Title: "Etude in Black"
Directed by: Nicholas Colasanto
Written by: Steven Bochco (teleplay), Richard Levinson and William Link (story)
Air Date: September 17, 1972
Previous: Blueprint for Murder
Next: The Greenhouse Jungle
Guest Starring: John Cassavetes, Blythe Danner, Myrna Loy
"Etude in Black" is the first episode of the second season of Columbo.
Alex Benedict (John Cassavetes) is an orchestra conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with a lovely and very rich wife, Janice (Blythe Danner, mother of Gwyneth Paltrow), and an even richer patron in the person of Janice's mother, Lizzie Fielding (Myrna Loy). His life is complicated however by the presence of his gorgeous mistress Jenifer Welles (Anjanette Comer), a concert pianist in Benedict's orchestra. One day, Jenifer gives Alex an ultimatum: either he divorces his wife or she'll tell her about the affair. Alex chooses to take a third option, murdering poor Jenifer and staging her death to look like she committed suicide by gas oven while he was conducting a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Unfortunately for Alex, Lt. Columbo is on the case.
Directed by Nicholas Colasanto, who was a decade away from getting hired to play Coach on Cheers. Pat Morita has a bit part as Benedict's manservant. This episode marks the first appearance of Columbo's dog. Peter Falk was famously an old friend and collaborator with Cassavetes, an influential director within the independent film scene; two years after this episode Cassavetes would cast Falk as the male lead in A Woman Under the Influence.
Tropes:
- 555: Jenifer's phone number is 555-7921.
- The Alleged Car: More jokes about Columbo's battered old Peugeot. He follows Benedict to the auto shop where Benedict's car was being serviced. The mechanic takes one look at Columbo's and says "Have you thought about getting a new car?" and states that they only service foreign cars anyway. When Columbo tells him that it IS a foreign car, the mechanic declines, saying "There are limits, mate."
- And Starring: Myrna Loy gets the "Special Guest Star" credit. As she deserved!
- Armor-Piercing Question: Columbo reveals that Alex was missing his flower (which he wears for every performance) during the concert, but had it after visiting Jennifer's house. Alex tries to claim he put it on in his dressing room, to which Columbo retorts "Why would you put it on after the concert?" Alex struggles to come up with a response, which convinces Janice of his guilt.
- Artistic License – Law: A particularly egregious example of Columbo's extremely casual attitude towards evidence. He takes Jenifer's typewriter, with the suicide note inside, to the Hollywood Bowl to sweat Alex. Then he strikes a key on the keyboard, typing another letter, to demonstrate that the letter is misaligned and thus Jenifer didn't really write it.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Pat Morita's bit part involves him speaking in a thick accent.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Alex doesn't think twice about letting Jenifer's cockatoo, Chopin, die from the gas alongside her. Columbo takes this as a clue that she didn't commit suicide, as he knows birds like that require a ton of care, so she must've been very devoted to it.
- Bludgeoned to Death: Alex kills Jenifer by pretty violently smashing her on the head with an ashtray wrapped in a cloth.
- Blunt "Yes": Columbo's response when Alex asks him if he's really going to try pinning the murder on him because of the missing flower.
- Cartoon Conductor: Alex waves his baton around in an extremely unconvincing manner.
- Conversation Cut: Alex appears at the board meeting and tells the orchestra board that Paul Rifkin couldn't possibly have done it. (He's actually trying to subtly throw suspicion on Rifkin by mentioning his assault conviction). The camera cuts to Lizzie, who says "You have a powerful friend and supporter, Mr. Rifkin." The scene has actually cut to Lizzie, Rifkin, and Columbo at Lizzie's home.
- The Dead Have Names: Lampshaded, to a sobering degree. Columbo looks through the photo album of Jenifer Welles, studying how it tells the colorful and vivid tale of her life, her accomplishments and dreams. When he compares it to the police report's dry summation of her profile, he's disheartened by how her beautiful life and wonderful personality have been reduced to an unceremonious snippet of what she was rather than who she was.
- Ethnic Menial Labor: Pat Morita has a bit part as a manservant at the Benedict mansion.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Not that it's that gory, but the camera cuts away just before Alex actually hits Jenifer with the tray, to poor Chopin the bird shrieking in terror.
- Graceful Loser: After Janice contradicts Alex's alibi, he takes a quick moment to apologize to her and tell her that he loves her before confessing to Columbo so he isn't too humiliated by being caught as well as telling him that he's a genius at his job and that he knew that it was only a matter of time when he first saw Columbo.
- The Mistress: "I don't like being a secret mistress," says Jenifer to Alex as she demands he leave his wife. She probably liked being dead even less.
- Never Suicide: Alex whacks Jenifer over the head with an ashtray. Then he stages a scene where she supposedly turned on the gas to her oven and sat down in a kitchen chair, only to slip off the chair and whack her head on the oven as she fell. Columbo isn't fooled—among other things, he questions why she would let her beloved pet bird be killed by the gas too, instead of giving it away or at least letting it outside.
- Pet's Homage Name: Jenifer named her parrot "Chopin".
- Propping Up Their Patsy: Alex Benedict announces to his orchestra's board of directors that Paul Rifkin couldn't possibly be responsible for the potential murder of pianist Jenifer Welles. Certainly, Paul does have a previous conviction of assault, but he's assuredly innocent of this crime! Alex should know, considering he killed Jenifer (and her pet cockatoo Chopin).
- Stock Footage: Of Hitler and the Nazis, no less... as Alex and his crew are scoring a documentary.
- Too Clever by Half: Alex could've avoided incriminating himself if he hadn't picked up his boutonniere flower from the crime scene and worn it in the presence of the news crews while leaving the crime scene.
