Product Details

• Actors: Peter Falk, Gene Barry, Katherine Justice, William Windom, Nina Foch
• Directors: Richard Irving
• Writers: Richard Levinson, William Link
• Producers: Richard Irving, Jerrold Freedman
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303186866
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,604 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They just dont make them like this anymore., February 7, 2003

By 

Stephen Kaczmarek "Educator, Writer, Consultant" (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Columbo: Prescription for Murder (The Premiere Collection) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

People forget that "Columbo" started out not as a 1970s TV series, but as a single TV movie in 1968 that pitted an arrogant genius against a streetwise bulldog of a detective. Falk is wonderful as a criminal's worst nightmare-a rumpled little man who disarms his opponents with his cheap suits and scatterbrained demeanor. In "Prescription: Murder," Columbo is considerably more polished-and aggressive-than in the TV series in his attempt to take down a psychiatrist (played regally by the always-polished Gene Barry) who's murdered his wife in what he thinks is the perfect crime. The production is sumptuous for television fare, with sets and color that rival cinema productions of the time, and even if all of the Columbo telefilms essentially copy Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder," the story is quite satisfying. As was standard for the time, the best part of "Prescription: Murder" is watching two great actors spar with each other in a plot that is more chessmatch than car chase. They just don't make them like this anymore.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Pilot, September 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Columbo: Prescription for Murder (The Premiere Collection) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first installment of the Columbo series is an interesting look at an early version of the classic Columbo persona. Falk plays a detective a little more obviously clever than later incarnations of the character, and one a little more willing to show anger. A doctor, with the help of a struggling actress, kills his aging wife. Columbo soon finds the actress is the weak link. The doctor, played by Gene Barry, is a particularly egotistical adversary. This is one of the best. END

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pilot....A Must-See for all Columbo Fans, November 7, 2001

By 

Lesley M. Schultz "msthoth" (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Columbo: Prescription for Murder (The Premiere Collection) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I don't know if this made-for-TV movie was intended as a series pilot, as it isn't obvious from the way it was put together, but whether it was or not has nothing to do with the quality of the film. It's excellent. We have been accustomed by now to expect the rumpled-looking, cigar-smoking, affable-but-apparently-ditzy detective "with just one more question, sir/ma'm..." These qualities exist in the pilot but not at all to the same degree. This earliest Columbo is a much more clever-seeming man, with less of the schtick we've come to know and love, and more of the raw power of his intellect and his relentless probing energy. Columbo badgers a reluctant witness/accomplice!!!! I don't think we ever see that again in any of the rest of the series. That scene absolutely takes one's breath away, used as we are to a much gentler, more cajoling manner-even with the miscreants [or perhaps especially with the miscreants.] Gene Barry, who plays the criminal mastermind, does an excellent job as a conniving, almost evil adulterer (...). He is a psychiatrist, and we are treated to a psychological reading of why Columbo uses his camoflague of the wrinkled raincoat, the sheepish expression, the shy and affable but continual pestering. I won't reveal what it is, but it is interesting. Columbo takes it for what it's worth, and the audience will too. If you are a Columbo fan, I highly recommend viewing it.