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"Columbo" Playback (1975)
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showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips"Columbo" Playback (1975)
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
David P. Lewis (written by) &
Booker Bradshaw (written by) ...
more
TV Series:
Original Air Date:
2 March 1975 (Season 4, Episode 5)
Plot:
A gadget-happy inventor murders his mother-in-law; Lt. Columbo is on the case. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
Excellent early Columbo more (15 total)
Cast
(Episode Complete credited cast) | Peter Falk | ... | Columbo |
 | Oskar Werner | ... | Harold Van Wick |
 | Gena Rowlands | ... | Elizabeth Van Wick |
| Robert Brown | ... | Arthur Meadis |
 | Patricia Barry | ... | Francine |
| Martha Scott | ... | Margaret Meadis |
| Herb Jefferson Jr. | ... | Baxter |
| Trisha Noble | ... | Marcy Hubbard |
| Bart Burns | ... | Thompson |
 | Steven Marlo | ... | Policeman |
| Joe Ohar | ... | Attendant (as Joe O'Har) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
USA:73 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied)
Company:
Fun Stuff
Quotes:
Harold Van Wick:
Mother dear, have you done something to your hair?
Margaret Meadis:
No?
Harold Van Wick:
That's what I thought.
more
Soundtrack:
Ballade No.1 in g-minor, op.23 more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (15 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for "Columbo" (1971)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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Related Links
| Main series | Episode guide | Full cast and crew |
| Company credits | IMDb TV section | IMDb Crime section |
| IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Especially in its early years, the Columbo series often showcased modern technology - the IBM Selectric typewriter (yes, before it was obsolete, it was brand new), the Betamax years before it was available to the public, the digital watch, and in this episode, Playback, it's home gadgetry. In order to help his wheelchair-bound wife (Gena Rowlands), her husband (Oskar Werner) has outfitted their home with doors that open when one claps one's hands, etc. He also has a state of the art security system complete with videotape, which he maneuvers in order to show the killing of his mother-in-law, who's about to close down his business, but not her killer, while he's out for the evening. Columbo finds it terribly convenient that the killer managed to avoid the camera. A little too convenient.
Werner makes an excellent villain. He's smooth as silk, and all the more of a sleaze due to the soft and sympathetic portrayal of Gena Rowlands, who seems to truly love this philanderer/murderer. By the time Columbo's through with him, though, he's toast. A really wonderful entry in the series.