10 Made-For-Television Movies That Are Actually Worth Your Time

8. Murder By The Book (1971)

Columbo is an oddity among TV series: every episode is a TV movie. This put the show at an advantage; the writers and directors had more time to unfold Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk)'s cases than other TV writers & directors. As a result, the Columbo series was a perfect training ground for beginning directors and writers, including Steven Bochco (who later created Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue) and Steven Spielberg. Bochco & Spielberg teamed up for Murder By The Book. Murder By The Book's story is the best in Columbo's file. A novelist (Jack Cassidy) kills his writing partner (Martin Milner) when his partner says that he wants to break up the group. The murderer stupidly follows a plot that he wrote down and left in his partner's office. Lt. Columbo doesn't get to search the office for most of the movie, but that's okay. In the meantime, we get to see Falk & Cassidy verbally spar several times, and we get to see Cassidy commit another murder (sort of; the murder occurs off camera, but it's implied). Most of the Columbo TV movies are typical TV movies; it's fun to see Peter Falk embody the Columbo character (which he does perfectly), but the plots and filmmaking are sub-par. Murder By The Book is a rare exception. Bochco's teleplay shows his strength at developing characters and suspense, which would become Bochco's trademarks. And, of course, Spielberg's talent shines through. There are some awkward scenes, but you can tell that the awkwardness was due to studio interference and not because of Spielberg.