Just One More Thing: Étude In Black

Notes and screenshots for Étude In Black: Originally broadcast on September 17, 1972, starring John Cassavetes as killer conductor Alex Benedict, Blythe Danner as his long-suffering bride Janice, Myrna Loy, some weird kid, and, of course, Peter Falk as Columbo.

"A ruthless symphony conductor murders the brilliant pianist with whom he is having an affair. Lt. Columbo is on the case."

-IMDB Summary

"Daniel Avery (the-toast.net) joins Jon and RJ to discuss “Etude in Black,” which features John Cassavetes as an orchestra conductor who murders his mistress/concert pianist. It’s up to Columbo to unravel how and why the maestro staged the woman’s death as an apparent suicide. Also involved- his long-suffering wife, Blythe Danner; her very, very wealthy mother, Myrna Loy; a precocious neighbor kid; and a drunk, hothead trumpeter.

Also discussed (among other things):

– Avery’s wonderful essay, The Case For Making Columbo America’s Doctor Who.

– That time Cassavetes, Falk and Ben Gazarra went on The Dick Cavett show in 1970 and were kind of drunk jerks."

-RJ's episode summary

Listen to the original podcast episode here:

Episode 3: Murder is Bad, but Suicide is Sadder with our guest Daniel Avery (formerly Mallory Ortberg).

Étude In Black

Season 2, Episode 1

Directors: Nicholas Colasanto (Coach!), John Cassavetes, Peter Falk

Writers: Steven Bochco, Richard Levinson, William Link

Falk collaborator Cassavetes plays a classical symphony conductor with a simultaneous yen for shtupping the piano player … and murder! 

Falk and Cassavetes also take turns behind the camera. NBC requested that this episode be stretched out from a 90 minute runtime to a full two hours, meaning something like an additional twenty minutes had to be shot. There’s a scene in Cassavetes’ character’s mansion which is probably wholly a product of these two creative people.

Speaking of the mansion. dumb trivia/coincidence: The mansion is a location in LA called The Bundy House and was used, among other shots, as the governor’s mansion in the opening of the 1980s Robert Guillame sitcom Benson. Likewise, Columbo first appears in this episode in his veterinarian’s office, and the name on the vet’s door is … DR.BENSON! Dunh Dunh dunnnnnnh!

Myrna Loy plays the symphony’s patron in a manner from a whole other era of film. I love Myrna Loy, but she’s definitely bringing a whole different sensibility of performance to this role than any other actor.

Tremendously hilarious voiceover/redubbing from a character named Sgt.Meyer, who seemed to be speaking through his nose inside a bathroom accessible only through a tin-can telephone. 

Next episode: The Greenhouse Jungle