"Columbo" Swan Song (1974) (1974)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Nicholas Colasanto

Writers:

David Rayfiel (teleplay)
Stanley Ralph Ross (story)
(more)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

3 March 1974 (Season 3, Episode 7)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A gospel singer wants to be rid of his zealous wife. But a murder made to look like an airplane accident does not fool the wily Lt. Columbo.

Plot Keywords:

Gospel Singer | Murder | Airplane | Plane | Pilot

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Johnny Cash	...	Tommy Brown
Ida Lupino	...	Edna Brown
John Dehner	...	Roland Pangborn
Sorrell Booke	...	J.J. Stringer
Bill McKinney	...	Luke Basket
Vito Scotti	...	Mr. Grindell
Janit Baldwin	...	Tina
John Randolph	...	The Colonel
Lucille Meredith	...	Lady
Richard Caine	...	Bennett
Don Mantooth	...	Phil (as Donald Mantooth)
Jefferson Kibbee	...	Frank
Bonnie Van Dyke	...	Maryann
Douglas Dirkson	...	Jeff (as Doug Dirkson)
Larry Burrell	...	TV Reporter
Mike Lally	...	TV Cameraman (as Mike Edward Lally)
Tom McFadden	...	Police Pilot
Harry Harvey	...	Manager (as Harry Harvey Sr.)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
W.S. Holland	...	Band member (uncredited)
Bob Wootton	...	Band member (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Colasanto

Writing credits
David Rayfiel		(teleplay)
Stanley Ralph Ross		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) and
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	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
Bob Kagey

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

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

99 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:

Uses footage from an actual Johnny Cash concert.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Columbo says that a thermos is "metal inside glass". In fact, thermoses are invariably glass inside metal; they wouldn't work the other way around.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: Any man who can sing like that can't be all bad

Movie Connections:

Followed by Columbo: Ashes to Ashes (1998) (TV)

A guitar, a thermos flask and a home-made parachute....

Johnny Cash's limited acting ability is remarkably offset by his semi-autobiographical portrayal of a gospel crusader who wishes to use half of the concert earnings to finance his lavishly reckless lifestyle, rather than plough all of the monies into building an ornate tabernacle. His blackmailing wife and one very young concert group member are killed off so that his reputation remains unblemished and his lifestyle can be maintained.

Everything you would want in a Columbo story is in evidence here: a refreshingly original, well-thought-out plot with an ingeniously conceived "murder" scenario; a very tightly structured script with each scene leading on nicely from the last; circumstantial clues which are clever and instinctively-developed; an abundance of well-crafted scenes between a typically persistent Columbo and a relatively self-assured murderer which have a progressive intensity about them; and well-timed injections of humour.

A crackerjack Columbo episode, that is all the better for making it look like the murderer has won(nb: the marvelous airport scene); and for not being sentimental when Columbo pities the murderer. Almost flawless in its conception and execution, this must be one of the top-three Columbo episodes.