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Columbo: The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case (1977) Directed by Sam Wanamaker

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 11:51 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , , ,



(Review originally written at 31 January 2009)

"Columbo: The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case", how great sounding is that? If it weren't for its title though this would be a pretty forgettable Columbo movie entry. It just isn't the most interesting or best written Columbo entry around.

It's a slightly odd Columbo movie, that features a bunch of people with a brilliantly high I.Q. Those kind of people often are a bit eccentric and off, as gets portrayed in this movie. It makes the movie overall entertaining to watch. This however goes a bit at the expense of the movie its story.

It's just not the best written story to ever be featured in a Columbo movie. Its murder plot is far from tight, which is odd, since it's being committed by a man with one of the highest I.Q. in the world. It's also not a story that is being made interesting by it's main plot, that is pretty average and follows the usual familiar Columbo-formula. Columbo doesn't have to do much detective work in this movie to unravel the murder-plot and capture the killer. This is a bit disappointing and doesn't give the Columbo character enough room to be his usual self.

For a '70's Columbo movie it also surprisingly is lacking in stars, playing opposite Peter Falk. Not that Theodore Bikel is bad in this movie but having a big name playing opposite Peter Falk often gives the movie something extra and also makes the movie more interesting and entertaining to watch. Sure, the movie features Kenneth Mars and Jamie Lee Curtis but their roles are very small and insignificant. It actually was one of Jamie Lee Curtis her first acting jobs, before she reached fame one year later by playing the lead in John Carpenter's "Halloween".

It's a quite slow Columbo movie and even though the movie is barely over an hour long, the movie feels much longer. It doesn't help to raise this movie above the level of average. It has a nice ending on the other hand though, which quite honestly is among one of the best to be ever featured in a Columbo movie.

Watchable but not quite as good and interesting as most other Columbo-entries.

6/10

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Columbo: Swan Song (1974) Directed by Nicholas Colasanto

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 6:04 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,

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(Review originally written at 9 July 2008)

This is quite a special Columbo movie, not because it's very original or is of exceptional quality but because it features famous singer Johnny Cash as the murderer.
Of course Johnny Cash also plays a musician in this movie and he more or less plays himself. This is always an handy and safe approach when you work with an actor that is not really an actor in the first place. As a matter of fact, Cash spends halve of the time singing in this movie.
Besides Johnny Cash and Peter Falk the movie, among others, also features Ida Lupino. Columbo movies often featured movie stars from the 'old days'. Ida Lupino actually also starred before in the other previous Columbo movie "Columbo: Short Fuse". Lupino is best known for the work she did in the 40's, with movies such as "High Sierra", "The Sea Wolf" and "They Drive by Night" on her resume.
The movie is directed by Nicholas Colasanto, who also directed the most excellent Columbo movie "Columbo: Étude in Black". That movie was mostly great since he left the two main leading men, Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, lots of room to improvise and do things their own way, rather than being hold down by a script or directed. But of course with a movie that stars non-professional actor Johnny Cash you can't really afford to choose this approach, even though he obviously still gave some of the other actors some room. The directing for this movie also most certainly is not bad, it's actually quite great but it can't really touch "Columbo: Étude in Black". Nicholas Colasanto himself by the way still better known to the world as an actor, who portrayed the character Coach in the hit-series "Cheers", right till his death in 1985.
Nicholas Colasanto's directing style on the other hand has as a consequence that the movie is slow moving in parts and you have the feeling at times that Colasanto's overdid it perhaps at times with his directing approach.
An all in all good Columbo movie, that is obviously especially worth watching for the fans of Johnny Cash.
7/10


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