TV show line-ups didnt come much stronger. Of all the Columbo villians, he had the most disagreeable disposition I can remember. Top-class conductor Alex Benedict (John Cassavetes) has it all: big house, beautiful wife and a wealthy mother-in-law. Did Coach from Cheers direct this episode? And while its a relatively minor gripe, I cant help thinking Cassavetes couldve tried a little bit harder to look like he really knew how to conduct an orchestra. Nicholas Colasanto directed tude in Black, but Cassavetes and Peter Falk are both listed as uncredited directors. But not so with Columbo. This Columbo episode is one of the better and perhaps one of my personal favorites. The flower puts him at the scene, but the time isnt indicated. The Mozart piece is the end of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, not one of the symphonies. The aggression displayed by Columbo here was dialled right down when he returned to screens three years later Episode synopsis - Columbo Etude in Black Musical Maestro Alex Benedict (John Cassavetes) has a problem - and one that threatens his glittering career as a celebrity conductor. So grab your conductors baton and get ready for fun with Falk, Cassavetes and support cast of stars that includes James McEachin, Blythe Danner and Myrna Loy PLUS DOGS DEBUT! Columbo in the wax museum at the end of Dagger of the Mind. The. Well, probably. Joining Peter Falk were screen icons John Cassavetes and Myrna Loy, as well as future superstar Blythe Danner. But Columbo is doggedly determined to investigate the likelihood it was murder.after all, he read the script and it IS the "Columbo" show! Finally, he returns the car and scrambles back to his dressing room. Ive never seen the shorter version of Etude, but writer Bochco and Falk himself both admitted that the extra running time did it no favours. There is only one red herring Audreys pointing the finger at Paul instead of Benedict and I dont recall anything specific following that line The moment anyone sees that carnation, Benedict is a dead duck. Cassavetes shorter haircut is testament to it being filmed weeks later and cut in to bump up the running time. Hes certainly no match for this chap. (Not to mention that Benedict goes into the house with the carnation off, and emerges with it on.). S02:E02 - Etude in Black The mistress of a symphony conductor plans to go public with his extramarital activities. Producer/writer Dean Hargrove was brought in to write additional scenes to pad out the length. He also has a girl on the side, concert pianist Jenifer Welles. Giles, youre perfectly right that Columbo could have solved the case within the first half hour but wheres the fun in that?! Unfortunately while the Japanese Bluray set includes the original version its only in SD with HD reserved only for the padded version. In memoriam: the Columbo stars we lost in 2022. tude in Blackis the first episode of the second season of Columbo and the tenth episode overall. The whole show is generally subtle, including Falks demeanor. I love watching Columbo with his beloved dog who he never names in the series. Alas, we are stuck with Conductors who cannot conduct, musicians who cannot sync their pretend playing with actual music, magicians who rely on comic book magic tricks (Im looking at you, Great Santini) and directors who dont know what they are talking about (vis--vis Alex Bradey). None other than Jennifer Welles, of course. I dont think Benedict would cave in on the evidence of the lapel flower.. they shouldve had the mechanic say something admirable about the car, Does anybody know who played the mechanic Mike Goodman. #Columbo #ltcolumbo #peterfalk #classictv #70s #1974, Colombo gets to fanboy in the company of silver screen icons Grace Wheeler and Ned Diamond in Forgotten Lady. Actors, whaddayagunnado? 656. Of course, Columbo becomes as interested in classical music as he does anything else involving a crime. Sadly, Alex's mother-in-law also happens to be the Patron-of-the-Arts and is pretty much the purse string that Alex's career hangs by, so leaving his wife by any means is not an opinion so, despite the ultimatum only having two choices, Alex plumps for a third murder. House Boy: Pat Morita Benedict hatches a dastardly plot to rid himself of the ivory tinkling trouble-maker. Not the greatest episode, but the Lieutenant scrubs up a treat Just before she accompanies Columbo and Alex into the screening room to watch the incriminating video, Janice Benedict's hair is swept up in a bun behind her head. And if she loved her pet cockatoo so much, why would she allow it to die of gas poisoning too? If you are not familiar with these great classics, do yourself a favor and check them out. I heard that John and Peter were good friends. Blythe Danner plays the semi-suspicious wife, Myrna Loy her rich mother and James Olson a trumpet-playing former beau of the mistress. But, Im not surprised because Ive have heard, more than once, that he was sort of an egomaniac as an actor and, difficult to deal with, in real life. He never moved his hands with the correct timing of the music and, his overly dramatic directing, made him look like a swordsman, aggressively attacking his musicians. Why would someone so talented and beautiful want to take her own life? Danner, who was pregnant with daughter Gwyneth Paltrow at the time, was sympathetic without ever being pathetic. Too bad for him our rumpled detective, Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk), is on the case. Regular Norm (George Wendt) murderer in Strange Bedfellows, and Guest star James Read murderer in Uneasy Lies the Crown. the wife in Greenhouse Jungle(she was equally annoying in the final Star Trek OS episode), Justin and Coop in Columbo Goes To College, that poker playing douche bag constantly doing impersonations in Uneasy Lies The Crown, Ida Lupino and her zombie cult sidekick in Swan Song, Mrs. Peck in Double Shock, Alvin Deshler in Negative Reaction (horrible acting), George Wendt in Strange Bedfellows . But unfortunately, this is not one of the best. After repeatedly saying how brilliant so many Columbo episodes are, it's time to honour an episode with maximum points. #Columbo #ltcolumbo #peterfalk #classictv #70s #1975 #janetleigh #fanboy, Columbo confronts Joan Hudson in Prescription: Murder. While Columbo is in the veterinarian's office having his dog vaccinated, the music from the classical concert heard from the television is the fourth movement (Rondo-Allegro) of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's famous "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (A Little Night Music). And while Etude was the first of these longer episodes, it suffers less than some that followed it because,unlike subsequent long episodes, Etudewas originally intended asa regular-length transmission. She refuses to lie for him, saying murder is one betrayal too far. I agree it is not note-perfect, the scene with Myrna Loy and the fogies is very badly played and one or two of the clues were a little too obvious too early especially the carnation at the scene of the crime(which the mystery revolves around) and while I loved the chemistry between Columbo and Benedict I personally would've liked more mind games between the two perhaps. Murder Case (Season 6, Ep. Benedict doesnt have a flower in his lapel during the concert. Add the obvious flower with the even more obvious change in mileage on Benedict's car and I'm surprised it took Columbo more than 15 minutes to solve this murder. But you can't fool forensics and eventually you can't fool Peter Falk. Cassavetes is the celebrated conductor of an acclaimed symphony orchestra in the Leonard Bernstein tradition who is having an affair with a young pianist Anjanette Comer. The LA Philharmonic did some unusual and innovative programs even back then. And, last but not least, we welcome Dog into the fold. Studio Stella 0. Lovely stuff. Hes an English actor, his accent is a North Western one and sounds Mancunian to me. User Ratings The instinct of the dancer is to dance, not to act, thus a simple act of taking a sword off a table would become some kind of whimsical Bob Fosse review. Look! he points out during a freeze frame. He drops the flower from his lapel while carrying Jenifers body into the kitchen. Hours pass Safely back at the Bowl, Benedict is informed that one of his musicians hasnt showed up for the concert. The main problem for me is that the audience notices the missing carnation almost at once (check the freeze-frame on Benedict looking down in horror at his empty lapel). See production, box office & company info, Splendid "Columbo" episode, with a razor-sharp script and lively performances, 14540 Erwin St, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA. That poignant moment, when he whispers his love for her is very moving. I can see why this series has such a following. colsy. (as Dick De Benedictis) (music score) Cinematography by Harry L. Wolf . The main problem for me is that the audience notices the missing carnation almost at once (check the freeze-frame on Benedict looking down in horror at his empty lapel). Myrna Loy, who was one of Hollywood's most popular stars in the 1930s, has a secondary role here. Not sure if other releases match but the Japanese discs of Columbo all include the original version of Etude in Black in addition to the padded version. Youre da greatest, You can read my thoughts on Etude in Blacks top 5 scenes right here, Tags: Alex BenedictBlythe DannerDick De BenedictisDogEtude in BlackJames McEachinJanice BenedictJohn CassavetesLieutenant ColumboMyrna LoyNicholas ColasantoNick ColasantoPat MoritaPeter FalkStephen Bochco. But not so with Columbo. Leaving his Jag at a grimy mechanics shop, Benedict gets a lift to the Hollywood Bowl with wife Janice to begin his prep for the evenings symphony. House Boy: Pat Morita So far so good, then, but does Etude in Black live up to the hype? The calibre of the supporting cast was suitably grand, too. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0460878/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t8. Danner hardly says anything, but her increasing look of disgust, despair and sadness (which of course started when she realised it was strange how he could recite Welless phone number) was arguably the best acting in the entire series, And I know Benedict comes across as an arrogant show off, but I believe he truly loved his wife and simply wanted to prevent her from pain, i.e. Interestingly its similar in tone to Make Me a Perfect Murder and these are the only two episodes where the killers act more or less purely because of the love they have for their lover. Still, its length is not the sole reason why Etude remains on the fringes of my Columbo favourites. The lovable mutt would go on to win the hearts of millions of viewers and theres plenty of fun to be had during his debut as Columbo struggles to get to grips with the responsibility of pet ownership. If anything, I find the scenes with Columbo and the dog pretty amusing. The trouble? For more than 40 years, Peter Falk entered living rooms around the world as Lieutenant Columbo, an unconventional L.A. homicide detective known for his rumpled raincoat and trademark cigar. He also engineers a solid alibi (the concert, plus his car is being worked on at the time). And, last but not least, we welcome Dog into the fold. Those episodes are damaged by the longer running time because scenes become a bore something thats largely avoided in Etude. Because he often wears a carnation and had just taken his coat off, he might simply have assumed the one on the floor was his and picked it up. The stories had a tendency to sag and the potential to loseviewersattention. That way, Benedict would have far less wriggle-room in a court of law. The Japanese dvds and Blurays also include isolated music tracks for several episodes. Alas, we are stuck with Conductors who cannot conduct, musicians who cannot sync their pretend playing with actual music, magicians who rely on comic book magic tricks (Im looking at you, Great Santini) and directors who dont know what they are talking about (vis--vis Alex Bradey). Not the greatest episode, but the Lieutenant scrubs up a treat The chemistry between John and Peter Falk is beyond amazing and you can probably tell that they were great friends of the set as well. For one thing, its very likely Columbo spots the flower straight away. Think of Carsinis real-time car manoeuvringin Any Old Port in a Storm; the endless garage investigation scene in Candidate for Crime; and the agonising wait for the computer printer in Exercise in Fatality. Calling the Benedicts to the Hollywood Bowls recording studio to watch some video tapes of the previous concert, Columbo makes his case. Lest we forget, he takes a heck of a lot of chances getting to Jennifers house from the Hollywood Bowl, wearing an extremely conspicuous outfit as he jogged about in broad daylight, and then parking his extremely memorable car right around the corner from the victims house! Although all signs point to a suicide, little things immediately bother Columbo. Since so much of motion capture is imagining props, scenery and characters that dont exist, mimes were the best at playing make believe in a realistic way. #Columbo #ltcolumbo #peterfalk #classictv #70s #1975 #janetleigh #fanboy, Columbo confronts Joan Hudson in Prescription: Murder. 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