"Columbo" An Exercise in Fatality (1974)

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

Larry Cohen (story)
Peter S. Fischer (teleplay)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

15 September 1974 (Season 4, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A health club owner murders one of his franchisees; Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Murder | Broken Neck | Investigation | Police Detective

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Robert Conrad	...	Milo Janus
Gretchen Corbett	...	Jessica Conroy
Pat Harrington Jr.	...	Buddy Castle (as Pat Harrington)
Collin Wilcox Paxton	...	Ruth Stafford (as Collin Wilcox)
Philip Bruns	...	Gene Stafford
Jude Farese	...	Al Murphy
Darrell Zwerling	...	Lewis Lacey
Dennis Robertson	...	Jerry
Raymond O'Keefe	...	Sgt. Rickets
Victor Izay	...	Medical Examiner
Eric Mason	...	Fred
J.R. Clark	...	Harry Lassiter
Mel Stevens	...	Dr. Freeman
Manuel DePina	...	Photographer

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Even architecture has been known to make a comeback appearance in "Columbo". A Columbo film that displays the opening street scene to "An Exercise In Fatality" on a TV monitor is "Columbo: Death Lends a Hand (#1.2)" (1971), near the beginning, in Brimmer's office.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Milo opens the door of his Rolls Royce, the film crew is reflected in the door.

Quotes:

Columbo: [early in the morning after arriving at the crime scene with a thermos full of coffee] You know, before coffee, I'm up, I'm walking around, but I'm not awake.
[grunts]

My favorite Columbo episode.

This is my favorite Columbo episode. This really ought to be on DVD, I would love to add it to my permanent movie library.

To some extent it's hard to believe that this film dates from 1974 – wow, over 30 years ago already! - since the picture quality is still quite sharp and vivid, and watching it today, you almost get the sense that time has not passed since its filming. But then of course it's quite apparent that this must have happened in some previous generation: just get a load of Milo Janus's (Robert Conrad) widely flared pants, the phone tape-recording and teleprinter equipment that today would nearly qualify for antique status, not to mention some of the huge Detroit-built cars… Also, as another reviewer pointed out, the then "state of the art" gym equipment in Milo Janus's gyms was vastly different from the rather exotic and high tech stuff you'll find nowadays in modern fitness centers.

But I love this episode so much, for several reasons. Firstly, I myself had discovered the wonderful world of weightlifting right about the time period this movie was shot (early 70's) and I really enjoyed the walk down memory lane, seeing the gym with the free-weights and stuff. I also liked the weightlifting "accident" which the perp concocted to cover the murder.

Secondly, this particular episode had much more of an aura of realism about it than other Columbo episodes. There was nothing really far-fetched about the crime – neither the motive for it, nor the execution of it, nor Janus's attempts to create a plausible cover-up. I don't know, maybe it was the way Robert Conrad conducted himself so coolly, so Teflon-coated cocky, much like in his battery commercials which some of you may remember from back then ("I dare you to knock it off my shoulder"). But it all seemed so very real.

I've seen this episode several times, and I am always struck at the palpable chemistry between Columbo and Janus: they really truly seem to loathe each other, and the scene in the hospital where Columbo very publicly confronts Janus and accuses him of the crime always seems chillingly believable. You can't help but wonder if the real actors here (Falk and Conrad) actually despised each other off the set?

The final resolution of the case (something to do with the way shoelaces are tied) was a bit extreme, but taken against the greater context in which 'whodunnits' nearly always require at least some sort of clever if not sensationalistic ending, it definitely fit the bill.

Oh, and one other thing: I always love the part where Columbo digs the evidence (in this case, several pairs of old shoes) out of his paper lunch bag. In the process he pulls out a cellophane-wrapped hunk of lord-knows-what, to which he comments, almost as if to himself, "That's just my lunch, that don't mean nothing." Bon appetit, Columbo!