It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Is it the same house? Been a while since I saw those two episodes, so I can't really remember how those houses looked like.
I know that the same house was used in 'Last Salute to the Commodore' (1975) and 'Murder in Malibu' (1990), both of which were incidentally written by Jackson Gillis.
I'm about to watch those 80's/90's episodes soon. Will pay extra attention to the house in that episode! Fun to see that not only actors but houses too make a return in different episodes!
MURDER, A SELF PORTRAIT
Painter Max Barsini leads an unusual life. He lives in his beach house with his wife and his most recent model, and with his ex-wife living in the house next door. Even though they are divorced, there is some sort of unhealthy emotional co-dependency that makes her, and the other women, stick with Max, for reasons even themselves can't quite comprehend. When Barsini's ex-wife gets romantically involved with her psychologist, and threatens to disappear from his life once and for all, Barsini makes sure that she does.
Max Barsini makes for an interesting killer. His polygamy hints at the stereotypical artist's life, though of course, when stereotypes are well-handled in a story, they come to life in their own way and cease to be potentially negative aspects. Barsini's simultaneous relationships seem to stem from an intriguing, though superficially explored sense of entitlement within him. He is also shown to be temperamental, passionate. Everything he says --even his outbursts-- is phrased and delivered with a lyrical, pleasant intonation, and several of his comments are amusingly devoted to complaining about the bickering between his three female companions, as if the relationship was a situation he was forced to tolerate for reasons entirely external to him, but a situation that was completely natural, and the obvious way things should be (in fact, he says so at one point). Even when Barsini raises his voice, there is something about him that always seems fundamentally in control. There is an unwavering self-confidence in him, and some hint of a deep understanding about something, whatever it is, that makes him appear to take everything in stride.
This episode has some unique things. The main attraction are the stylized dream sequences, unusual for Columbo, especially since he and Barsini appear in them, as direct witnesses to the surreal events taking place. They are beautiful to look at, and feature intriguing symbolism set to beautiful black and white. They also provide an interesting way for Columbo to decipher the motif behind the death of Barsini's ex-wife, a means that is fundamentally psychological, and less directly related to objects, events and facts, those concrete things which are the norm in Columbo (not that they're not present in this episode, but they are definitely in second place). I will say some of Columbo's specific interpretations of the dreams, seemingly serving as subtextual threats to Barsini, are a little off-putting, given how dreams are so wide open and difficult to pin down in terms of meaning. We don't expect Columbo to make these clumsy observations, even if they are mere suggestions and not statements made with full confidence.
Another interesting thing in this episode is a conversation scene on the beach, in which Columbo questions the two surviving women of Barsini. Without notice, the scene cuts between these women being interviewed by Columbo, in the same place but at different times, so the back-and-forth taking place between Columbo and them unexpectedly switches gears and forces the viewer to recontextualize the dialogue. On the subject of dialogue, this scene, as well as others between Barsini and Columbo (when the former is painting the latter), have an amusing rhythm to the lines exchanged between the characters, with short sentences that have a slight non-sequitur quality to them. I've seen this sort of thing attempted before in films and I've never been entirely pleased with it, but it's interesting to revisit it. Such type of dialogue certainly calls attention to itself, and appears forced, even phony, though I can't say it's not a deliberate thing. I think the point is to demonstrate some sort of amusing spontaneous poetry taking place between Columbo and the killer.
The ending leaves a little to be desired. Columbo puts the pieces together and things appear to make sense, with one particularly damning piece of evidence, but it's not a particularly clever deduction that Columbo makes to get that key evidence. It's a good one for sure, and one in which an idiosyncrasy of the murderer proves "fatal", but it seems to rely too much on forensic and chemical analysis rather than deductive analysis. (Another episode, Agenda for Murder, has a similar shortcoming, even if the overall product is fantastic.) Also, Barsini takes his "unmasking" into stride too easily. I understand and appreciate his relaxed nature, but in this final scene I would've welcomed something different-- not necessarily an emotional outburst, but some sort of change in his mood or his thoughts, but it never happens.
This episode barely shows the city. There is a quiet, isolated quality to it. After the busy beginning with the dog fair, there aren't many scenes with crowds of people in them. In fact, we mostly just see a beach, Barsini's house, Vito's bar (where Barsini used to live and work) and a psychologist's office, and all these locations are fairly empty. The last time Columbo goes to Vito's bar, the streets are also noticeably devoid of people. It adds to the unusual nature of the episode. (I mentioned Agenda for Murder before. It must be this episode's antithesis, given how so much of it takes place in the HQ of a political party during elections, with people all over the place and Dixieland playing in the background.)
The device of having Barsini paint Columbo is a very satisfying narrative resource on which to hang the encounters between these characters. The very end of the episode is all the better because of it. The beginning, with the dog competition, is unusual and seemingly out of place (shades of 1978's Make Me a Perfect Murder), but it pays off in a subtle way in a later scene, when a spontaneous comparison is made between the jealousy of Columbo's dog toward other dogs that were getting Columbo's attention in the fair, and the jealousy between Barsini's women.
Falk plays "old", early seventies Columbo in this episode, not "new", late seventies Columbo. In other words, he's polite and seemingly humble, not edgy and arrogant. His wife, Shera Danese, plays Barsini's current wife. Danese made several appearances in Columbo. Patrick Bauchau is terrific as Barsini. He brings a fascinating magnetism to the role.
Some things could be better, but it's a good Columbo episode, and great television, as Columbo generally is.
Yes, that was the first of the new batch of episodes shown on ABC. It does have the feel of one of the old ones to be honest.
"Time... is just a magic TRICK!"
No problem.
Cassidy was a terrific actor and a terrific Columbo villain. Sadly gone too soon.
In Murder by the Book, his character, Franklin, is so conceited that he must be among the killers who underestimated Columbo the most (he is often underestimated but this guy takes it far!). He directs Columbo to the typed letter containing the list of mafia names rather than letting him find it by himself, all while wearing a smug smile on his face. And as Columbo points out at the end, he never shows any real sadness over his partner's death.
His plan was pretty clever, but he also thought himself too clever for his own good.
I've seen Murder by the Book and Publish or Perish but not the episode in which Cassidy plays a magician. Not in full, anyway. I've got it on DVD, I'm going to give it a watch one of these days. There's a remarkable scene near the end where Columbo flat out tells him he's the suspect. Just a fantastic moment, perhaps one of the best in the series, and brilliantly acted.
Culp, McGoohan and Cassidy are always mentioned as the best Columbo murderers but I'd add George Hamilton to that list.
Doesn t cost a thing. Even better deal.
Good point, Ken Franklin underestimated Columbo badly. As you write, he thought himself too clever for his own good. I kinda like that about the character (and this episode).
I find Now You See Him... the lesser of the Jack Cassidy episodes, but since it features Jack Cassidy it's still a great one. Just like the episodes featuring Robert Culp and Patrick McGoohan. I've yet to see the second George Hamilton episode, Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health. The first one however – A Deadly State of Mind – is terrific. I see no reason to not include Hamilton in the list of best Columbo murderers.
But did Columbo just have one eye?
Caution is my favorite Columbo episode, thanks in no small part to Hamilton.
Hamilton is the type of actor one doesn't see much of in films and television anymore. I miss the suave leading men. We're due for a return to that. Bond is among the few holding the fort in that regard.
Definitely have to give the newer seasons a watch, now that you mention Caution to be your favourite episode.
Very true re. Hamilton. I can't really think of any younger actors/leading men being that suave on screen. Some might try, but it usually just falls flat. Wonder why.
Hollister is a good character. A proud man for sure, and somewhat egotistical, but in an understated way, especially since his charm masks that quality. Though he commits a crime he never becomes really unsympathetic. I think if someone like Jack Cassidy had played the role, he would've been more clearly villanous and despicable a character. With Eddie Albert, Hollister seems contradictory rather than outright hateful. A murderer of course, and though one knows his motivation for romancing Helen was purely selfish, at the end there's a hint of remorse and regret at his having used her. No more than a hint, though. One senses this man would pursue any goal he wanted to achieve practically without hesitation, even if there was a small part of him that wished things weren't that way.
I like the scenes with Bert and the chili.
Edit: I just remembered on some interview with Suzanne Pleshette (probably on YouTube), she talks about how, IIRC, she was a friend of Peter Falk and she was disappointed in his behavior while this episode was being filmed. I believe he left the set for some time because he was in a wrestling match with the producers of the show.
Definitely agree on all points. I like how the romance plays out, adding an additional headache for Columbo. As noted in the episode, Hollister is a very controlled man (under pressure), and I really like that it is his attachment to his own signature gun that becomes his undoing.
I read something about that, but haven't seen that interview; I'll have to check it out! Wasn't it Falk that insisted on directing an episode or something? I know he did direct one episode in season 1, so I guess this was the studio agreeing with his demands.
You can see the back of the double they used in certain scenes in Dead Weight. It's especially noticeable in the end scene as the double has longer hair and looks fatter than Peter Falk and it's obviously filmed in such a way that we only see him from behind.
You can also see the insert shots where Falk acts to the camera only and where Pleshette and Eddie Albert do not feature in the same shot as him. We see their reactions to what Falk's Columbo is saying in separate shots. Thos suggests that these parts of their scenes were filmed separately.
The studio eventually allowed Peter Falk to direct Columbo: Blueprint for Murder (1972). It was the only episode of Columbo that he ever directed. The studio of course gave him what was probably the most difficult episode of Season 1 to direct!
I actually really enjoy Dead Weight - mostly for Suzanne Pleshette, must admit. She was lovely, back in the day. ;) But she lends a lovely, naturalistic centre to that episode - and the fact the killer romances the key witness to protect himself when he senses Columbo getting too close is a good, well executed gambit.
Hadn't had the time to search for the interview - thanks!
Really bad behaviour from Falk there. He got what he wanted in the end though, but still. Guess that's the way TV stars act sometimes.
I actually prefer Blueprint for Murder to Dead Weight.
Yes, she's great in this episode. The highlight, IMO. I continued Dead Weight with Suitable for Framing last night. I definitely prefer the latter, not only because Ross Martin makes a really unpleasant villain as Dale Kingston, but most of all because of the gloved hand reveal. What a fantastic moment!
This is another highlight! :))
For better or worse, he was very protective of the show, and was seemingly wary of the producers at first.
Same here. The red tape Columbo goes through, and the tense spectacle of digging up the pile of the building (costly, cumbersome, protracted), are just great. Clever plan, too. Patrick O'Neal should've played another murderer. He is a kind of variation on Robert Culp.
Didn't know that. In what way?
I remember watching this episode as a kid (I couldn't have been much older than when I started watching the Bond films), and the digging up at the building site had me at the edge of my seat. I still enjoy it just as much.
Patrick O'Neal definitely should have played another murderer. And I agree, a variation of Robert Culp.