How to Dial a Murder story
Film and game-loving mind control (or, as the doctor tells the detective, "life control") seminar guru Dr. Eric Mason uses two trained Doberman Pinschers, Laurel and Hardy, to maul his "best friend" Dr. Charlie Hunter to death. Hunter had been having an affair with Dr. Mason's now-deceased wife, who Mason may also have murdered. Final clue/twist: When Columbo realizes that the dogs were trained to react violently when a certain word is spoken, he has a long conversation with Mason, hoping Mason’s ego will compel him to use the word while they talk. This does happen. Columbo secretly recorded the conversation, and when the tape is played to the dogs they again react with savagery. Columbo figures out the word is "Rosebud". Columbo confronts Mason and provokes him by telling him of all the mistakes he made. Mason orders the dogs to attack, by saying "Rosebud" sharply and pointing to Columbo. However this time the dogs play with Columbo instead of attacking him, as he had arranged to have them retrained by a dog behavioral specialist. Directed by: James Frawley. Story by: Anthony Lawrence, Tom Lazarus.
17 total · 2 choice · 8 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| how to murder someone and get away with it | choice | The self-help seminar guru Dr. Eric Mason executed an elaborate plan to kill his longtime friend without getting caught. He trained two Doberman Pinschers to react violently in response to hearing the secret word "Rosebud". He then manipulated the friend into saying "Rosebud" in the lone presence of the dogs, giving the friend's resulting death by mauling the air of a freak occurrence. One gathers that he would have gotten away with his crime not been for the meddlesome Lt. Columbo. |
| the desire for vengeance | choice | The villain of the story Dr. Eric Mason killed his longtime friend to pay the friend back for having had an affair with his wife. It was also suggested that Dr. Mason arranged for his wife to drive off a cliff to her death for cheating on him. |
| betrayal | major | The villain of the story Dr. Eric Mason killed his longtime friend to pay the friend back for having had an affair with his wife. |
| classic films | major | Eric's passion for classic films, and for "Citizen Kane" in particular, became his undoing when Lt. Columbo tricked him into recording the secret word, "Rosebud", that Eric had trained his dogs to respond violently to. |
| collecting objects | major | Dr. Eric Mason was a film memorabilia junkie. An entire room in his home was dedicated to such curios, which included the iconic "Rosebud" sled from the movie "Citizen Kane". The iconic gate from the same movie served as the main gate to his property. |
| extramarital affair | major | The villain of the story Dr. Eric Mason killed his longtime friend to pay the friend back for having had an affair with his wife. |
| friendship | major | The plot turns on Dr. Eric Mason killing his "best friend" Dr. Charlie Hunter to avenge a past transgression. |
| law enforcement | major | The bumbling but sharp-witted homicide detective Lt. Columbo was tasked with solving the following alleged murder mystery: Was the fatal mauling of Charlie Hunter by two Doberman Pinschers an unfortunate freak occurrence, or did someone, perhaps even a longtime friend hellbent on revenge, carefully arrange for the dogs to tear Charlie to pieces? |
| medical occupation | major | The villain of the story Dr. Eric Mason was a self-described "life control" psychologist. He told to a paying audience that people are conditioned by words from birth with the idea that they'd learn about methods to free themselves from the control of words in his seminars. He spoke of the practice of "gestalting" to Columbo. A physician gave Dr. Mason a routine heart examination. |
| pride goes before a fall | major | Dr. Eric Mason was supremely self-confident in his ability to manipulate and outwit Lt. Columbo. Like anyone foolish enough to pit themself against Columbo, he was brought low in the end. |