Columbo: Murder in Malibu

This is the lowest I have rated a Columbo so far (haven't got to "Dagger Of The Mind" yet though!), but after twenty reviews each rating 7 or more out of 10, I have to be honest and say "Murder In Malibu" doesn't really have a lot going for it.

It's perfectly pleasant to have on in the background, but I find it very hard to sit back and concentrate on this episode without drifting off. Even though it's playing as I type, I'm struggling to describe what's going on. There's an awful lot of shouting though, that's for sure.

Very much a "filler" episode with everyone on autopilot. I can't imagine anyone ever thinking "Murder In Malibu" is their favourite Columbo.

This is the lowest score I've ever given to a Columbo episode. Andrew Stevens may be about as bad an actor as exists. If he hadn't been arrested for murder, they should have arrested him for that. The plot is stupid to start with. The guy is handsome, but the drool level all over must have required a cleaning company after women met him. Anyway, he thinks he is being exposed, so he kills his potential fiancee. He has no heart, probably a sociopath. The woman's sister, played by the overrated Brenda Vicarro, is also awful actress. The times it is played for laughs just don't work well. The final scene as they are combing through women's underwear is just stupid.

In the 1990s, the scriptwriters of Columbo started to subtly break with the common episode structures. Humorous and witty episodes like It's All in the Game or Undercover were the result. This 1990 episode was probably one of the first, where the audience was a little bit deceived because they believed to know how Columbo episodes work. Self-irony (`I've never solved a case that quickly!'), a great Brenda Vaccaro and plot twists - not only in connection with the murder! Very good work!

Good lord, this is atrocious. First the good news. Peter Falk is as terrific as always. Anybody in a scene with him in this movie pales in comparison. He is basically wasted in this thing. His sleuthing, especially toward the end, is solid.

The acting by everybody else is soooo bad, its unreal. Andrew Stevens is just beyond bad. He over acts or he's bland. There is no in between. Geez, is this really the best they could do ? The story is boring. Long winded. I was glad when this movie ended. By the time the end came i did not care. Everybody besides Falk was mediocre to pretty bad. This was painful to watch. I did like some of the ocean and beach scenery. Maybe because nobody was talking. Lol.

Best moment : there isn't one.

This was a strange Columbo story about a successful romance novelist Janet Margolin who announces on an afternoon talk show host that she's about to marry Andrew Stevens professional tennis player. Part time player and full time gigolo.

But after the show Margolin finds Stevens has been, heaven forfend, unfaithful. She cuts him off and he kills her and in a rather elaborate ruse to first raise and then throw off suspicion on himself. Not something you would think of on the spur of the moment which is the main weakness of the story.

But additionally Stevens is a love 'em and leave 'em type. Margolin is not the first I'm sure to have given him his walking papers. His kind would have gone out and found someone else. Definitely not have killed someone.

Best in the cast is Margolin's overbearing protective sister Brenda Vaccaro who despises Stevens and at the same time lusts after him incredibly. Can't really blame her, she dominates when she's on.

Interesting characters, but the plot makes no real sense.