favorite episode of my favorite TV series. Roddy McDowall helped to make it terrific, above the rest. He was greatly assisted by Edward Abroms, who did a marvelous job of direction--especially with the opening and closing scenes. The music score is awesome. Great supporting cast of Anne Francis, James Gregory, William Windom, and Ida Lupino too. McDowall especially proves to bring a very entertaining combination of villainy and boyishness to his unforgettable role of Roger Stanford. This episode helped Season One of the series to set very high standards for the show to live up to.