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Just to note that Patrick O'Neal did return to Columbo in Make Me A Perfect Murder (1978) albeit not as the killer but as TV network boss Frank Flanagan instead. I agree though that it would've been nice to see O'Neal back as the killer as his first episode was a fine one.
That's awesome I am watching a few things with Rip Torn this evening as I have a rare night off, including Death Hits the Jackpot
Yes, it's really funny as at the start you're not sure if it's for real or not! I plan to rewatch that one with Rip Torn. I remember it being a really good episode.
Later on in that clip Larry Sanders asks Peter Falk about the kidnapping episode on Columbo being a departure so it must be from 1992, the year that particular episode, Columbo: No Time to Die, was released. I couldn't find that part on YouTube, however.
I watched the Larry Saunders Show when it aired though my memory is vague, great clip though. Just about to put on Alexander the Greater Affair The Man From U.N.C.L.E., I am mid 40's and grew up watching many 60's and 70's shows and movies so Rip was omnipresent in much of my childhood viewing, great actor.
That was Mark Dawidziak's The Columbo Phile (1989). I have a copy and it's an excellent Columbo resource. There are so few books on Columbo like this and Dawidziak was really the standard-bearer! It was quite expensive when I bought it in paperback on Amazon in 2012 but it was worth it. It's even more expensive now.
Here's a recent interview with Mark Dawidziak on The Columbophile blog:
https://columbophile.com/2019/06/30/the-original-columbo-phile-an-interview-with-author-mark-dawidziak/
And the excellent news that The Columbo Phile is to be reissued for the 30th anniversary later in 2019:
https://columbophile.com/2019/07/03/iconic-columbo-book-to-be-reissued/
I guess Falk being so protective also added to the overall quality of the show. The quality shows in every department, from the music to the cast.
The Columbo Phile looks like a book I must add to my list. Perhaps worth waiting for the reissue (thanks for letting us know, @Dragonpol!
That's another fantastic episode, and my favourite from season 7.
I've only watched two episodes of Mrs. Columbo – both of which was included as bonus material in the Columbo: The Complete Series box I have. Has anyone watched through the complete series?
By the late sixties, Falk was an Oscar nominee and a well-established film actor, so even though he had done television before (even shared the screen with Roger Moore on The Trials of O'Brien!-- I have to see that one) I think he wanted to feel comfortable and secure in his new venture into a television series.
"Larry, I'm sorry you had to have a son of a bitch on the show." =))
I was excited about Columbophile coming back I intend to get a copy.
Thanks, reading how he wanted to be involved in so many aspects of the production, it's understandable how Falk could be in conflict with the executives, etc. I wonder, did any other established actors appearing in TV shows (at the time) have similar influence over the production? For example, Karl Malden was an Academy Award winning actor; did he have any influence in the production of The Streets of San Francisco?
Agree. Kate Mulgrew certainly looked to young to be Lt Columbo's wife – at least in the way I thought she might look like, given what Columbo said about her in various episodes. The changed her backstory slightly didn't they (eventually)?
As far as career changes go, that one is not too bad.
Seems like quite the mess of a TV show; not surprising it was cancelled after only 13 episodes.
Interesting trivia! She has a nice voice.
1. Murder by the Book
2. Death Lends a Hand
3. Suitable for Framing
4. Blueprint for Murder
5. Dead Weight
6. Short Fuse
7. Lady in Waiting
On a side note; I've never though of it before just now, but I like the way the episode titles sound when you say them. Almost like a Bond film title feel to it.
Just curious, how would you rank the season 1 murderers? Ross Martin and Robert Culp would be my favorites. Of course the 2 episodes they are in are also my favorites for the season. Ross Martin was actually Peter Falk’s acting teacher or mentor and you can definitely see great chemistry between the two.
There's no doubt that Susan Clark made a great villain as Beth Chadwick; I find her particularly creepy (in lack of a better word) the moment Columbo confronts her at the end, and the smile she makes when Columbo tells her to get changed.
Ranking the season 1 murderers id a very difficult task – much like ranking the Bond films. I'll give it a try:
PS: I didn't know that fact about Ross Martin and Peter Falk. No wonder they made such a great pairing in Suitable for Framing!
How would your season 1 murderers list look like, @ringfire211?
I really would need to rewatch season 1 to get an accurate ranking for my killers but I guess off the top of my head it would look something like this:
1. Ross Martin
2. Robert Culp
3. Susan Clark
4. Jack Cassidy (haven’t seen this one in ages but Cassidy is always great)
5. Patrick O’Neal (also haven’t seen it in ages)
6. Roddy McDowall
7. Eddie Albert (has a bit of a harmless grandpa look to him)
There’s something about Roddy that doesn’t quite work for me. His childlike persona for me is annoying and his babbling at the end in the cable car and going nuts comes across fake or forced. I dunno, maybe it’s just me. Otherwise he’s a fine actor. Maybe it’s just the characterization.
The Wild Wild West is a show I should try and watch again; it used to be aired on TV in the late 90's in the weekend mornings over here if I remember correctly, and I haven't seen it since. Being just a kid then I hardly remember anything from it, but I seem to remember Robert Conrad's sleeve gun for some reason. It left an impression, I guess! Unfortunately, I can't remember Ross Martin much, but I've seen him being brilliant in other roles – like in Columbo.
The age gap between Martin and Falk doesn't show in Suitable for Framing, that's for sure. But I guess the disheveled look of Falk's character contributes to that. Dale Kingston in comparison, is a very tidy looking man.
Nice list! I guess I can agree about McDowall – at least slightly. It's a character you either enjoy or not, perhaps. And the babbling in the cable car scene might have been a bit over the top.
Speaking of music scores “Lady in Waiting” by Billy Goldenberg is probably my all-time favorite COLUMBO score!! It’s brilliant!! So that’s another feather in that episode’s cap.
https://youtu.be/M-BQ8OZxI7Q
Goldenberg of course did the suspenseful score for Spielberg’s DUEL and a few other COLUMBOs as well.
The Wild Wild West is a show that has some ties to Bond. It was within the spy craze of the mid 60's. The one character is called James, although West is his last name. Martin played the Q to Conrad's Bond. Lots of girls and glamour in the show. Been a while since I watched it.
Didn't know The Wild Wild West and Hawaii Five-O shared music. That's a bit surprising, as the two shows are very different. I do like the music from Hawaii Five-O, though. I managed to catch a couple of seasons before Netflix unfortunately removed the show from it's catalogue. I need to buy some seasons on DVD/Blu-ray and continue watching it.
I agree re. Billy Goldenberg – he made some fantastic music for Columbo. I don't know if I have a favourite score of his (or any of the other composers), but Lady in Waiting is definitely up there among the best. I also really like the funky opening track of Short Fuse by Gil Mellé:
Interesting info. re. Short Fuse, @thedove. I agree that It's an episode that lacks that little extra some of the other season 1 episodes have. Still enjoyable though.
I seem to remember The Wild Wild West being a bit Bondian. Another reason to check it out again.
I'm a bit on the fence about Roddy McDowall. Strictly speaking, I don't think he overacts, since he makes the role work for himself, and quite well, but this type of characterization isn't perhaps the ideal one for a Columbo killer. McDowall is so manic and energetic that the polite and humble Columbo is overshadowed by him (not that Columbo isn't frequently underestimated by the murderers, but even then the character is never quite overshadowed-- being the leading character, he always has a strong presence in every scene, even when seemingly humilliated or made to look inferior to the murderer). McDowall has some sort of chemistry with Peter Falk, even an enjoyable one, but it's certainly not the usual dynamic between the Lieutenant and the murderer. Though I greatly prefer "early style" Columbo (that is, the characterization of the role from seasons 1-5, and generally from season 8 until the end), this is perhaps one case in which season 6-7 Columbo might've been a better fit for McDowall.
Also, a shout-out to Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health whose "scheming" theme, that plays while George Hamilton is preparing the poisoned cigarettes, is great, as is the end credits music. Music by John Cacavas.
Yes I follow the Columbofile website and he mentioned that Short Fuse was going to be an episode for Season 2 but the network wanted another episode and it was chosen to move up. I think with more time I could have been better executed. The cable car is tense but I think could have been done a bit better with further plot development.
@Torgeirtrap I agree with you that the 70's episodes have great titles. I think they are somewhat like Bond as they hint at what is to come.
Columbo is meaner in those episodes. I like it only in the sense that it creates a great deal of tension of an entirely different sort (I always recall this office scene in "Make Me a Perfect Murder"), but otherwise I very much prefer the other style. One of the major elements that make Columbo appealing is how much of a decent fellow he appears to be. He is polite, thoughtful, considerate. In those later episodes that aspect is greatly diminished because he is so much more full of himself, theatrical, threatening (and meaner, as you say!), and not on occasion, but almost constantly. Even his accent is different. I'm not even convinced it's a bad acting choice to play such a role in that way, it's just that it's too radical a change given what one was accostumed to.
Luckily, when Columbo came back in the 80s, for the most part, and for whatever reason, that change was undone. At times, it still resurfaces, but even in those occasions, Columbo just comes across as more affable than in season 7, to me anyway-- I think in some way, his being older takes the nastier edge off his performance. That said, he can still be deadly serious. In Agenda for Murder, when he confronts Denis Arndt's character, he totally means business. But that innate decency and warmth that are a trademark of the character are perfectly in place even in those types of scenes, and there is a more natural style of acting.
The very last episode of the show is a good one. And the character is well acted by Falk. Classic Columbo, and there is great little moment when he just stares at the murderer for a moment while he figures out he's a suspect and breaks into a bemused smile, and Columbo then asks him "is that amusing to you?" without breaking a smile. So there's room for an assertive Columbo, but in this case it is appropriately contained within the original, classic characterization.
I find the best effort to display a generally more threatening Columbo, without really changing the essence of the character, was in Now You See Him. I find this moment totally electrifying. It's not even a dramatic high point in the story. Compare it with the scene in Make Me a Perfect Murder. This is good old Columbo without the bumbling facade, but good old Columbo alright. And his warm, pleasant interactions with Sergeant Wilson only help drive that point home.
Edit: Of course anyone who has read my earlier posts will notice this isn't the first time I've made this point, but I find it especially fascinating to return to, because it drives me to analyze just what is so appealing about Columbo, and Peter Falk's portrayal of him.
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I agree about the titles by the way.
I might be wrong, but whenever NRK (that's like BBC here in Norway) have aired reruns of Columbo (midday during the weekends), it's usually been the very early seasons 1-5/6 – but rarely season 7! I wonder if that's just them changing up their programme lineup by the time they get to season 7, or if they possibly – for some reason - don't care to air a "tougher" Columbo. The last time they aired Columbo episodes, it was the 80's ones (which I've yet to watch).
________
Great examples of Columbo music there, by the way, @mattjoes!
There are several great moments in Ransom for a Dead Man, but the final confrontation lacks a little bit. It's really brief for an episode that's 95 minutes long! On the other hand it's a very stylish looking pilot though, so that makes up for the ending. You just got to love stuff like this: