"Columbo" Mind Over Mayhem (1974)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Alf Kjellin

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay) and
Dean Hargrove (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

18 February 1974 (Season 3, Episode 6)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The director of a government institute that employs various scientific geniuses commits a clever murder. But another kind of genius is on the case: Lt. Columbo.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Junkie | Scientist | Crime Solving | Computer Programmer

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
José Ferrer	...	Dr. Marshall Cahill (as Jose Ferrer)
Lew Ayres	...	Dr. Howard Nicholson
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Neil Cahill (as Robert Walker)
Lee Montgomery	...	Steve Spelberg (as Lee H. Montgomery)
Jessica Walter	...	Margaret Nicholson
Lou Wagner	...	Ross
Arthur Batanides	...	Murph (as Art Batanides)
Darrell Zwerling	...	Motel Manager
Charles Macaulay	...	Farnsworth
John Zaremba	...	Coroner
William Bryant	...	Fields
Bert Holland	...	Whitehead
Ed Fury	...	Plainclothesman
Jefferson Kibbee	...	Jeff

Runtime:

Germany:70 min | USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Perhaps the most unusual "guest star" in the entire "Columbo" series is the robot who is programmed to provide Marshall Cahill with his alibi. "Robby" is best known for having starred in the Sci-Fi classic Forbidden Planet (1956) directed by Fred M. Wilcox, as well as in "The Twilight Zone" and, more notably, in the cult television series "Lost in Space" (1965).

Quotes:

Dr. Marshall Cahill: Neil, be as humble as you like. Einstein was the most modest man I've ever met.
Neil Cahill: Yeah, he could afford to be, he was a genius.

José Ferrer and Robby the Robot plot the perfect murder in this entertaining "Columbo" entry

Dr. Marshall Cahill (José Ferrer) is the director of a government institute that employs various scientific geniuses, including the elderly Dr. Nicholson (Lew Ayres) who knows that Cahill's son Neil (Robert Walker, Jr.) has plagiarized a dead man's theory of molecular structure. When Nicholson threatens exposure, Dr. Cahill murders him and cleverly makes the killing look like the job of a heroin junkie who needed his fix. But clever or not, another kind of genius is on the case: our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk).

Alf Kjellin directs a script by Steven Bochco and Dean Hargrove and delivers a fine "Columbo" episode. Ferrer is a fascinating actor, who achieves a great deal with minimal affectation: his performance is a treat. Robert Walker, Jr., the son of the "Strangers on a Train" star, proves to be interesting: his face make him look like a combination of his father and Boris Karloff. Jessica Walter, the psychopathic one-night stand in "Play Misty for Me," has a more sympathetic role here: as Nicholson's young wife and Neil's psychiatrist. A boy genius played by Lee Montgomery is named Steve Spelberg: add an "i" and you have the director of "Columbo: Murder by the Book." (But he hadn't yet made "Jaws.") Columbo's basset hound, Dog, makes one of his infrequent appearances. But the best supporting performance comes from Robby the Robot of "Forbidden Planet" and the TV series "Lost in Space." Here he's an accomplice to murder!

Best line: Cahill pompously telling Columbo, "You know, you have a very transparent mind, which in no way implies clear thinking." Don't be too sure, doc.