Columbo: Dagger of the Mind (1972) Directed by Richard Quine

(Review originally written at 3 April 2008)

It's sort of funny how all the Columbo movies with a late Columbo appearance are also among the worst of the series. This movie also further more has some serious pacing problems. It often takes far too long for something to happen For instance the murder investigation doesn't start off until 25 minutes well into the movie. The movie could had also used some more interaction between the Lieutenant and the two suspects.

The movie has a fine cast with some good actors in it. Like often, they are mostly actors who were great in the past. Honor Blackman is one of those (Pussy Galore from "Goldfinger") and so is John Williams, who plays the victim in this movie, who is best known for his roles in a couple of Hitchcock movies. Sort of ironic that Richard Basehart, who has never been really known as the greatest actor, plays a Shakespearean actor in this move. Baseheart is still perhaps best known as the opening narrator of the '80's hit-series "Knight Rider", starring the immortal David Hasselhoff.

It's a nice change that this Colubmo movie is set at a complete different place this time but you can also actually wonder if it really adds anything that this Columbo movie is set in London, instead of the US. It's sort of funny though how Columbo behaves all the more clumsy in this foreign strange world for him. But just leave England to the English detective series/movies, me says. It's a complete different atmosphere, that doesn't really seem suiting for a Columbo movie, even though most of this movie got filmed back in California.

Of course the movie is also filled with the usual British stereotypical elements, which perhaps also makes this a sort of a tiresome and also unoriginal movie to watch. It's also part of the reason why the comical relief in this movie feels sort of weak and simple.

A rare miss in the successful long running series of Columbo movies.

4/10

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