"Just One More Thing..." - The COLUMBO Discussion Thread

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  • Posts: 2,161
    I find the later ones (where he comes back much older) to be great letdown.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited January 19 Posts: 7,021
    At least in the earliest of those comeback episodes, I like his performance better than in season 7.

    And in the very last episode, he's just magnificent. As Columbophile suggested, that episode's tone is fairly reminiscent of A Friend in Deed.

    So what did you think of Bert Freed's performance, @Birdleson?
  • edited January 19 Posts: 2,161
    He just played it as the stereotypical tough guy. Not bad at all, but certainly not remarkable. I bet he looks back, or looked back as he’s dead now, sees what Falk did and said, “Man, I really missed out by not pushing it in a different direction” . He’s much better in BILLY JACK, as the villain. @mattjoes , i’ll try to give it closer attention when I get to season 7 this time.
  • Posts: 2,161
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited January 19 Posts: 7,021
    Birdleson wrote: »
    He just played it as the stereotypical tough guy. Not bad at all, but certainly not remarkable. I bet he looks back, or looked back as he’s dead now, sees what Falk did and said, “Man, I really missed out by not pushing it in a different direction” . He’s much better in BILLY JACK, as the villain. @mattjoes , i’ll try to give it closer attention when I get to season 7 this time.
    Yes, with the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to see that the role of Columbo had more interesting qualities to offer than those Freed displayed in his performance. A bit more slyness, a bit more subtlety. He was fine, but not great.

    I haven't seen Enough Rope in a while, but I remember a part, later in the play, in which Columbo is talking with Dr. Fleming, and suggests he knows something incriminating about him. I thought Freed didn't play too well: in trying to be threatening, he came across as too anxious, too manic. It reminds me of a similar scene in Prescription: Murder, when Columbo is talking with Dr. Flemming's lover. Like Freed, Falk is also overtly threatening there (not something that would often happen again), but he plays it much better.

    At any rate, as I think I wrote earlier in this thread, the quality of Freed's performance doesn't fall squarely on his shoulders, as it's the director's job to guide the actors. I wonder how much time they had to prepare for those televised plays back in the day.

    I rather like Freed's performance in that Billy Jack clip. From that clip, it appears to be better than his Columbo, keeping in mind that they're different roles with different requirements.

    I wish we could have some insight into Thomas Mitchell's Columbo. Then there was the actor who played the role in Columbo Takes the Rap, a play whose script has yet to surface (a big shame as it sounds terrific). There was also Dirk Benedict.
  • Posts: 2,161
    Yes, I am a big Thomas Mitchell admirer. That seems like a dream role for him.., I don't believe any footage exists.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    My latest watch: PLAYBACK.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    Oskar Werner was pretty great in that episode; his meltdown at the end was engrossing ("tell him, Elizabeth!"). I enjoyed Playback, but wish Columbo had investigated the reason for the murder as well as the murder itself. Also, I would have liked to see more of Van Wick's brother-in-law, that was a pretty cool character.

    I still prefer Playback's "sibling episode": Caution, Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 27 Posts: 18,278
    Birdleson wrote: »
    He just played it as the stereotypical tough guy. Not bad at all, but certainly not remarkable. I bet he looks back, or looked back as he’s dead now, sees what Falk did and said, “Man, I really missed out by not pushing it in a different direction” . He’s much better in BILLY JACK, as the villain. @mattjoes , i’ll try to give it closer attention when I get to season 7 this time.

    Apparently Bert Freed met Peter Falk later on and Falk said to him "You played Columbo first" or something like that and Freed didn't remember he'd played the character before as the character wasn't notable back then or had his own show. He didn't realise it was meant to be the same character as Falk had played so it was a bit of a revelation to him!
  • edited January 27 Posts: 2,161
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Oskar Werner was pretty great in that episode; his meltdown at the end was engrossing ("tell him, Elizabeth!"). I enjoyed Playback, but wish Columbo had investigated the reason for the murder as well as the murder itself. Also, I would have liked to see more of Van Wick's brother-in-law, that was a pretty cool character.

    I still prefer Playback's "sibling episode": Caution, Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health.

    I’ll comment when I get there. I remember it being a good one.
  • Posts: 2,161
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    He just played it as the stereotypical tough guy. Not bad at all, but certainly not remarkable. I bet he looks back, or looked back as he’s dead now, sees what Falk did and said, “Man, I really missed out by not pushing it in a different direction” . He’s much better in BILLY JACK, as the villain. @mattjoes , i’ll try to give it closer attention when I get to season 7 this time.

    Apparently Bert Freed met Peter Falk later on and Falk said to him "You played Columbo first" or something like that and Freed didn't remember he'd played the character before as the character wasn't notable back then or had his own show. He didn't realise it was meant to be the same character as Falk had played so it was a bit of a revelation to him!

    Fascinating.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 27 Posts: 18,278
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Oskar Werner was pretty great in that episode; his meltdown at the end was engrossing ("tell him, Elizabeth!"). I enjoyed Playback, but wish Columbo had investigated the reason for the murder as well as the murder itself. Also, I would have liked to see more of Van Wick's brother-in-law, that was a pretty cool character.

    I still prefer Playback's "sibling episode": Caution, Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health.

    Yes, Playback is a certified classic. Werner plays a pretty unhinged character but he manages to hold it together almost right until the very end. I love the pathetic way Van Wyck tries to get his wife to say that he saw her mother going up to stairs to wish her goodnight beforehand. It recalls Cassavetes's Alex Benedict in Étude in Black trying to get his wife to lie for him and say she buttoned on his flower after the concert. I love how bleak the ending is with Columbo putting the monitor off and the tear running down the wife's face. It's chilling and shows there are no winners in this game - she's lost not only her mother but her husband as well. I know Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health is your favourite episode, @mattjoes, and there is the video of the hedge having grown which recalls the final clue in Playback. It's definitely one of the better newer Columbo episodes and it's great to see George Hamilton back again. I think I prefer him in his second episode. The brother-in-law was incidentally played by an actor called Robert Brown...
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    He just played it as the stereotypical tough guy. Not bad at all, but certainly not remarkable. I bet he looks back, or looked back as he’s dead now, sees what Falk did and said, “Man, I really missed out by not pushing it in a different direction” . He’s much better in BILLY JACK, as the villain. @mattjoes , i’ll try to give it closer attention when I get to season 7 this time.

    Apparently Bert Freed met Peter Falk later on and Falk said to him "You played Columbo first" or something like that and Freed didn't remember he'd played the character before as the character wasn't notable back then or had his own show. He didn't realise it was meant to be the same character as Falk had played so it was a bit of a revelation to him!
    Great story.

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I love the pathetic way Van Wyck tries to get his wife to say that he saw her mother going up to stairs to wish her goodnight beforehand.
    It's a terrific touch that sells the character's desperation at this point. I love Gena Rowlands' delivery of the word "no" in response. And it's nice to see her reunited with Peter Falk in this episode.

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I love how bleak the ending is with Columbo putting the monitor off and the tear running down the wife's face. It's chilling and shows there are no winners in this game - she's lost not only her mother but her husband as well.
    Indeed. And as usual, the image freezes, the music (if already present) changes, and the end credits begin to appear. That sudden transition into the end credits, without belaboring the point, so to speak, makes endings like these hit harder.

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I know Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health is your favourite episode, @mattjoes, and there is the video of the hedge having grown which recalls the final clue in Playback. It's definitely one of the better newer Columbo episodes and it's great to see George Hamilton back again.
    That's right, it's my favorite (thanks in no small part to George Hamilton), though I will concede the plotting is stronger in Playback. It's not bad at all in Caution, but there are a couple of small shortcomings, whereas Playback seems fairly impeccable to me in that respect. The plots of that era of Columbo were really strong. I always think back to A Friend in Deed, which to me is practically perfect in its plot. Airtight.

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    The brother-in-law was incidentally played by an actor called Robert Brown...
    Haha, I noticed during the credits, but I already knew in my heart it wasn't our Robert Brown. Then I completely forgot about it until the episode was over.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,278
    This is a (hopefully) funny little personal story about the Columbo episode Swan Song (1974) that I've been meaning to share here for many years so I thought now was about time to finally share it with you all. One day I was over at my older brother's house and he started watching Swan Song as his wife had recorded it from Channel 5 (in the UK) using the Sky box as she saw it guest starred the singer and occasional actor Johnny Cash and my brother is a big fan of Cash and country music in general. So we sat and watched the episode. I had seen it before as I had all of the available Columbo boxsets at that time. When it came to the end scene where Columbo catches Tommy Brown retrieving the hidden parachute from under the hollow in the fallen tree trunk my brother said something which I still find hilarious to this day. I always think of it any time I watch the ending of this episode. He said something like, "I bet Columbo is hiding under that tree trunk and when the killer turns over the trunk he'll be there waiting for him." I still find it funny and hopefully you will too next time you watch this scene!

    I've posted the scene below if you want to watch it again now:



  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    I made this years ago, and today I thought, what the hell, why let it languish in my hard drive.



    Dragonpol wrote: »
    This is a (hopefully) funny little personal story about the Columbo episode Swan Song (1974) that I've been meaning to share here for many years so I thought now was about time to finally share it with you all. One day I was over at my older brother's house and he started watching Swan Song as his wife had recorded it from Channel 5 (in the UK) using the Sky box as she saw it guest starred the singer and occasional actor Johnny Cash and my brother is a big fan of Cash and country music in general. So we sat and watched the episode. I had seen it before as I had all of the available Columbo boxsets at that time. When it came to the end scene where Columbo catches Tommy Brown retrieving the hidden parachute from under the hollow in the fallen tree trunk my brother said something which I still find hilarious to this day. I always think of it any time I watch the ending of this episode. He said something like, "I bet Columbo is hiding under that tree trunk and when the killer turns over the trunk he'll be there waiting for him." I still find it funny and hopefully you will too next time you watch this scene!

    I've posted the scene below if you want to watch it again now:



    That is funny. It reminds me of this:

  • Posts: 16,167
    mattjoes wrote: »
    I made this years ago, and today I thought, what the hell, why let it languish in my hard drive.



    Dragonpol wrote: »
    This is a (hopefully) funny little personal story about the Columbo episode Swan Song (1974) that I've been meaning to share here for many years so I thought now was about time to finally share it with you all. One day I was over at my older brother's house and he started watching Swan Song as his wife had recorded it from Channel 5 (in the UK) using the Sky box as she saw it guest starred the singer and occasional actor Johnny Cash and my brother is a big fan of Cash and country music in general. So we sat and watched the episode. I had seen it before as I had all of the available Columbo boxsets at that time. When it came to the end scene where Columbo catches Tommy Brown retrieving the hidden parachute from under the hollow in the fallen tree trunk my brother said something which I still find hilarious to this day. I always think of it any time I watch the ending of this episode. He said something like, "I bet Columbo is hiding under that tree trunk and when the killer turns over the trunk he'll be there waiting for him." I still find it funny and hopefully you will too next time you watch this scene!

    I've posted the scene below if you want to watch it again now:



    That is funny. It reminds me of this:


    That Columbo falling video was great!!! :D
  • Posts: 2,161
    @mattjoes , Funny edit there.
    @Dragonpol , SWAN SONG is up next in my rewatch. I will remember to keep the quip in mind.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    Thank you.

    I ran into this the other day, and it made my day.

    diana-rigg-y-robert-culp-que-estrella-en-el-drama-de-television-viva-casada-escrito-por-john-mortimer-diciembre-de-1969-z12502-001-b576ft.jpg

    It's a promotional photo for Married Alive, a 1970 episode of ITV Saturday Night Theatre. Sadly, it's probably not publicly available to watch anywhere. But I'll live in hope.
  • edited February 10 Posts: 2,161
    For the first time in the history of my watching COLUMBO, I’ve decided that I have a favorite episode: A FRIEND IN DEED (S3, E8). I know I’ve seen it at least twice before, but it really hooked me this time. Richard Kiley makes for an excellent villain. And he knows Colombo, and he knows Colombo‘s abilities. He has to continually reign himself in lest he further arouse the LT’.s suspicions, yet there’s no option but for him to bluster forward like a bulldozer to his inevitable defeat. So many great moments in this one.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,431
    That is a great one! Yes I have grown to love that one more and more. The set up of the Kiley's character is super. Girls on either side, the goatee and the bar decor. Sets him up as a dastardly guy. His comeuppance in the end is just a superb gotcha and one I never get tired of watching.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    Fade in to Murder: There are some murderers in Columbo that, even when they lose, they don't seem like they're losing. Patrick McGoohan is one of them, and William Shatner's another. Riveting stuff.
  • Posts: 16,167
    Birdleson wrote: »
    For the first time in the history of my watching COLUMBO, I’ve decided that I have a favorite episode: A FRIEND IN DEED (S3, E8). I know I’ve seen it at least twice before, but it really hooked me this time. Richard Kiley makes for an excellent villain. And he knows Colombo, and he knows Colombo‘s abilities. He has to continually reign himself in lest he further arouse the LT’.s suspicions, yet there’s no option but for him to bluster forward like a bulldozer to his inevitable defeat. So many great moments in this one.

    Just watched that episode today. It was excellent.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited February 16 Posts: 7,021
    PETER FALK as
    COLUMBO

    A BRAVE HEART
    Copyright © MCMXCV Universal City Studios

    Guest Stars
    PATRICK McGOOHAN

    PETER HANLY

    STEPHEN BILLINGTON

    Special Guest Star
    BERNARD FOX

    The ruthless King of England (McGoohan) throws Phillip, his son's lover, out of a window and into his death. While on holiday in the country, Columbo is asked by Superintendent Durk, an old acquaintance, to collaborate on the investigation of Phillip's death, but finds himself facing not only the chief suspect, the temperamental and Machiavellian ruler of the country, but also political pressure to drop the case and head back to the United States.

    MV5BZWQwOGZmZjgtNjM2Yy00ZjY1LTllYWYtY2MxZjVjMmI4ZTkxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTg2NjUwOTA@._V1_.jpg

    51uJUNKsTrL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,278
    The Columbo falling video was great, @mattjoes. "Columbo" was in that Bond film so it fits in there perfectly.

    A Brave Heart reminds me of the early version of Old Fashioned Murder which sounded much more interesting than what we got. Good to see McGooghan back for a fifth guest starring role too!
  • edited February 18 Posts: 2,161
    I’m currently re-watching the episode Playback. It stars the great Gena Rowland. It never hit me before that this was made one year after Falk and Rowland co-starred in the landmark ‘70s film A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, directed by her then husband, John Cassavetes. I suggest watching the film and this episode back to back. They are such great actors that they become almost incomprehensibly different people in the two sets of roles. Completely different dynamic between the two of them, as well. The film is much darker, heavier, depressing, and richer than any episode of a television show can be. But they are both excellent watches.

  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    The Columbo falling video was great, @mattjoes. "Columbo" was in that Bond film so it fits in there perfectly.

    A Brave Heart reminds me of the early version of Old Fashioned Murder which sounded much more interesting than what we got. Good to see McGooghan back for a fifth guest starring role too!
    Thank you. And I hadn't made the connection that I had used just the Bond film with Columbo in it.


    PETER FALK as
    COLUMBO

    IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEAD
    Copyright © MCMXCVI Universal City Studios

    Guest Stars
    ROWAN ATKINSON

    MATILDA ZIEGLER

    ROBERT AUSTIN

    SIMON GODLEY

    ROBIN DRISCOLL

    Special Guest Star
    TEDDY

    After the success of A BRAVE HEART, Columbo is back in England! This time, while staying at a hotel in Portsea Island, he runs into an eccentric guest by the name of Mr. Bean. It seems someone has brutally murdered his teddy bear, Teddy, by ripping its head off. At first, everything points to a break-in, but when Columbo starts talking to Bean's "girlfriend" Irma and a few other people, suspicions are cast upon the strange man himself. Was Teddy's death intentional or just a tragic, clumsy accident? Bean won't say, because he can barely speak.

    7739-2.jpg

    WhatsApp-Image-2020-06-23-at-6.42.56-PM.jpeg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1

    maxresdefault.jpg

    Columbo asks Bean to keep his eyes open for clues. Mr. Bean obliges:

    mr-bean-wide-eyes-j1xdjx4lwkhfxnv1.gif

    Columbo-Strange_Bedfellows-1995-CSS3-387.jpg
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited February 19 Posts: 18,278
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I’m currently re-watching the episode Playback. It stars the great Gena Rowland. It never hit me before that this was made one year after Falk and Rowland co-starred in the landmark ‘70s film A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, directed by her then husband, John Cassavetes. I suggest watching the film and this episode back to back. They are such great actors that they become almost incomprehensibly different people in the two sets of roles. Completely different dynamic between the two of them, as well. The film is much darker, heavier, depressing, and richer than any episode of a television show can be. But they are both excellent watches.


    I really need to make a point of buying the films Falk made with John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands as I've not seen any of them but have heard great things about them.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,278
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    The Columbo falling video was great, @mattjoes. "Columbo" was in that Bond film so it fits in there perfectly.

    A Brave Heart reminds me of the early version of Old Fashioned Murder which sounded much more interesting than what we got. Good to see McGooghan back for a fifth guest starring role too!
    Thank you. And I hadn't made the connection that I had used just the Bond film with Columbo in it.


    PETER FALK as
    COLUMBO

    IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEAD
    Copyright © MCMXCVI Universal City Studios

    Guest Stars
    ROWAN ATKINSON

    MATILDA ZIEGLER

    ROBERT AUSTIN

    SIMON GODLEY

    ROBIN DRISCOLL

    Special Guest Star
    TEDDY

    After the success of A BRAVE HEART, Columbo is back in England! This time, while staying at a hotel in Portsea Island, he runs into an eccentric guest by the name of Mr. Bean. It seems someone has brutally murdered his teddy bear, Teddy, by ripping its head off. At first, everything points to a break-in, but when Columbo starts talking to Bean's "girlfriend" Irma and a few other people, suspicions are cast upon the strange man himself. Was Teddy's death intentional or just a tragic, clumsy accident? Bean won't say, because he can barely speak.

    7739-2.jpg

    WhatsApp-Image-2020-06-23-at-6.42.56-PM.jpeg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1

    maxresdefault.jpg

    Columbo asks Bean to keep his eyes open for clues. Mr. Bean obliges:

    mr-bean-wide-eyes-j1xdjx4lwkhfxnv1.gif

    Columbo-Strange_Bedfellows-1995-CSS3-387.jpg

    LOL, more great stuff from the marvellously convoluted mind of @mattjoes! ;)
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    The crossover we never knew we needed.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    They make one hell of a team. Brains and... Drebin.
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