I agree, it's a bad one. I'd put it slightly ahead of Last Salute though.

There's not too many times that I disagree with people on this forum, but I happened to like this one. Not sure why it left such a bitter taste in both of your mouths. I thought the way Columbo pieced it together was fine. Lilly Stanhope and Nicki Frame were arrogant people who got what they deserved in the end. I do admit however that flipping that bead into the umbrella was a highly unlikely event; and certainly as much as that umbrella was transported around, the bead that Columbo alleged fell in there from the fight - the probablity is low.

I think its a good one too (for several reasons), but to each his own I suppose. I mean, some people don't even value punctuation, but nothing could be lower than "Citizen Kane" ...


... not even the insipid 7th season episode that "salutes" it.

I watched it on tuesday (videotape) and it starts out okay but gets dopier as it goes on. Fast forwarded the sight seeing, what a waste of time.

Anyone notice the 'joke' by Columbo regarding the death of Tanner just before the killers are finally caught. I was surprised to hear it. I'm sure someone can type it up here as i cant remember it word for word.

God bless,

Matthew

All these two idiots have to do is laugh at Columbo. Instead, Nick starts babbling insanely & Lily breaks down in tears. Nick should simply say, "Lily, remember when we saw that magician at Picadilly Circus & he sawed the woman in half? I still do not know how he did it, but I know it was a trick. And so is this." After all, they know darn good & well that that umbrella has been opened all over London. No way could that bead or anything else be in it. I think Columbo was expecting one of them to blurt out something stupid like "But the bead can't be in there. It would have fallen out when Joe picked up the wrong umbrella. Oops, I mean...."

Joe

jeff if youre implying that citizen kane was no good then i think youve got more to worry about than my punctuation.

There, we've got some equal time put up in the thread title! (I resisted the temptation to just change the episode title to "Any Old Port In A Storm..." which is an episode I detest).

"Dagger Of The Mind" has great location photography, the best guest cast from top to bottom with Richard Basehart, Honor Blackman, John Williams (it would have been nice if Inspector Hubbard from "Dial M For Murder" had actually had one scene with Columbo!), Bernard Fox and Wilfrid Hyde-White, and a wonderfully atmospheric story that helps remind me of how much Columbo as a character is drawn from English literary detectives like Chesterton's Father Brown. For me, its one of my favorite non-first season episodes just below "Forgotten Lady."

I love the "Dagger". The guest murderers are hysterical together. I love it when he gets frustrated with Tanner and shoves him into the cottage. Also, I think that all the location footage is fantastic! I do agree that the bead in the umbrella is pushing things a bit. Okay, a lot. But overall, for me, this is a terrific episode!

Unfortunately i have to agree Dagger Of The Mind isn't very good although i wouldn't go as far as to say it stinks.

Well, i do agree that it's all a bit pantomime and the thespian thing with the two actors is definately OTT 'luvvy, dahling' but a real treat to see columbo in London with all the 'London things' reminds me of that Macgiver when he is in London and salutes Buckingham Palace (I think, or some other landmark)so funny Currently watching prog about komodo dragons waiting for 'now you see him' to come on CH5, happy days...

Put me down as not liking this episode. To tell the
truth, the scenes where Columbo is acting goofy
in London got on my nerves and I view them as a waste of time, but I understand that they wanted to give
Columbo some sort of exotic location. Note that they didn't try that again in any following episodes. Also the estate that the episode was filmed at was clearly in Beverly Hills or Bel Aire and didn't look English at all. Richard Basehart is a fine actor. I just got "The Andersonville Trial" DVD which I last saw something
like 30 years ago, and there are many Columbo people in it including Basehart, William Shatner and Jack Cassidy. Basehart is really great in that one when he is trying to claim he was nice to the prisoners but he ends up cracking up on the stand babbling hysterically that the starving prisoners were "like rats burrowing and burrowing, trying to dig their way out". I recommend this film to everyone.

for me, this one is the campiest of columbo episodes. the 'ham actors' who overact in their roles on stage, and also within the episode itself. but i think it is fitting that they do. the over-the-top, hammy acting seems to work well here. i love the ties to shakespeare and i love the whole england thing. (one day i'll get there. watch out, lovable ukers!! )

jeff, why the animosity towards citizen kane??? what is up with that, dude?? heck, maybe it could be tension and stress that won't allow you to enjoy and revel in that movie. try freeing your spirit a bit and let your hair down. screw correct punctuation and capital letters. believe me it can be a very spiritual and freeing experience! (ask "e"!! )

robbie, even though i don't agree with you about this episode stinking, i do know what you mean about the eyelids. sometimes what's happening on the inside of my eyelids is so much more interesting and entertaining than anything i could be watching on tv.

and let us not forget the whole syndrome of a popular tv show going on 'location' to another part of the world.
there is the big hoopla made in the previews! and it is always supposed to be such an exciting episode! but for some strange reason these kinds of 'on location' (away from the normal setting) episodes always seem to bomb. this applies to any show.
case in point!...the brady bunch in hawaii! all that stuff with the tabu and the tiki! puleaaassse..give me a break!

I agree about the "campiness" actually WORKING in the case of this one. One hard-to-forget thing is Richard Basehart's disturbing smile when he realizes they've been caught. And as far as outright funny moments, the prelude to the murder of Tanner was slightly funny, oddly enough. When Tanner says, "After you, sir," Basehart pushes him through the door in an exasperated way, almost the way Oliver Hardy would push Stan Laurel. Even though I don't usually get caught up in OTHER police shows, I remember the show "Madigan," with Richard Widmark, also having one of those episodes with the character travelling to England and working with Scotland Yard. Madigan was a "tough cop" character completely unlike Columbo, but he had at least one line that would have worked well between Peter Falk and Bernard Fox. When the Scotland Yard man he worked with made a clever deduction, Madigan said, "Wow, you're a regular English Sherlock Holmes."

Regarding Eric's comment that John Williams and Peter Falk should have had a scene together...Columbo does have a scene in the museum with the wax dummy of him...does that count? But I agree, it would have been nice to have had a "real" scene.

And speaking of the wax dummies, doesn't that wax dummy of Lily look a lot more like Beth Chadwick?

I've just been watching my DVDs of the series, and this is the first episode I felt truely uncomfortable watching. Too too campy, so stereotypically British and pretty much a contrived pantomime from beggining to end. There was nothing organic about it, it all felt a bit set up. Great actors that should have been used in a less comedic way. This really comes of as a bit of a columbo parody to me. Not awful, but certainly a weak entry in the series despite a great cast.