Columbo: Ashes to Ashes

Patrick McGoohan makes his fourth appearance(and third as director) as Eric Prince, a successful mortician who caters to the Hollywood set that finds himself being threatened by an obnoxious gossip columnist named Verity Chandler who(unwisely) tells him that she plans an expose on his suspected long ago crime of a diamond necklace theft, so he abruptly kills her, then hastily substitutes her body for another due for cremation, thinking that if there is no body, there can be no crime proved, but Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) has enough doubt to inspire him to do something quite clever at the end to catch the killer... McGoohan is excellent as usual, both in front of and behind the camera, creating a sympathetic murderer you almost hope gets away with it! Morbid setting is handled with a deft touch, and this would have worked well as the series finale, but two more episodes would follow. Nice closing line(an in-joke) as well.

I am a huge Columbo fan and Ashes to Ashes is without a doubt one of my favourite episodes for many reasons. The plot is quite complex, but is explained well, has many interesting scenes, and the motive is a good one. The script is top notch, particularly in any exchange between Columbo and Eric and Verity's bitchy dialogue is a joy. As always the photography and scenery are striking, and the music is rich and haunting. Then there are the performances, Peter Falk is exceptional once again as Columbo, no surprise really he is always brilliant as the character, while Patrick McGoohan is brilliant as Eric. In fact, McGoohan is one of my favourite Columbo guest stars, and he works really well with Falk. Rue McClanahan has to work with a very strong minded and seemingly hateful character, and McClanahan conveys her with the charm she always had, not to mention her presence which is quite entrancing. The episode is also very well directed, and I was gripped right up to the final solution. Overall, first class, quintessential Columbo I'd say. 10/10 Bethany Cox

There is no doubt that Columbo's star Peter Falk loves this character. He always takes him out of the closet in a manner of speaking. Peter Falk would be knighted if he was a British actor but since he is an American actor and icon, we'll take him the way he is. I remember watching this episode with Golden Girls' star Rue McClanahan as the gossip columnist Verity Chandler. Of course, Patrick McGoohan has often been associated with Columbo whether he is directing, writing or starring. There is something addictive about Columbo. He doesn't dumb down the role or the characters. He learns just as well as we do. He is quite the detective. He always gets his man or woman and I just adore Columbo. He is always worth watching. He mixes humor and seriousness with the most serious crime of murder. His job might be murder but it sure is fun watching him get the man or woman to be caught. Even then, you kind of feel sorry for the criminal for his actions. It' the Columbo touch that you pity the criminal and love the detective.

This episode is just great...Peter Falk's acting is great. He obviously liked doing the show and it is enjoyable to watch it. I saw it several times and I love seeing it again and again. The more often you see it, the more you discover. Columbo...just great, nothing can be compared...and the "undertaker"...my sympathy was with the killer in this case. This episode is a great piece of entertainment...all the actors doing an excellent job...there are so many little things in this episode worthwhile noticing. I really do love this episode...Thank you, Sir Peter!

Walter

To be honest: I love every single episode of the 69!

Don't really know why but out of all Columbo movies this is the one that always sticked most into my mind. I think this is mostly due to Patrick McGoohan's presence, who only a few years prior to this movie impressed with his role in "Braveheart" (how did he not won an Oscar for that?).

Like many Columbo movies before, this one got also directed by Patrick McGoohan, who also once again plays the killer of the movie. Most of the McGoohan Columbo movies are some really classy made ones, that are well directed and also better than the average Columbo movie entries. You can say that a McGoohan Columbo movie is always something special, even though not all are quite as good, such as for instance the failure "Columbo: Last Salute to the Commodore". It wasn't the last movie McGoohan would direct for the Columbo series but it was the last Columbo movie he played in.

As a matter of fact this also as of yet is the last movie McGoohan has appeared in. He did some voice-work after this movie but he psychically hasn't appeared in a movie ever since. He's still alive and kicking though, so he might once pop up in a movie again, though I assume that he is enjoying his retirement. He always had some good interaction with Peter Falk within the Columbo movies, probably also due to the fact that they have been close friends for years. Peter Falk also must have felt at ease with McGoohan behind the cameras, who in return also gave Falk lots of room to play around. This really shows within this movie.

Besides Peter Falk and Patrick McGoohan, the movie also features the great Rue McClanahan, as the movie its victim. She plays a very typical role, which has become sort of her trademark, ever since her "The Golden Girls" role. It also features some other fine actors in supporting roles, such as Richard Riehle, Sally Kellerman and Edie McClurg.

It's a movie that sticks nicely to the usual familiar Columbo movie formula. It has a nice typical murder-mystery story, although Columbo murders never really have been a 'mystery', since we always know from the beginning on who got killed by who, how and why. The story by the way also partly got written by McGoohan, so this really is 'his' movie. It isn't the most fast going Columbo movie but it nevertheless always is a good and interesting to watch, since the story progresses nicely and the movie features some nice characters and actors that are portraying them.

8/10

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