Columbo: Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star

I caught the references to Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe.

Good thing Shera Danese married Peter Falk, as she sure can't act.

John Finnegan has played janitors, waiters, bums on the street, and other characters. Now all of a sudden he is the chief of police. I don't buy it.

Dislike it when Columbo's legal "superiors" don't get what he is getting to. With his track record there should be much more believability.

Superb episode. Extremely difficult frame-up by brilliant defense lawyer picked apart step by step by Columbo, until he is stumped by a seemingly foolproof alibi. The way he cracks it, and the manner of proving it provides for one of the most shocking and fabulous Columbo finales of all. Dabney Coleman is really good as the murderer, who thinks he can arrogantly get away with anything because of his unbeaten record as a murder defense lawyer and his powerful connections in the system. It seems to give Columbo an extra desire to get him, and you can hear the joy in his voice when he finally gets the last laugh and nails him. However, I do wish Falk had not included his wife Shera Danese in six episodes. If ever there was a case of nepotism, this was it. As superb as he was as an actor, that is how bad she was as an actress. But if that was the price to pay for enjoying Falk's immense talents in 68 Columbo episodes, I'll gladly pay it. However, after reading the other reviews, I realize that many people missed the main clue (e.g., eralan_uk), which ruined the whole episode for them. Without including a spoiler here (as I have carefully avoided them in all my reviews, so viewers can have advance notice of the quality of the episode beforehand), allow me to add this critical info. If you miss one cryptic early allusion to it, you will not be able to figure out how a person can create a complex fake alibi for a murderer, yet not suspect him as the murderer until after the fact. The answer is that the person unwittingly created the alibi, thinking it was for some other purpose, and only put two and two together after the fact. So pay careful attention when that person first reveals their suspicions to the murderer, as she briefly explains what she had been asked to do earlier, and how that led to her current suspicions. The full meaning of her cryptic comments only become clear later on, when the fake alibi is revealed.

At one point in this episode, Columbo arrives to the scene of the crime to examine some champagne corks. It's raining outside and he's let in by the maid who is extremely annoyed by his presence. He comes through the door wearing a black trucker cap reading NFI in big white letters. This is the episode my great-Uncle Marty told me about when I was ten years old, visiting him in Malibu with my brother and grandmother. He told my brother and I that he and Peter Falk had hung out at some point, and that Uncle Marty had been wearing this NFI hat (I don't have any idea where he got it). Peter Falk, being an inquisitive guy, asked my great uncle, "So, ah, what does NFI stand for?' to which Marty answered, "No F------ Idea!" Peter Falk apparently thought this was so funny that he just had to wear the hat in the episode he was currently filming! My great uncle even showed us a picture of him and Falk together wearing matching NFI hats! We always liked this story but, because he never told us the title, we could never find the episode and I was starting to think it didn't really exist until very recently I found it in the complete Columbo set! This probably means nothing to anyone else but it made me hoot with joy! Overall a fun episode with one very special scene of Columbo examining corks and questioning an angry maid all while wearing an NFI hat. Now where do I get one of those hats?

PLOT: A middle-aged lawyer (Dabney Coleman) learns that his companion, a former rock star (Cheryl Paris), has been having an affair at his beach house with her former drummer, but he can't throw her out without great compensation due to her threats to expose his illegal tactics. So he murders her at the beach house, framing her lover. Shera Danese plays the attorney's assistant, who wants a piece of the pie. Little Richard has a bit part.

COMMENTARY: This is a solid episode of the revival series highlighted by Coleman's arrogant lawyer locking horns with the disheveled detective and a case dependent on distinctive wine bottles and a dubious speeding ticket in Pasadena. The striking Denese was Peter Falk's wife for 34 years (until his death) and appeared in six episodes of the series.

GRADE: B+

This Columbo story has Peter Falk assigned to a double homicide of a former rock star who is the live-in mistress of wealthy defense attorney Dabney Coleman. Coleman has a reputation of never losing a criminal case. But mistress Cheryl Pais has enough information on Coleman and his methods that could ruin him. Still he wants her out of his life and he'll get her out one way or another.

Several years earlier a new word entered the English language courtesy of Michelle Triola Marvin and her attempts to collect alimony from Lee Marvin whom she lived with but never legally married. Her victory started a flood of those kind of suits and palimony became a word.

Coleman arranges the murder of both Pais and the guy she's been seeing on the side. Being a criminal lawyer he knows how to do it. He's even got a suspect suitable for framing.

One thing about this episode that had a different twist. Usually Columbo has to insinuate himself with the object of his suspicions to get close to him. Here Coleman uses whatever pull he has to get close to Columbo, the better to keep the eye on the investigation.

Coleman even has an alibi cooked up courtesy of his new law partner Shera Danese. You have to see what it is and how Peter Falk blows it apart at the climax.

Coleman who has taken a patent out on playing these smarmy characters is at his smarmy best in this Columbo story. Great to see him taken down.