Columbo: Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo (1990) (TV)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Richard Levinson (creator) &
William Link (creator) ...

Release Date:

31 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A woman who blames Lt. Columbo for the loss of her husband sets out to get back at him. But before she goes after him...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Police Detective | Widow | Husband Wife Relationship | Police Investigation

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Lt. Columbo
Helen Shaver	...	Vivian Dimitri
Ian McShane	...	Leland St. John
Edward Winter	...	Charlton 'Charlie' Chambers (as Ed Winter)
Tom Isbell	...	Sgt. Brady
Teresa Ganzel	...	Dede Perkins
Michael Alldredge	...	Connolly
Hugh Gillin	...	Priest at Funeral
Rosanna Huffman
George Buck	...	George Thornwood
Don Calfa	...	Rudy
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Dr. Steadman
Peggy Walton-Walker	...	Liz Cooper (as Peggy Walton Walker)
Joe Bellan	...	Joe
Robert Balderson	...	Jerry

Runtime:

120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Universal TV

Goofs:

Continuity: It rains at Mrs. Columbo's fake funeral, but in the background the sun is shining and the grave-stones are dry. (The funeral scene is shown several times over the course of this episode and the dry background is best visible the third time this scene is shown).

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: A Matter of Honor (#5.4)" (1976)

This time it's personal.

This time the movie its main target is Lt. Columbo himself. He's being given a hard time by a lady, who's husband has died in jail after he had been convicted for murder. Of course the person that got him behind bars was Columbo himself. Now how has to watch out for his life and that of his own wife now that the woman is seeking revenge.

Sounds like a real formulaic thriller plot, which it is also is really. But the difference is that this plot is different from just the usual Columbo formula, though the movie still knows to maintain all of the typical Columbo movie ingredients. The movie is also being told slightly differently and is told in a flashback mode. Normally it doesn't work out too well when a Columbo tries out a new approach with its style and story but in this particular case it simply works out well, since it's so well constructed and effective. Even if this script would had been used for any other average non-Columbo affiliated movie it would had been just as good.

Columbo has always used his wife to gain the trust from his main suspects and you could even question if there really is a Mrs. Columbo, also since she is never shown in any of the movies. Yes, I know there is a short lived "Mrs. Columbo" series which focused on the lieutenant's wife solving crimes as a reporter but I doubt that it was the original creators intention that she would ever appear in life form. In this movie his wife plays a central element for the movie its story, (also hence the movie its title) even though she again never even appears in the movie itself.

Helen Shaver plays a great part within the movie. Rarely has a Columbo movie ever concentrated so much on the movie its killer and viewpoint. So it's a real carrying role, which she handles just fine. She is a capable actress who isn't the best known but she has played in some great movie productions throughout her career, though often in much smaller roles. She's also active as a director now days and has directed many episodes of some very successful series.

The movie is interesting because it differs with its main concept so much from any other Columbo movie and it is also great since it actually works out and has a solid script, that is nicely constructed and being told within the movie.

8/10