The Lt. Columbo Forum

An area where fans from all over can ask each other questions and voice their own ideas and opinions on anything Columbo.

This Forum is fondly dedicated in memory of  "cassavetes45"  (Carleen Zink),
Columbo's greatest fan and a great friend to us all.
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The Lt. Columbo Forum
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Re: Re: Re: Comments on "Playback"

The fact that the majority of suspicion must fall on Oskar Werner's character because only somebody with a thorough and detailed knowledge of the layout of the house could have committed the murder, makes this episode even more enjoyable.

The episode uses a pleasing chunk of ironical effectiveness to allow Columbo to use technical gadgetry to get his proof, in the same vein that Oskar Werner constructs and executes the murder of his mother-in-law.

The checking of the time and reference to the time by the murderer to/infront of people is a bit lame here (it was used in previous episodes like "Suitable For Framing" and it is as overused as the car that adds some mileage on its clock so that the murderer can get to and from the scene of the crime - seen in "Etude in Black", "Candidate for crime" etc.).

I liked the sombre conclusion as Columbo pensively switches off the monitor that shows the incriminating invitation on the desk as the murderer's wife looks on in total disbelief....great stuff!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Comments on "Playback"

yeah i was looking at the end and gina rowland is looking at colombo and the look on his face is of one of feeling really bad because now shell be really alone and that she is better off

Re: Comments on "Playback"

Regarding inconsistencies in this and other episodes, I'll try to paraphrase something Harold Van Wyck said:

"The more elaborate a murder plot is, the more prone it is to plot holes. We have to accept these little problems from time to time."

Re: Comments on "Playback"

The more I watch this episode, the more I like it. The beauty of this episode is that it feels real. You think that maybe Harold does have SOME feelings for Elizabeth and that his lavish spending on gadgets is, in his mind, necessary. His brother in law defends the company's performance by agreeing that its mainly due the recession, so you think maybe be is an egomaniac running the company into the ground, but he isn't totally incompetent. So like all family problems, it's not a black and white situation. Fe house and the actors are all beautiful, making it fun to watch. (Gena Rowland's looks like a movie star!)

A few things...

1) The cameras were motion/light/heat activated only. They did not record all day and would therefore stop recording after the murderer left the room.
2) Harold's explanation that the cameras were installed in the house to prevent a robbery of the safe, and not a murder, is ingenious and makes the whole plot plausible.
3) Martha Scott's threat to put her silly son in charge of the company shows that she was also fallible, and gives us reason to be more understanding of Harold's motives (although we certainly can't condone the murder).
4) the most interesting part of movie not explored was Elizabeth saying that she should become temporary chairwoman. Obviously, she knew there were troubles but why would she step over her brother when her brother was already a company executive?
5) worst part of movie is columbo's statement that his wife does "painting by the numbers". This is cringe-worthy and does not fit into the character of the clever Mrs. Columbo that's been hinted at previously.

Re: Comments on "Playback"

why would she step over her brother when her brother was already a company executive?

I think her Mother had already clued her in that she wasn't happy with how Harold was running the company.