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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 276736" data-attributes="member: 23">Dagger Of The Mind / Requiem For A Falling Star <img src="https://i2.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/dagger-titles.jpg?resize=558%2C372&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 543px" /><img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzAxYzgzZGMtMGEzNS00ZTFiLWE3MjUtYzA2YzExYzQwOGMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk0MjU0MzU@._V1_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 492px" /> <img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzVmMTAyNWQtNjFjMi00ZjJhLWI4YWItYTA4MzE0NDNiZWU5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDM1MzYzMzc@._V1_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 533px" /><img src="https://i0.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/requiem-2.jpg?resize=610%2C488&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 496px" /> A thespian-themed double-bill featuring larcenous luvvies of stage and screen across two continents. The opening shots of Dagger Of The Mind featured London landmarks and streets. My first thought was that they’d be second unit, with the Universal Backlot, carefully located L.A. locations and various indoor sets standing in for London itself. It was a nice surprise on Columbo’s arrival to be treated to scenes of Peter Falk in London itself. So much fun to see him weaving in and out of a crowd of what I assume are genuine tourists with his little camera. I wonder if the series was a hit in the UK by this time? There’s some terrific early Seventies Britain in display, with chrome galore on all the old Triumph Toledos, Vauxhall Vivas and various other old runarounds that haven’t been seen on our roads in many a year. And most of the Brits here aren’t as stereotypical as usually depicted on American TV. There’s a little diversity in accent, and also many genuinely British actors. Still, up to a point we’re seeing a Hollywood version of Great Britain, in which characters live in charming old country piles and take tea every afternoon. But then the affluent characters into whose word Columbo stumbles in every other episode hardly represent average Americans, so why not. There’s a notably different tone between the scenes shot in grey old London and those shot in the warmth of the California sun. It’s easy to see that almost all of the scenes with Honor Blackman/Richard Baseheart/Arthur Malet/Wilfred Hyde-White were filmed in LA (most of them, ironically, being British actors). The grand old English manor in which Sir Roger and his faithful butler live is very obviously somewhere within driving distance of Universal. While some actors appear in scenes shot in both countries, there was one definite recast for the different locations. The Detective Chief Superintendent’s Jaguar XJ6 was “played" by a different car depending where it was filmed. Apart from the obvious differences in their surroundings, they could most easily be differentiated by their different wheel trim and different tyres (the UK car has a much broader white tyre stripe). Also, the LA car has badges on the grille and a prominent aerial on the boot. I think the Morgan might have undergone a similar “recast”. All the same, they were close enough, and the continuity of taking something from one world and placing it in another is appreciated. It all helps with the illusion. In addition to the London and LA locations, there were also some interiors. It was these that gave the only moment in the whole show that felt amusingly like “Americans attempt traditional British accent” (Richard Basehart’s mid-Atlantic accent notwithstanding). After the performance of Macbeth, a few different people came up to congratulate the couple on their performances or invite them to join a party or whatever. They were played by walk-on actresses who it was presumably felt could do a passable enough British accent to get away with one line. And I suppose they did. Just. Naturally, this gruff American officer coming to study British police techniques at New Scotland Yard created an enjoyable culture clash in addition to the usual “mistaken identity” thing where he is mistaken for anything other than a police officer. There’s his introduction at the airport with the business of him losing his luggage and getting into trouble by attempting to pick up cases that look like the one his wife has loaned him, resulting in random ladies’ clothes ending up all over the floor. It’s also worked into the usual increasing irritation of the killers. By episode’s end, Columbo’s “sorry to bother you” patter has expanded to an apology for angering them, with him adding “maybe it’s my accent”. continued... </blockquote>

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