"Columbo" Short Fuse (1972)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Edward M. Abroms

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (teleplay)
Lester Pine (story) ...
(more)

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

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys.

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

Special 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:

Roger's car is a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the elevator scene as well as in the scene that follows where Columbo is standing on the small and narrow road in the mountains, the character obviously suffers from vertigo. However, a few scenes later he is walking down the high metal staircases at the outside of a factory building and suddenly his vertigo seems to have completely disappeared.

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.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Columbo: Grand Deceptions (#8.4)" (1989)

It should have been Sir Roddy McDowall!

It should have been Sir Roddy McDowall in my opinion. Why he never got knighted for his contributions to acting and drama, I will never know. This episode also feature Ida Lupino, another legendary actress, writer and director herself. Sir Roddy as I will call him plays a genius character who wants too much from his stepfather who played the evil Vice Presidential candidate in the original Manchurian Candidate. His plan is ingenious but there are exceptions being that Sir Roddy's character is still no match for Lieutenant COlumbo's genius. You have to laugh with him at the end of the film. Like most COlumbo episodes, you have to pay attention. We know who kills the character but how does Columbo catch him or her in some cases is just as fascinating as the episodes themselves.