Murder by the Book
- Episode aired Sep 15, 1971
- TV-PG
- 1h 16m
When one member of a mystery writing team wants to break from his less talented partner, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.When one member of a mystery writing team wants to break from his less talented partner, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.When one member of a mystery writing team wants to break from his less talented partner, he becomes the victim in a real-life murder mystery.
- Theatre Patron
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- Theatre Patron
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- Theatre Patron
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- Woman at Theatre
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- Hot Dog Vendor
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- Theatre Patron
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- Theatre Patron
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- Delivery Driver
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSteven Spielberg was just 24 when he helmed this episode. He had to be approved by Peter Falk before being allowed to direct. The two had a meeting beforehand and Falk was immediately won over by the young director's enthusiasm.
- GoofsWhen Columbo makes Joanna Ferris an omelet, he says: "I'll tell you what the secret is to a good omelet -- no eggs, just milk." She laughs at Columbo's mistake. [In the original script, the line is: "The secret is just eggs, no milk."]
- Quotes
Lieutenant Columbo: Suddenly I thought of something. How clever that first murder was. The phone gimmick, working late in the office - brilliant.
Ken Franklin: Are you awarding gold medals today?
Lieutenant Columbo: Yes. For the first one. Not for the second one. That was sloppy. Mrs. Melville, she'd have been very disappointed.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 24th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1972)
Ken (Jack Cassidy) and Jim (Martin Milner) have together published some very successful murder mystery books starring Mrs. Melville--a Miss Marple-type character. However, Jim wants to end their partnership and write on his own, as he's both tired of Mrs. Melville and he's been doing almost all the writing. Ken decides to deal with this by murdering his old partner. But it's not a spur of the moment killing....Ken thinks he's very clever and thinks by planning it out and staging it properly he'll no doubt get away with the murder. However, as often is the case, he underestimates the police....and especially Lieutenant Columbo.
This installment works very, very well. Most of it is because Cassidy made an excellent villain...very smug, superior and self-assured. And, this might be why although this was NOT the first completed episode of the series, it was moved to the front...most likely to make a strong impression on fans.
- planktonrules
- Aug 10, 2019
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- Tödliche Trennung
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