Tonight's TV: Columbo: "Dagger of the Mind" (1972), "Requiem for a Falling Star" (1973) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

My latest COLUMBO viewing, thanks to Kino Lorber's Blu-ray collection, consists of a 1972 episode, "Dagger of the Mind," and the 1973 show "Requiem for a Falling Star."

As has been the case with other episodes, the location filming is one of the show's most interesting aspects. "Dagger of the Mind" was, unusually, partly filmed in London, although the murder victim's mansion was the Graystone Mansion in Los Angeles.

Richard Basehart and Honor Blackman play a pair of British actors starring in a new theatrical production of MACBETH when they unintentionally kill their producer, Sir Roger Haversham (John Williams, DIAL M FOR MURDER), in a struggle.

They sneak his body out of the theater and stage things to look as though he died in an accident at his country mansion. But Columbo, visiting Detective Durk (Bernard Fox) at Scotland Yard, has suspicions that all is not as it seems.

This was probably the weakest episode I've seen to date. I loved seeing the sights of London in the background, but the Basehart and Blackman characters were simply unbelievable to me. One would think they'd be wracked with guilt, yet they cackle with glee and seem to thoroughly enjoy "getting away with it."

Perhaps, though, it shouldn't be a surprise given that Blackman was "romancing" the producer for his money, with Basehart's encouragement. They're clearly not "normal" people, as also evidenced by Basehart's character seemingly slipping off into another dimension once found out...

All in all, this episode was surprisingly tedious, but I suppose even COLUMBO has its clunkers.

The cast also includes Wilfrid Hyde-White (MY FAIR LADY) as a blackmailing butler. Former actor Richard Quine directed, from a script by Jackson Gillis. The episode was filmed by Geoffrey Unsworth and Harry Wolf.

The same writer, director, and cinematographer Wolf also worked on "Requiem for a Falling Star," which I liked much more. It's not perfect -- for instance, I felt at times that the always disarming Columbo was too obsequious around movie star Nora Chandler (Anne Baxter) -- but it has a great cast and interesting story.

Nora is upset with her secretary Jean (Pippa Scott) and Jerry (Mel Ferrer), a reporter, who are having an affair, and causes a car explosion which kills Jean. Nora is shocked when she learns of Jean's death, as she meant to kill Jerry. Or did she?

This is an unusual episode as the plot and motivations are not all in plain view for the viewer at the outset. Some of the story is not revealed till the end, so I'll be silent on that aspect, but I found it a very interesting reveal.

The cast, which also includes Kevin McCarthy, John Archer, and Frank Converse, is terrific; there's even a surprise appearance by famed costume designer Edith Head! And the location filming is wonderful.

One of the show's creative ideas is that Nora lives in a bungalow on the studio lot, given to her in appreciation decades before when she was the studio's biggest star. There are many fun views of the lot as the characters walk from the bungalow to the soundstages.

I've mentioned past episodes showing many locations I'm familiar with, including the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the Tail o' the Pup hot dog stand, Balboa Island, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery, to name a few.

In this case I got a big kick out of the appearance of the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City (seen here), where Nora and Jerry meet for an important discussion.

I've been to the Sportsmen's Lodge exactly twice -- both times to have lunch with James Garner. No kidding! They were small events held by his official fan club in the '80s; I sat next to him at one of the parties. So I have very happy memories of that location, and it was fun to see it turn up on COLUMBO.

Previous COLUMBO posts: "Murder By the Book" (1971), "Death Lends a Hand" (1971), "Dead Weight" (1971), "Suitable for Framing" (1971), "Lady in Waiting" (1971), "Short Fuse" (1972), "Blueprint for Murder" (1972), "Etude in Black" (1972), "The Greenhouse Jungle" (1972), "The Most Crucial Game" (1972).

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this collection.

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