Before he was known for making blockbusters about sharks, aliens, and dinosaurs, Steven Spielberg had the honor of directing an episode of “Columbo.” His contribution to the series, “Murder by the Book,” is the first regular episode of the long-running drama following two successful TV movies, and it helped get the show off to a flying start. In fact, Peter Falk — who plays the series’ titular crime-solver –- was so blown away by Spielberg’s directorial style that it made him rethink how television could be made.
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As he once told “Pebble Mill at One” in an interview:
“I knew this guy was exceptional. The show with Steven Spielberg was the first time in my acting career that I did a scene in which I was unaware where the camera was. In television, the camera is always right there. And we did a scene, and he said ‘Action,’ and we started to shoot, and in the middle of the scene I said, ‘Where the hell is the camera?'”
Falk explained that Spielberg had the camera set up in a second story window in a building across the street, noting that it was uncommon for directors to shoot that way back then, especially in the realm of television. That’s when Falk knew that Spielberg was too talented for television and would go on to do even greater things afterward. Spielberg, meanwhile, viewed “Columbo” as an opportunity to bring a cinematic style to the television medium.
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