Change Your Image
clodax2002
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder (1978)
A naive trick for a naive killer
(Spoilers!) This too long (and sometimes boring) Columbo film reminded me of another Columbo episode, that is "Forgotten lady", where the killer commits the murder while she was supposed to be watching a movie and having to do with reels in the meantime. The way Columbo finds evidence is similar as well: the witness (the butler in the first case, the assistant here) says something, almost by chance, that doesn't match with the killer's alibi, then Columbo is able to reconstruct the real killer's moves. This Columbo film is very well acted, and some scenes are intriguing, but it doesn't get more than 7/10 because of some useless or too long scenes and because of the naivety of the gun-trick set by Columbo: there was no reason at all for the killer to remove the gun from the roof of the lift in a hurry and to urge to throw it away: even if the police had found it, there wouldn't have been fingerprints on it, as the killer wore gloves. Even the least experienced killer would have left the gun where it was, and would have even told the police!
Columbo: Forgotten Lady (1975)
A bitter beginning, an even more bitter ending
At the beginning of this sad episode the viewers tend to sympathize with the gentle old doctor, who's killed in his own bed by his cruel and greedy wife. At the end, the viewers sympathize with the wife, because of her tremendous progressive brain disease, and again with the old husband, because we finally understand his denial to finance his wife's ambitions. The sympathy viewers feel is the same of Columbo's, as he lets the murderer live her last months in freedom - he will show a similar sympathy many years later, in "Columbo: It's all in the game" (1993). Overall a good film, with some weak pieces of evidence, but very well acted and with a really sad ending, which leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth. 8/10
Columbo: A Stitch in Crime (1973)
A surprising ending
A very good episode, from the points of view of plot and of acting. Falk and Nimoy are great actors, they play a very good and convincing cat-and-mouse game. Dr. Mayfield never openly shows his fear of Columbo, but he's really frightened, and we see it because his moves are always a consequence of his conversations with Columbo: his suggesting the name of (poor!) Harry Alexander, the following killing of the nurse's friend, and the final operation where he tries to cancel evidence of his first attempt at murdering his colleague. The ending is really surprising, as we (and, at first, even Columbo!) would never expect such a cold but - after all - simple move on the part of Dr. Mayfield. This episode gets 9/10. I don't give 10/10 only because I'm still wondering why Columbo didn't interview the other doctor and nurses who took part in the first operation: is it believable that none of them noticed something strange in that thread? Is it possible that nurse Martin was the only one to notice it? That's the only unconvincing point.
Columbo: A Friend in Deed (1974)
One of the best plots ever
What I particularly like of this episode is Columbo's calmness and self-confidence while unveiling his own boss' faults. "Commissioner ... I think you killed your wife" - Magnificent! And how he takes advantage of the Commissioner's "advice" to drop his theory and to check out burglars, in order to go on investigating - he's apparently obeying but he's secretly preparing his trap instead. Even if the Commissioner knows Columbo very well, he seems to underestimate him, or better, to overestimate himself! After all, there must be a reason why he's the Commissioner and Columbo is just a lieutenant! The Commissioner is sure he can commit the perfect crime. He's sort of challenging Columbo. I wonder why the lieutenant didn't become Commissioner at his place after solving this case. 10/10
Columbo: The Most Crucial Game (1972)
Some missed evidence
Apart from a couple of very funny scenes - Columbo at the call girl's and his feet aching because of his new shoes - I found this film unconvincing. The motive of the murder isn't clear at all, the reason why Columbo suspects of murder is a little weak, both women's roles are not so relevant - I would say they're rather useless - and the ending is quite abrupt and unsatisfactory. But most of all: Since Culp's telephone was bugged as well as Eric's, why not checking out Culp's tapes - together with Eric's tapes? By comparing the two tapes, Columbo would have noticed that Culp's second phone call (the phone-box call) was totally absent from Culp's tapes: that absence would prove that he wasn't in his office at all when he called Eric for the second time! 6/10
Columbo: The Most Dangerous Match (1973)
Evidence comes too late
How could a man survive after being crushed by a trash compactor?
The hospital doctors, the police, and Columbo himself apparently didn't notice that, and didn't try to explain the reason why. Is that because the trash compactor stops automatically for security reasons? Yeah, got it! But...
Evidence comes too late, this time, for such an intelligent mind like yours, dear Columbo...
The hand-written Dudek's lines in Russian (and Clayton had luck Dudek didn't add something like "my darling" or "honey" eh eh): OK, Columbo can demonstrate where that ink comes from, but can't explain the content of such lines ... Was Dudek forced to write, or blackmailed? Did Clayton employ some trickery to convince his enemy to write those lines? Perhaps what lacks here, dear Lt. Columbo, is a little deeper insight into the romantic affair between Clayton and the Russian girl.
Apart from that, some very enjoyable scenes (Columbo's dog and the chess match in the restaurant above all): 7/10.
Columbo: Dead Weight (1971)
Too predictable
I've just seen this episode for the first time, and I think it's one of the worst Columbo movies I've ever seen - though Falk's performance is always a pleasure to see. IMHO it lies on the script. The ending is too predictable. I found it strange that Columbo didn't go and see what was at the exhibition much earlier, most of all when the murderer tells Columbo that he lost his gun and he provided a copy for the museum. Columbo usually checks out everything, he isn't so naive to believe in everything he's been told. Had he seen the gun at the museum, he would have found that the gun was original and had been used recently ... and, in fact the film would have ended much earlier! But we must wait for the coming out of the corpse to be sure that someone was actually killed - why not looking for disappeared military men among the general's entourage immediately? Why does nobody claim the sudden disappearance of Dutton? However I appreciated the actors' performance - especially that of "Helen", very good acted though her changes in attitude - according to the script - are too quick and far from believable. 6/10