Columbo: Dagger of the Mind (1972) (TV)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (teleplay)
Richard Levinson (creator)

Release Date:

26 November 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Lilian Stanhope and Nicholas Frame are two actors in London. They have to act in Macbeth and the producer is Sir Roger Haversham who is Lilian's lover...

Plot Keywords:

Wax Museum | Detective | Murder | Police | Actor

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Lt. Columbo
Richard Basehart	...	Nicholas Frame
Honor Blackman	...	Lilian Stanhope
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Tanner
Bernard Fox	...	Det. Chief Supt. William Durk
John Williams	...	Sir Roger Haversham
John Fraser	...	Det. Sgt. O'Keefe
Richard Pearson	...	Diver
Arthur Malet	...	Fenwick
Harvey Jason	...	The Director
Ronald Long	...	Mr. Jones
Hedley Mattingly	...	Customs Man (as Hedley Mattingley)
John Orchard	...	Country Constable
Peter Church	...	Constable
Walker Edmiston	...	Gardener

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005)

Filming Locations:

Imperial College Library, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England, UK

Company:

Universal Studios

Trivia:

The phrase "dagger of the mind" comes from the dagger soliloquy in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The sign outside the theatre advertises "In memoriam of Sir Roger Haversham" which means "In memory of of (sic) Sir Roger Haversham".

Quotes:

Nicholas Frame: Most people, Columbo, have frightful taste, yourself included.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Columbo: Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Pass Me By

Columbo matches wits with Scotland Yard

In this Columbo episode, it features Honor Blackman (who denied a C.B.E.) and Richard Baseheart as an aging acting couple. The wife, Lilian Stanhope, played deliciously by Honor seduces a powerful older British gentleman to produce Macbeth for them to star in so they are not washed up like most actors and actresses in their predicament. Anyway, the plot is more like Macbeth and the film could be useful in an English class if you're teaching Shakespeare's Macbeth. Anyway, I have always enjoyed watching it from beginning to end. Let's not forget Wilfred Hyde-White who should have been knighted in the episode. Anyway, Columbo is a guest in their country and he becomes wrapped up in the investigation. While others have assumed it's just a robbery gone awry, Columbo always comes through. It's fun watching this delectable group of characters and props like an umbrella. It's great to see London location. I believe apart from the Mexican cruise that London was the only other place that Columbo got to travel too.