"Columbo" The Conspirators (1978)

Director:

Leo Penn

Writers:

Howard Berk (written by)
Pat Robison (idea)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

13 May 1978 (Season 7, Episode 5)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

An IRA terrorist executes an arms dealer he considers traitorous; Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Arms Dealer | Weapon | Irish | Murderer

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Clive Revill	...	Joe Devlin
Jeanette Nolan	...	Kate O'Connell
Bernard Behrens	...	George O'Connell
Michael Horton	...	Kerry Malone
Albert Paulsen	...	Vincent Pauley
L.Q. Jones	...	Gun Dealer
Deborah White	...	Angela
Sean McClory	...	Captain
Michael Prince	...	Michael Moore
Donn Whyte	...	Leach
Johnny Silver	...	Tow Truck Driver
Carole Hemingway	...	Herself (as Carole Hemmingway)
Tony Giorgio	...	Harry
John McCann	...	Brandon

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:11 (2007) (DVD) | Denmark:15 (2007) (DVD) | Sweden:15 (2007) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (2007) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Final episode of the original "Columbo" series. Peter Falk would return to his most famous role in 1989.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Joe Devlin originally agrees to purchase 500 M-11's for $300.00 per unit. However, when the deal is delivered in the Hotel Room, Mr. Pauley agrees to deliver 300 M-11's

Quotes:

Joe Devlin: Politics makes liars of us all, lieutenant.

Movie Connections:

References San Francisco (1936)

Charming and likable final Columbo episode in the original series

This 1978 Columbo episode has immense historical value: it was the last episode in the original series and it is certainly well worth watching.

The outstanding feature of this case is the wonderful interplay between Columbo and the murderer, Joe Devlin. Clive Revill gives a charming performance in his role as an outwardly typical Irish man - witty, fun-loving and jovial - whose transformation from a youthful terrorist in Ireland to a writer in America has not been total. In fact, there are one or two memorable moments when he mutters aggressively to himself after Columbo speaks to him (notably after they meet for the first time).

The two main characters get a massive amount of screen time together, thus ensuring that the episode bears at least one trait that made the Columbo series so successful - the development of the relationship between the detective and murderer. Their scenes together in the Irish pubs are really enjoyable and it's almost like the script-writer is giving you a "time-out" from the serious stuff in the episode....

Columbo's last words in this story as he replicates the murderer's scratching of the whiskey bottle and his dialogue are "this far..and no farther"; perhaps a thinly veiled reference to the fact that he was hanging up his mac for good....well at least until 1988!