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There are few television shows as warm and comforting as "Columbo," the long-running mystery series starring Peter Falk as the eponymous detective. Each episode begins with a murder, and the fun isn't trying to figure out whodunnit but instead watching Columbo put together the pieces and catch the bad guy. Whether you're watching one of the original 1970s television episodes or one of the movie-of-the-week "episodes" that came out all the way through 2003, you can sit secure in the knowledge that Columbo will probably take the rich and powerful down a peg or two and be almost impossibly lovable while doing it. Despite the fact that Peter Falk wasn't originally the series' creator's choice to play Columbo, he is what makes the show so incredible watchable as he seems to aimlessly wander through crime scenes in his rumpled trench coat and ruin criminals' days with his trademark "just one more thing.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The 1970s was the Golden Age of American TV movies and mini-series. Fortunately, many of these long unseen titles have been surfacing again on home video and streaming services. I'll admit that memories of the very good ones had somewhat romanticized my recollection of the TV movie genre in general. Upon viewing some of the titles today, they don't hold up as well as I had hoped, but even the weakest remain quite entertaining. "One of My Wives is Missing" is definitely a lesser entry in the TV movie cycle. In fact, I had never heard of it until I came across the title on Amazon Prime and decided to give it a go. The film was telecast in 1976 and has a good deal of talent associated with the production. The show was produced by the powerhouse team of Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. The screenplay was by Peter Stone,...

1954: CBS daytime soap opera The Secret Storm premiered.

1980: CBS aired the final episode of Love of Life.

1980: The Edge of Night's Nola admitted she was Mrs. Corey.

1994: As the World Turns' Holden and Lily reunited in the bell tower."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1954: The Secret Storm premiered on CBS. The daytime soap opera was created by Roy Winsor. Read "Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'" here.

After 20 years, CBS canceled the show with the final episode...

1954: CBS daytime soap opera The Secret Storm premiered.

1980: CBS aired the final episode of Love of Life.

1980: The Edge of Night's Nola admitted she was Mrs. Corey.

1994: As the World Turns' Holden and Lily reunited."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."

― Machiavelli

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1954: The Secret Storm premiered on CBS. The daytime soap opera was created by Roy Winsor.

In the weeks leading up to Snake Eyes’ release in August of 1998, my dad and I had gone together to see Lethal Weapon 4, There’s Something About Mary and The Negotiator. Both action titles were forgettable fare, but were a big deal upon release. (Riggs and Murtaugh vs. Jet Li! Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey conversing via walkie-talkie!) Brian De Palma‘s Snake Eyes with dad was the next order of business. The theater was packed because adults frequented the multiplexes not so long ago. You’re all of 10 years old, Nicolas Cage’s recent output – The Rock, Con Air, and Face/Off — has been terrific, and something seemed off with this new one. You remember leaving the theater not disappointed, but with little to discuss with dad on the ride home. Dad passed away in 2013, long after the Gary Sinise villain era and a few years before...

Brian De Palma brings his impressive bag of technical tricks to the craps table for "Snake Eyes", an otherwise unremarkable, decidedly ungripping suspense thriller set against the sleazy backdrop of Atlantic City gambling.

While the veteran filmmaker is in fine form, all the visual dazzle in the world can't gloss over the spoken drivel that pours from the picture's hackneyed script, even with actors as good as Nicolas Cage and Gary Sinise attempting to breathe some life into the tired cliches.

Given Cage's current hit streak, "Snake Eyes" should draw some initial business but likely will not emerge as a boxoffice high roller.

Things kick off promisingly enough with an extended set-up sequence orchestrated as a continuous Steadicam shot following wheeler-dealer Atlantic City detective-on-the-take Rick Santoro (Cage) making the rounds before a pay-per-view heavyweight boxing match.

Joining him is his old buddy, naval Cmdr. Kevin Dunne (Sinise), a seeming pillar of virtue who in his current job is responsible for the security of the Secretary of Defense (Joel Fabiani), who's attending the bout.

The inevitable shots ring out, the defense secretary is assassinated and the arena is sealed as 14,000 fans become possible suspects and witnesses.

Dunne becomes discredited and Santoro takes charge of the subsequent investigation. Slowly, he begins to unravel the tangle of evidence, presented in multiple-viewpoint "Rashomon" style, that points to a nasty little conspiracy.

The trademark De Palma touches abound -- the continuous, painstakingly choreographed shots, the split-screen sequences, the visual Hitchcock quotes, the scantily-clad females -- with a few fresh flourishes added to the mix. The impressive opening aside, there's also a clever overhead pan of the interiors of adjoining hotel rooms that neatly evokes the surreal artificiality of the whole casino environment.

But as much as he attempts to dress up David Koepp's script, De Palma still can't take it anywhere. Koepp, who collaborated with De Palma on "Mission: Impossible" and "Carlito's Way", contributes more of a blueprint for De Palma's fancy footwork than a three-dimensional screenplay. Everything feels warmed-over and lazily derivative. The characters seem to be there only to spout plot exposition rather than to exchange any actual, personality-defining dialogue.

As a result, most efforts made by the actors to elevate the material end up taking them very close to over-the-top, particularly Cage and Sinise.

Most of De Palma's assembled technical staff have worked together many times, including director of photography Stephen H. Burum and editor Bill Pankow. Their work here, along with production designer Anne Pritchard and costume designer Odette Gadoury, is, as usual, undeniably eye-catching.

SNAKE EYES

Paramount Pictures

A DeBart production

A Brian De Palma film

Director: Brian De Palma

Producer: Brian De Palma

Screenwriter: David Koepp

Story: Brian De Palma & David Koepp

Executive producer: Louis A. Stroller

Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum

Production designer: Anne Pritchard

Editor: Bill Pankow

Costume designer: Odette Gadoury

Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Casting: Mary Colquhoun

Color/stereo

Cast:

Rick: Nicolas Cage

Kevin: Gary Sinise

Julia Costello: Carla Gugino

Gilbert Powell: John Heard

Lincoln Tyler: Stan Shaw

Lou Logan: Kevin Dunn

Jimmy George: Michael Rispoli

Charles Kirkland: Joel Fabiani

Ned Campbell: David Anthony Higgins

Mickey Alter: Chip Zien

Running time -- 99 minutes

MPAA rating: R...