Columbo: Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Our old friend, and cover boy for Tanning Quarterly, George Hamilton is front and center here. He has stepped on the toes of a guy who is out for revenge. Apparently, George did a porno film in his youth and the guy is blackmailing him. Hence, a murder plot using cigarettes and a deadly poison. George's character is a huge TV personality on a true crime show. He is arrogant and smug and in danger of losing his cash cow. The problem involves some cigarette butts he used. The victim was a chain smoker, leaving himself a target for the killer. George also uses a surveillance tape to cover his tracks. Of course, Columbo knows it's him quite quickly, but he has to gather evidence. It's a well made episode with some nicely put together deductions.

Real crime show Crimealert (think Crime Watch) host Wade Anders has not got to his position by being a nice guy and letter the better man get a fair crack at the whip. So when he was going for the job of host against the much more experienced Budd Clarke, he was sure to drop lots of remarks to the producers about how unsuitable a character Clarke was for the show's image. His remarks (and more) worked and he won the gig, much to the ongoing annoyance of Clarke. Years later and Clarke has returned to tell Anders to quit the job and arrange for him to take over in his place – or else he'll break the story he has uncovered that will reveal that a pre-fame Anders made a porno film. Unwilling to let his life be ruined, Anders puts poison in one of chain-smoking Clarke's cigarettes and waits. With him dead all is good but when Lieutenant Columbo is assigned the case and can't seem to get over one or two minor details, it looks like it won't be over any time soon.

Starting with the usual "perfect" crime, this Columbo film sticks well to formula as our hero picks up on some small clues missed by everyone else, gets his sights on a main suspect and doggedly goes after his man until the end – much to the annoyance of the suspect. With this film the actual crime doesn't totally ring true in terms of logic but mostly it works in the context of the film and it sets up a series of flaws to hook Columbo. After that it is the usual cat and mouse pursuit, "one more thing" etc until the resolution; by sticking to this formula the film works well and produces plenty of the material than fans will enjoy. At points it is unconvincing (would Anders' porno really have not come to light years earlier?) but generally these concerns are lost in the sweep of the film and they don't detract too much. The solution is a clever one and an enjoyable example of Columbo's skills as an investigator.

Falk is as good as ever in the lead role and delivers his usual mix of scruffiness, deductive skills but also showing a nice touch with the comedy aspects. Hamilton is a solid guest star and he works well with Columbo – getting frustrated by him, trying to hold it together but generally being closed in on. The two men work well together and their chemistry is part of the formula working here where perhaps it wasn't so good in other "new" Columbo films. With the lead two carrying most of the weight the support cast are only OK but does throw up a few surprises. Gilborn turns up with his usual reoccurring (but pointless) character while the presence of Penny Johnson in a small role caught me off guard as a 24 fan.

Overall this is one for the fans, who will enjoy it because (like the 1970's films) it sticks closely to formula. The story is good and is developed well throughout – all the way to a conclusion that is a satisfying demonstration of how sharp Columbo really is (as opposed to some endings that come out of nowhere and don't show him actually picking at it). The two leads are solid and work well together and the end result is a Columbo film that stands up well with the best of them – engaging, interesting, funny and typically Columbo. Well worth seeing (and this from someone who greets all the "new" Columbo's with suspicion and slight dread).

George Hamilton plays Wade Anders, the host of a show very similar to "America's Most Wanted". The show is a big success and things look great for Anders...until an old enemy shows up to see him. It seems that a TV news man was also up for the job of host of this show....and he's bitter about Anders beating him out in becoming the host. But the news man has something on Anders...he has just discovered early in his life, Anders starred in a porno film...and the news guy has a copy and plans on using it!

With the destruction of his career a strong possibility, Anders hatches a mostly ingenious plan to murder the guy. However, of course, the plan is NOT perfect and Columbo is on the case....so sooner or later he's bound to get caught.

The crime is really neat and well thought out. But the actual execution left out some important details...so see the show and see how Columbo catches him. Well worth seeing and quite enjoyable.

I sort of liked this Columbo movie its atmosphere, which was real thriller like and its approach even at times reminded me of film-noir, in the movie its first 30 minutes or so. It's really nice and done in a good old fashioned way, with the right camera angles and use of light. It doesn't mean instantly that this movie is a brilliant one though but its solid enough to consider this a good late Columbo movie entry. It's definitely a better movie than the average 'later' Columbo movie entry.

26 years after his previous Columbo movie appearance, George Hamilton returns once again to play the main lead opposite Peter Falk, again as the murderer, in a total different and new role of course. I liked him in his role and he was a good Columbo 'villain', who gave the good old Lieutenant some good competition. They had some nice sequences together. Problem with the 'modern' new Columbo movies always sort of had been that it didn't feature a good well known actor opposite Peter Falk. This movie obviously doesn't suffer from this problem. But I must say though that this movie doesn't feature Peter Falk at this best. He has certainly played the character better and his performance isn't quite consistent enough within this movie, which is probably also due to he movie its director Daryl Duke, who also directed the really dreadful movie "Tai-Pan", among many other projects.

It has a rather good and enjoyable story but the fact that the same sort of plot to cover up the murder had been used before in an earlier Columbo movie also doesn't help of course. It got used before in the 1975 movie "Columbo: Playback". Nevertheless it of course also still has plenty enough 'original' moments of its own with its story, even though of course in essence every Columbo movie is more or less the same. But oh well, that is what made the Columbo series so great and consistent. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

It also is true that within this movie more clues than usual are left out for the Lieutenant, which doesn't mean that the movie its murderer is more stupid or sloppy but I more see it as the writers being more overly enthusiastic than others. It doesn't make the movie or story bad and it in fact perhaps even makes it more enjoyable, to see Columbo hard at work and discovering all kind of small but important clues. Luckily the movie is also filled with some enjoyable effective relieving Columbo-comedy.

Simply a good late Columbo movie entry.

7/10

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Yes got to be one of the best titles of an episode of not just Columbo but any other crime mystery shows. Anyway enough of the title, for what it's worth here's my assessment. I agree with most of what is said by other reviewers on here. Hamilton is as brilliant as ever- not quite as good as his previous episode but still a typical Hamilton performance that holds his own with both Peter Falk and Haskell- who is only in it for a short time due to being the victim- also great.

But I do agree that there are clumsy bits especially the beginning setting up who the character is by dialogue (explaining how he got job etc to someone who already knows) a big no no. Don't think it's ever happened in another Columbo new or old certainly not to this low degree. And the clumsiness of the murderer himself any wonder Columbo picked this up straight away. Even I and other non detectives would. And it borrows the cigarette trick from Agenda for Murder and re working tapes from Playback (and a couple of others too) so not exactly original. But what makes it great is that the originality of Columbo and his sleuthing is on full display.

So writing and set ups and ending not perfect but performances and style are. Overall a good classic.