Tonight's TV: Columbo: "Murder By the Book" (1971) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

The highly anticipated COLUMBO Blu-ray set from Kino Lorber Studio Classics is being released later this month, just in time for holiday gift-giving.

COLUMBO: THE 1970S, featuring Seasons 1 through 7, will be released on December 19th.

Included in the set are both the 1968 and 1971 pilots, and there's also a shorter cut of the episode "Etude in Black" (1972).

The episodes in the 20-disc set were remastered in 4K by Universal.

Although I've seen bits and pieces of COLUMBO over the years, I've never actually watched the series. Thus, this set is something akin to a big box of candy for me, between knowing how much others appreciate the show and looking forward to seeing the guest stars.

And what guest stars they are! It seems like an endless list of golden era film stars mixed with some big TV names. I'd list them here, but I decided not to peek ahead so I can enjoy being surprised by the guest cast as I watch each episode.

I debated whether to start with the pilots or the series' first "official" episode, "Murder By the Book," and landed on the latter. I chose it for several reasons, including having seen the opening minutes at some point in the past.

This episode also features early directing work by Steven Spielberg and features two favorite actors of the era, Martin Milner (ADAM-12) and Jack Cassidy.

As a child I saw Cassidy perform in a 1974 concert with his then-wife Shirley Jones at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, while on a family road trip vacation, so I've always remembered him fondly. He tragically passed away just a couple years later.

The opening sequence of "Murder By the Book," with the constant "clack clack clack" of a typewriter, is strikingly directed by Spielberg. It will also be quite nostalgic for anyone who grew up in the typewriter era; I owned and used a typewriter for many, many years.

My only quibble with this episode, written by Steven Bochco (HILL STREET BLUES), is more of a "me" issue. I love procedurals, but I don't enjoy watching the crime take place; the anticipation and worry for the victim make me nervous. And in this case, the crime takes 15 of the episode's 76 minutes!

It's well done, but it's quite a long sequence, and it's a few more minutes after that before Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) makes his initial appearance. Once he shows up I relaxed and completely enjoyed the show, including the character's famous little last-minute comments and questions as he's about to leave a room.

Cassidy is perfectly oily as the murderer; incidentally, that is not a spoiler, it's known from the first minute or two of the show. I enjoyed watching his increasingly impatient interactions with Columbo, who appears a little slow on the uptake but is actually very observant.

An additional pleasure is that the episode, filmed by cinema great Russell Metty, has some wonderful location work, including Big Bear Lake and the Tail o' the Pup hot dog stand in Los Angeles.

You can see photos from my visit to Tail o' the Pup last year here. The stand is now in a different location than it was in in 1971, but the stand itself is the same. I suspect I'm going to really enjoy the show's glimpses of L.A. as I knew it in my childhood years.

I plan to watch the next episode, "Death Lends a Hand" (1971), in the near future, and at some point I'll also back up to the two pilot shows.

The COLUMBO: THE 1970S set contains a handy episode guide with color photos. There are optional music and effects tracks for each show.

The set's 20 discs are contained in five plastic cases, each with a different cover photo of Peter Falk. A word to the wise: Open the cases carefully the first time, as some of the discs in my set weren't secured and could have fallen to the ground if I opened the cases the wrong way.

As I mentioned here in an "Around the Blogosphere This Week" news roundup, Kino Lorber was forced to remove the extensive additional extras originally planned to accompany this release. Kino Lorber is unable to comment further on the reasons for the unexpected change.

"It is what it is," as the saying goes; while the changes were disappointing, not least to Kino Lorber, what's left is quite enough. The "Murder By the Book" print looked and sounded great.

I'm quite excited about this collection and looking forward to watching my way through it. I anticipate reviewing additional selected episodes here in the future.

Update: "Death Lends a Hand"; "Dead Weight"; "Suitable for Framing"; "Lady in Waiting"; "Short Fuse"; "Blueprint for Murder"; "Etude in Black"; "The Greenhouse Jungle"; "The Most Crucial Game"; Dagger of the Mind"; "Requiem for a Falling Star"; "A Stitch in Crime"; "The Most Dangerous Match"; "Double Shock."

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray set.

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