"Columbo" Mind Over Mayhem (1974)

Director:

Alf Kjellin

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay) and
Dean Hargrove (teleplay) ...
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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
Dianne Turley Travis	...	Lady Scientist (as Dianne Turley)
Deidre Hall	...	Receptionist
Dennis Robertson	...	1st Reporter
Luis Moreno	...	Officer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robby the Robot	...	MM7 (uncredited)

Directed by
Alf Kjellin

Writing credits
Steven Bochco		(teleplay) and
Dean Hargrove		(teleplay) &
Roland Kibbee		(teleplay)
Robert Specht		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	associate producer
Dean Hargrove	....	executive producer
Roland Kibbee	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dick DeBenedictis		(as Dick De Benedictis)

Cinematography by
William Cronjager		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald LaVine

Art Direction by
John W. Corso

Set Decoration by
Bill McLaughlin		(as William McLaughlin)

Production Management
Brad H. Aronson	....	unit manager (as Brad Aronson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Phil Cook	....	assistant director (as Phillip Cook)

Sound Department
Wallace R. Bearden	....	sound (as Wallace Bearden)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grady Hunt	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Henry Mancini	....	composer: "Mystery Movie" theme
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main titles
Bill Malone	....	robot furnished by

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Viasat3 (2008) (Hungary) (TV) (re-release)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

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:

Screenwriters Steven Bochco and Dean Hargrove had the chance to pay tribute to Steven Spielberg, who had directed "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971) earlier in the series: one of the younger characters in "Mind over Mayhem" is called Steve Spelberg.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: Oh, a think tank! I read about that in the paper. That's a place full of geniuses, isn't it? May I ask what you do here, Sir?
Dr. Marshall Cahill: I'm the director.

Confusing plot?

I have just seen this for the first time in years and still love the unusual setting, the cheeky reference to 'boy genius' Stephen Spelberg and of course Robby The Robot.

But I cannot for the life of me fathom out why on earth someone as intelligent as the murderer Cahill (Jose Ferer) would give himself away by smoking a cigar just after killing the victim. An obvious giveaway and seemingly only included as a clue for Columbo to find.

And what was the point of the brandy glasses? Presumably Cahill was hoping to frame someone else but this point is never properly addressed. Anyone else have any theories?