Death Takes a Curtain Call

Episode aired Dec 16, 1984
TV-PG
47m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

629

YOUR RATING

Angela Lansbury and Hurd Hatfield in Murder, She Wrote (1984)

Crime Drama Mystery

Two Soviet ballet dancers on tour in the States are wanted following the murder of a man backstage during their debut performance.Two Soviet ballet dancers on tour in the States are wanted following the murder of a man backstage during their debut performance.Two Soviet ballet dancers on tour in the States are wanted following the murder of a man backstage during their debut performance.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

629

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
This was Claude Akins's final appearance as Ethan.

Goofs
Jessica was talking on the phone and asked the person on the other end to hold the line, and then she hung up. After going to answer the door she goes back to the phone and picks it up and continues talking. With those old phones, hanging up the handset would have disconnected the call. So Jessica would have had to call the number again.

Quotes
Jessica Fletcher: Now you wait right here, and I'll go make a phone call.
[starts to leave room]
Skip Fleming: Oh, what's wrong with this phone?
Jessica Fletcher: Well, that phone isn't bugged.

Soundtracks
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
Excerpt from: "Waltz of the Flowers"
Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User reviews9

Review

Featured review

6/10

The first of the Eastern Europe defection stories.

Jessica travels to Boston, accompanied by friend Leo to see the Moscow Ballet. All is not well, as Jessica's companion behaves strangely, she soon discovers that two of the cast, Alexander and Natalia, are part of a defection plan. As the pair leave the building, KGB Agent Major Anatole Karzof is on hand to get them back, but he also has to look into the killing of one of his agents.

One of the least subtle moments in the show's history is the scene where Leo is handed a programme in the most wonderfully suspicious manner.

I'm not a massive fan of this episode, it's like a poor relation to the almost identical One white Rose for Death, which is far better. The plot I suppose would have been more relevant in the eighties, with the oppression of the Iron Curtain. Some of the Russian accents are terrible. Amos is once again overly stupid, but amusing.

The highlight of the episode is undoubtedly George De La Pena, who plays Karzof with real authority and charisma, his scenes with Lansbury are truly brilliant.

It's watchable, 6/10