[gregjh]

Have you watched Étude in Black yet? That's probably my favourite episode. There's just something about the build up, acting and dialogue in the "suppose it was you" scene that made me realise the writers and Peter Faulk were true geniuses.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Lovely But Lethal
The Cosmetics Queen   (6 of 10)

The head of a cosmetics firm that's been losing money pins her hopes on a new formula, but when it's stolen by one of her chemists, a one-time boyfriend of hers, she fails to negotiate with him, and, in a fit of rage, hits him on the head with a heavy microscope. Not what you'd call a well-planned-out murder, HMM?

For the rest of the episode, Lt. Columbo increasngly drives her up a wall, has her demanding to be left alone, and finally shocks her when he announces he's arresting her for murder.

Vera Miles (TARZAN'S HIDDEN JUNGLE) is "Viveca Scott", the strong-willed owner of a large company who let her emotions get in the way of logic.

Martin Sheen (APOCALYPSE NOW!) is "Karl Lessing", a chemist who not only stole from his employer, but went too far and practically asked to be murdered.

Vincent Price (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL) is "David Lang", Viveca's main rival who intended to buy the stolen formula from Karl until he learned of his murder. I agree with those who say he should have had more screen-time in this story.

Sian Barbara Allen is "Shirley Blane", Lang's secretary who's also paid by Viveca to spy on him, learns too much, and decides to try blackmail.  That doesn't end well!

Gino Conforti, Bruce Kirby, John Finnegan and Richard Stahl round out the cast.  I'd say this episode was merely average, and may have been the point where the show began to get too "forulaic" for my tastes, compared to much of the 2 previous seasons.

[profh0011]

Have you watched Étude in Black yet? That's probably my favourite episode. There's just something about the build up, acting and dialogue in the "suppose it was you" scene that made me realise the writers and Peter Faulk were true geniuses.

I'm doing all these in order!  Scroll back to the beginning of Season 2 for my review.

[gregjh]

Have you considered ordering some DVD boxes with better quality spindles or sleeves to replace the ones that aren't up to par? You could probably get something like that online very cheap.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Any Old Port In A Storm
The Wine Expert   (6 of 10)

A company that manufacturers high-class wine becomes imperilled when the man who owns it learns his half-brother-- who owns the land it's on-- decides to SELL to a low-class rival company.  While the older brother has run the firm down financially in his quest to buy expensive rare wines for his personal collection, the younger brother wishes to take the money and enjoy his life. 

So first, the older brother SNAPS and clobbers his younger sibling-- then leaves him tied up in a vault for several days to die-- and finally dumps his body in the ocean, trying to make it look like a scuba-diving accident.

Too bad he didn't take the weather into account while he was establishing an alibi in New York City at an auction.  Not only did the younger brother's car not have a hint on it that it rained while it was supposedly parked near the ocean.  Worse-- he left the vault's refrigerator turned off during a heat wave-- resulting in his entire expensive wine collection being ruined (even if he was one of the only people who could ever have tasted the difference).

Donald Pleasence (HALLOWEEN) is "Adrian Carsini", normally a very-refined, even snobbish individual, who turns out to be capable of abrupt violent mood swings when circumstances provoke him.  He spends half the episode wondering why Columbo is even asking questions, when it appears his brother died in an accident.

Gary Conway (LAND OF THE GIANTS) is "Enrico Guiseppe Carsini", who never got along with his older step-brother, and winds up being murdered by him when he comes between Adrian and the only thing in the world the guy loves-- his wine.

Dana Elcar (DARK SHADOWS, 2010) is "Falcon", one of Adrian's friends, who is surprised when Adrian uncharacteristically allows him to let a bottle "breathe".

Vito Scotti AND Monty Landis, two iconic character actors from the 60s (both were on THE MONKEES and BATMAN, among countless other things) are the Maitre'D and Waiter, respectively, at the high-class restaurant where Columbo winds up getting the PROOF he needed that Adrian murdered his brother.

I might have liked this more if it hadn't been stretched out from 90 minutes to 2 hours (1:34:38 without commercials)-- something that happened far-too-often the longer the NBC Mystery Movies went on.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Candidate For Crime
The Padded Political Murder   (5 of 10)

A candidate's manager spreads the false story that the man's life is threatened by an assassin. He also strongly advises the man to ditch his girlfriend, as it would be better for his career to be seen as "happily married". The candidate tricks his manager to pose as him and go to his beach-house, while, unknown to him, the candidate has set up a birthday party for his wife as an alibi.  He shoots the man dead, then adjusts a wrist-watch to set the alleged time of the murder.

Everything went fine until Columbo finds out it was the manager, not the candidate, who was killed.  From then on, the rest of this terribly over-long story (clocking in at 1:37:53) is painfully padded out beyond all all belief or tolerance.  I confess, I've been enjoying re-watching COLUMBO from the beginning for the first time in over 50 years more than I ever imagined.  But this episode is an prime example of why I got increasingly annoyed and bored out of my mind, the longer the 70s went on.

Not only is Columbo's incessant rambling going on and on longer than ever before, making him not only infuriating but at times seemingly brain-damaged, but the killer makes the same mistake nearly all of them did.  The guy just WON'T stop engaging with the Lieutenant, repeatedly trying to "explain" seemingly trivial points of the investigation, insisting on trying to "help" when saying nothing or telling Columbo it's HIS job, why doesn't he do it himself would have been the better option.

Worst of all is when, at the climax, he winds up HANDING Columbo the EXACT evidence he needed to NAIL him to a wall, evidence that simply would not have existed if the killer had just sat on the sidelines and DONE NOTHING.

Jackie Cooper (TREASURE ISLAND), Joanna Linville (STAR TREK: The Enterprise Incident), Tisha Sterling (COOGAN'S BLUFF), Ken Swofford (THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN), Vito Scotti (MASTER OF THE WORLD), Jack Riley (THE BOB NEWHART SHOW), Katey Sagal (MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) and Davis Roberts (countless bit parts) make up the cast.

I thought the ending was brilliant, but the full HOUR or so in the middle just got interminable. The worst part had to be when the traffic inspection cops pulled Columbo over the check his car.  It had NOTHING to do with the story! 

It took 5 writers to do this thing???  I wonder how many of them were hired just to do rewrites and expand it for a 2-hour time slot?
   (3-24-2025)

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Double Exposure
The Sublimnal Message Murder   (7 of 10)

A marketing genius who makes educational films, has a sideline of using a young model to help him blackmail married clients.  When one of those people threatens to expose him, he murders the man while a group of the man's employees are listening to him narrate a film in a projection room.  Things go wrong not only when Columbo begins investigating, but also when the man's projectionist figures out how he did it, and comes to him with a blackmail proposal, instead of going to the police with what he knows!  Sure enough, you have a 2nd murder, but in the end, the man's own methods lead Columbo to NAILING him. (Why don't these killers just keep their mouth shut and hide in a corner until the heat blows over?)

Robert Culp (THE OUTER LIMITS) is "Dr. Bart Kepple", who gets his victim to eat very salty caviar, then inserts a subliminal message into the film being run to inspire the man to go to the lobby for a drink of water, where he's shot dead. His noteriety, particularly 5 different books he wrote that Columbo borrows from the library, proves his eventual undoing.

Robert Middleton ("Mayor Anton Cermak" on THE UNTOUCHABLES) is "Vic Norris", who first becomes the target of blackmail, then is murdered when he threatens to expose it.

Chuck McCann (DRACULA DEAD AND LOVING IT) is "Roger White", the projectionist who catches Kepple tampering with a security monitor, leading him to attempt blackmail. BAD idea!

Louise Latham (McCLOUD: Encounter With Aries) is "Mrs. Norris", who finds out her husband was having an affair behind her back, before then finding out he was murdered, and while she has no witness, Columbo believes she's innocent because her alibi is just so bad.

Arlene Martel (STAR TREK: Amok Time) is "Tanya Baker", the model used to blackmail clients.  It appears her part was cut after the episode's initial run, and Universal Pictures is notorious for LOSING film edits (her scene is NOT on the official DVD release).

Danny Goldman (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) is the photographer who helps Columbo create his own subliminal imagery.

George Wyner (HILL STREET BLUES) is the film editor who explains "subliminal imagery" to the Lieutenant.

Richard Stahl (the 2nd-ever episode of WKRP IN CINCINNATI) is the ballistics man who Columbo tells to go home as they're trying to figure out how to nail their suspect.

This was another one of those episodes where not only did Columbo's RELENTLESS badgering get on my nerves, but the murderer's repeated ANSWERING questions that should be the Lieutenant's job to figure out himself also really got on my nerves.  The best part was, this was one of the 90-minute stories, so it got over a lot faster than if it had been padded out even further to a 2-hour time slot. And the finale was worth seeing, even if half of what led up to it had me shaking my head in dismay.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Publish or Perish
The Double Fake-Out   (7 of 10)

A successful author, sick to death of his current publisher, lets him know that when his current contract runs out, he's switching to another publishing company.  At which point his current publisher, enraged at the news, announces he'll kill him if he does so.  How insanely egotistical can a guy be? A writer has made him a fortune for years, and he's angry that the guy won't be making him any more money.

The twist is, he hires a would-be writer to murder the departing writer... promising him that if he does, he'll publish HIS first book.  And, he has the guy do it in such a way, that it makes the publisher look guilty... and therefore, "being framed" by the actual murderer.  Which adds a whole extra unusual level of confusion for Lt. Columbo.  (AT FIRST... heh.)

Jack Cassidy (THE EIGER SANCTION) makes his 2nd of 3 appearances as a slimy, smarmy, narcissistic creep who is obnoxious and offensive to just about everybody, and you'd almost think somebody would want to murder HIM, not the honest, hard-working author who made him as rich as he is.  As with so many murderers on this show, he eventually goes too far trying to plug holes in the mystery, especially after he kills his hired murderer!  (It's always a major mistake to kill two people in the same scheme.)

Mickey Spillane (THE GIRL HUNTERS) is the best-selling author, tired of writing smut, anxious to write "better" books, who's nearly finishing his first new novel when his life is suddenly cut short.

John Davis Chandler (MAD DOG COLL) is "Eddie Kane", who's obsessed with explosives and decides to write a "how to" book explaining how to blow things up and kill people.  Would any sensible publisher put out a book like that?  It never even crosses his mind that the only publisher who's agreed to do so, wants him to MURDER somebody for him. 

The cast is nicely filled out by Mariette Hartley, Jacques Aubuchon, Maurice Marsac, James Millhollin and James B. Sikking.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Mind Over Mayhem
The Think Tank Murder Case   (7 of 10)

The head of a scientific research group murders a collegue who threatened to reveal that the man's son had plagiarized a paper he was getting an award for. He wasn't so much worried about his son, as for how the news would reflect on HIS institute. Fatherly love this WASN'T.

Jose Ferrer (the 1983 remake of TO BE OR NOT TO BE) is "Dr. Marshall Cahill", who may have one of the biggest egos ever seen on this series, and that's really saying something. As the investigation continues, he gets more and more rude and insulting to Columbo, accusing him of having a "transparent" personality. Did he really under-estimate the Lt., or was he just venting frustration at someone he was beginning to realize was SMARTER than he was? For more of his expert insufferability, check out his part in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SEX COMEDY, currently my favorite Woody Allen comedy.

Lew Ayers (DR. KILDARE!) is "Dr. Howard Nicholson", a sweet guy who believes in the truth, and it costs him his life. By the end of the episode, I wanted the law to HANG his murderer, for killing such a nice guy and destroying a wonderful, happy marriage, over such a trivial reason.

Robert Walker Jr. (STAR TREK: Charlie X) is "Neil Cahill", the abused son who can never please his father, and resorts to theft to try to impress him. Later, when he wants to tell the truth, his father tries to STOP him from doing the right thing.  (What a B******.)

Jessica Walter (PLAY MISTY FOR ME) is the younger wife who really loved her husband, now a widow who hopes Columbo can find the killer. One of my favorite scenes in the story was when she tells someone she KNOWS Columbo is much smarter than he appears. A beautiful actress typecast in really "intense" roles, it was nice to see her playing someone so likable for a change.

Lou Wagner (PLANET OF THE APES) is "Ross", whose car was borrowed to commit the crime. Columbo takes one look at him and knows he didn't do it... he's too short!

Arthur Batanides (BRANNIGAN) is "Murph", the mechanic who oversees the car pool. He likes dogs, but says he can't get any work done with Columbo's Bassett driving him crazy.

Charles Macauley (STAR TREK: Return of the Archons) is "Farnsworth", who runs a school for dogs, tells Columbo his pooch can't seem to learn anything, and, is "demoralizing" all the other dogs. Macauley has often struck me as a chameleon, changing his appearance from role to role. This time, I recognized him by his VOICE!

Lee Montgomery (BEN) is a 13-year-old genius who would just like to be treated like a normal kid. If I were the Lt., I'd have made a point of becoming friends with him and staying in touch after the case was solved.

Filling out the cast are John Zaremba (THE TIME TUNNEL), Darell Zwerling (DOC SAVAGE), and Robby The Robot (FORBIDDEN PLANET), the latter of whom was programmed to help give the killer an alibi.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Swan Song
The Country Singer and The Evangelical Fanatic   (7 of 10)

An ex-con whose career has exploded finds himself trapped in a totally-loveless farce of a marriage by a domineering, controlling wife who is using all he profits of his singing to fund her dream project temple.  She does this mainly by holding over him the threat of returning to jail should it be found out he once had an affair with an underage fan-- who the wife has virtually made her adopted daughter to keep the girl in her husband's face.  It's no surprise when the singer winds up killing BOTH of them in one go, by drugging their coffee and then bailing out of a small airplane during a storm.

What sets this episode apart from most is not only the double-murder, but the fact that for once, Columbo actually tries to blame his unseen boss for his own relentless attention to trivial details, and how the Lieutenant remains on friendly terms with the killer all the way through to the end of the story!  It makes this rather over-long episode (padded out with too many renditions of the Hank Williams song "I Saw The Light") seem more tolerable than most stretched out to fit the 2-hour time slot.

Johnny Cash (who actually has some 38 acting credits listed at the IMDB) is "Tommy Brown", a flawwed man who simply was pushed too far for too long, a country singer with a very successful career who didn't even own his own car.  He wound up one of the very few murderers on this series who didn't wind up getting angry as Columbo kept coming back for just one more question and then another.

Ida Lupino (HIGH SIERRA) is "Edna Basket Brown", who apparently coerced Tommy to marry her despite neither of them ever actually loving the other. I think most churches would consider that "marriage under false pretenses".  Truthfully, I've never seen Lupino play a character as nasty as the one she did in this story.  Could this be a case of "justifiable homicide"?  Maybe Tommy's lawyer may use that as his defense when it goes to trial.  It's especially egregious, when I consider just how hypocritical it is for her to be going around talking about "God's will" and such.

John Dehner (GET SMART: Smart Fell On Alabama) is "Roland Pangborn", an investigator whose specialty is airplane crashes, who seriously admires Columbo's attention to detail, and reccomends he could really use someone like him in his field, not knowing how nervous the Lt. is about flying, especially in small planes.

Bill McKinney (THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES) is "Luke Basket", Edna's brother, who KNOWS there was no love lost between the married couple.

Also in the cast are Sorrell Brooke, Vito Scotti, John Randolph and Lucille Meredith.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  A Friend In Deed
When Your Boss Is The Murderer   (8 of 10)

A man who’s known for having “problems” with his wife accidentally kills her.  Instead of calling the police, he goes to his friend, the Deputy Police Commissioner—and to his shock, the guy decides to help him cover it up and make it look like the work of a jewel thief who’s hit 3 houses in the same area.  When Columbo gets on the case, the guy begins arguing with him, insisting he’s “just guessing”. Then midway through the story, the guy murders his own wife, and blackmails his “friend” to make THAT look like the work of the jewel thief, as well.  A key scene is when Columbo explains in great detail EXACTLY why he doesn’t go along with the prevailing theory, and how he came to his own conclusions step-by-step.  Anyone else might have respionded by telling him, “That’s BRILLIANT!”  But when his boss totally dismisses it, and ORDERS him to work with the robbery detail, to the Lieutenant, it’s as much as an admission of guilt.  But HOW to prove it?

Michael McGuire (20 1970 episodes of DARK SHADOWS) is “Hugh Caldwell”, increasingly infuriated at his wife seeing other men.  Assuming he told his “friend” the truth, his wife’s death wasn’t a murder.  But I bet he wishes he had called 911 after it happened.

Richard Kiley (ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: The Crooked Road) is “Mark Halperin”, the Deputy Police Commissioner who decides to use his position to muddle a murder case, and along the way, get rid of his rich wife.  It’s not often the real murder in one of these doesn’t happen until about 45 minutes in!  I’d call that “playing with the format”, something they did more frequently during the 1st season, but then again not until the ABC revival in the late 1980s.  Anyone else in his position should have known Columbo’s reputation and appreciated all the hard work and unique brain-power he was putting into the case.  His deliberate obstruction (something not seen since the 1968 pilot) only served to inspire Columbo to double-down on his efforts.

Val Avery (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN) is “Artie Jessup”, a career criminal who doesn’t mind spending time in jail, but he’s not gonna go down for something he didn’t do!  Columbo makes a deal with him to help nail the real culprit, and I have to say, I was left wondering at the end if he wound up going to jail for his robberies, or if he managed to be let off with a warning as a result of his help.

John Finnegan (who appeared in 6 COLUMBOs in the 70s and several more in the 90s) is “Lt. Dreyer” of the robbery squad, who doesn’t seem to have any ego problems whatsoever working with the Lieutenant.  He’s the kind of character I find myself wishing the series had had more of, on a more regular basis.

Also in the cast are Eric Christmas (THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN), Arlene Martel (STAR TREK), Victor Campos (McCLOUD: The 42nd Street Cavalry), Byron Morrow (CYBORG 2087), and Albert Popwell (THE ENFORCER).

This was one of the very few 2-hour COLUMBOs from the 70s that (apart from his car repeatedly breaking down) didn’t feel padded out at all.  Unfortunately, the next season, NBC decided to make ALL the NBC Mystery Movies 2 hours (including commercials), and even some of my favorite shows started having episodes I could barely make it through without starting to get bored.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  An Exercise In Fatality
The Health Club Franchise Scam   (6 of 10)

A very-successful exercise fanatic has made a fortune selling franchises to his own health club.  However, one very-clever accountant has worked out that he’s done so by ripping off his customers via certain points of the franchise contracts.  Of course, murder ensues, and when Columbo is on the case, the over-confident, arrogant killer becomes increasingly argumentative the longer the Lt. keeps asking questions.

Robert Conrad (THE WILD WILD WEST) is “Milo Janus”, whose franchise contracts force his business partners to buy all their equipment at jacked-up rates from other companies he owns.  He has a way of denying any knowledge of things when people shove facts in his face, but when it’s Columbo doing it, his tone switches to the “You’ll never prove it” style.

Gretchen Corbett (33 episodes of THE ROCKFORD FILES) is “Jessica Conroy”, Janus’ very-‘personal’ secretary, who clearly is in love with him, but also is completely oblivious to what a total creep he really is.

Pat Harrington Jr. (209 episodes of ONE DAY AT A TIME) is “Buddy Castle”, an associate of Janus who also has no idea what the guy is up to.

Philip Bruns (a 2nd season NIGHT COURT) is “Gene Stafford” who makes the fatal mistake of telling Janus he plans to expose him in a bunco scam court case.  Instead, he winds up dead, and his murder is made to look like an accident.

Darrell Swerling (DOC SAVAGE: THE MAN OF BRONZE) is “Lewis Lacey”, the numbers specialist that Stafford hired to investigate Bruns’ accounts for him.  As over-long as this episode was, it’s infuriating that we never actually get to see the meeting when Columbo finally tracks him down and talks with him!

Ann Coleman (a set decorator and part-time actress) is the un-named “TriCon computer clerk”.  When Columbo shows up looking for mathemetician Lewis Lacey, she so self-centered she dismisses the Lt. as someone looking for a job, then, when he explains himself, she punches info into a computer, in order to get a “complete” read-out of Lacey’s personnel file, without bothering to explain to Columbo what she’s doing.  It’s annoying how you have a young woman that pretty who appears to have NO social skills whatsoever (or, at least, no interest in cultivating any), and when Columbo finally gets the phone number of the guy he’s looking for, he winds up throwing away the print-out when he leaves the building!  The entire scene just screamed “excessive padding”.

Robert Conrad became just the lastest 1960s TV hero to play a murderer on this show.  Somehow, they kept becoming more arrogant as they went, as the show increasingly settled into a strict formula.  Worse, when NBC decided that starting this season, “all” the Mystery Movies would fit a 2-hour time slot, just about every episode of every Mystery Movie series became PAINFULLY padded-out, and, frankly, boring to watch.  I was delighted when I read a brief bio of Rock Hudson, to learn that he felt the same way, when he offered the view that McMILLAN & WIFE just about barely worked in a 90-minute slot, but didn’t when it was expanded to 2 hours.

[profh0011]

The NBC Mystery Movies were always among my favorite shows for most of the 70s. But when NBC decided (for 2 years, anyway) to make all of them fit a 2-hour slot, EVEN my favorites started to get boring.

I recall when ABC started doing their own Mystery Movies in the late 80s, reviving COLUMBO in the process. The first new season was worse than the last of the old ones...

...UNTIL... Peter Falk pushed his way around in the 2nd new season, and, as I like to put it, began "PLAYING" with the format. Of the 6 stories that year, EACH was very different from the other 5. Only the last one that year was a "normal" episode-- but because of the previous 5, it felt more "different", less "formula".

I didn't realize until I got the complete series box set (69 MOVIES in all!) that the creators of the character had been "playing with the format" early-on. But the longer it went on, the less they did, and more repetitive the series became.

I've been watching these-- EVERY one I can get ahold of-- at a rate of ONE per week. So it's going to take me several YEARS yet before I get to the ABC revival.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Negative Reaction
The Imperfect Double Murderer   (6 of 10)

A photographer is really fed up with his overbearing, domineering, abusive wife.  It may be one of those rare instances on this show when the audience is no doubt on his side when he murders her.  The problem is, he frames an ex-con of being a kidnapper and murderer in the process, and for that, he surely deserves to be caught.

Dick Van Dyke (MARY POPPINS) is “Paul Galesko”, who really thinks he’s smarter than anyone else, especially when he concocts another one of those too-complicated for its own good murder schemes.  This was, in fact, the 2nd time in the series that a murderer tried to make it look like a kidnapping was involved, but it was unforgivable when he committed a 2nd murder to frame an innocent man for the first one.  Each killer on this show lately has been getting more and more annoyed at Columbo for his endless obsession over small details, and this one actually threatens the Lieutenant if he sees him one more time… which is why he winds up sending another Detective to the guy’s house to ARREST him.

Antoinette Bower (STAR TREK: Catspaw) is “Frances Galesko”, a total B**** who, frankly, had it coming.  Bower always had an unusual look, and in the right role, could be very exotic and attractive in her own way… BUT NOT HERE.

Don Gordon (THE OUTER LIMITS: Second Chance) is “Alvin Deschler”, an ex-con trying to get his life back on track, doing odd jobs for Galesko, never dreaming the guy was setting him up to be his patsy.  This is a rare instance where it’s not the actual murder victim who needs avenging, but this other person who the killer didn’t even consider was worth caring about.

Michael Strong (STAR TREK: What Are Little Girls Made Of?) is “Sgt. Hoffman”, the point man on the case, who happily works with Columbo when he shows up to investigate.

Vito Scotti (MASTER OF THE WORLD) is “Thomas Dolan”, a wino who happened to hear the 2nd murder when it happened.  Columbo treats him with more respect than most, and when the Lt. tracks him down at a soup kitchen to ask him some questions, it’s one of the highlights of the episode, despite the fact that the scene in question is another example of shameless padding!  This was Scotti’s 3rd appearance on the show (in different roles each time) but despite an amazing make-up job, and his playing such a different character and accent, I recognized him instantly.  I’m guessing he and Peter Falk must have been friends, the way he keeps turning up here.

Joyce Van Patten (UNHAPPILY EVER AFTER) is the “Sister of Mercy” at the soup kitchen who hilariously mistakes Columbo for a bum and offers to feed him and replace his old, beat-up overcoat.  On learning he’s really a cop, she assumes he must be “undercover”.  Here’s a case where, if I hadn’t seen her name in the credits, I might not have recognized her at all!  She’s not only much younger, but her character here is so totally-different from the one she played in the much-later sitcom I know her from so well.  (I once wrote her a fan letter!)

Larry Storch (F TROOP) is “Mr. Weekly”, the driving instructor who reveals to Columbo that the suspected kidnapper actually had an air-tight alibi, as he was taking a driving test at the very time the kidnapping was supposed to be occuring.  But along the way, he winds up being so terrified of the Lieutenant’s lack of driving skills, he prefers walking to being a passenger in his Peugeot.  Unfortunately, as much as I always enjoy watching Storch in anything, the entire scene is a case of terrible padding to stretch out the length of the story to fill a 2-hour slot.

Despite all of his careful investigation, in the end, Columbo winds up having to resort to a trick to nail the killer.  But when he does, it just goes to show the guy he WASN’T as clever as he was so sure he was.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  By Dawn’s Early Light
The Military Academy Murder  (5 of 10)

The fanatical "Commandant" of an old and prestigious military academy, disturbed by the news that the current chairman of its board plans to shut it down and turn it into a co-ed junior college, murders the man by sabotaging a cannon used during a crowded exercise.  Columbo starts out thinking the Commandant might have been the intended victim, but slowly works out that, no, he was actually the killer. 

Patrick McGoohan (DANGER MAN, THE PRISONER), is “Colonel Lyle C. Rumford”, absolutely dedicated to the traditions of the school, obsessive in his hard-line treatment of cadets, totally convinced that dropping enrollment rates WILL turn around, and that the country in general will return to its long history of a strong military to defend it against all those who are eager to attack and destroy America.  Horrifically, from the early 1980s to the present, his predictions have proven to be true, making this brief slice of history when the country was just barely beginning to turn against world-wide war-mongering even sadder than it was when it was filmed.  McGoohan reportedly hit it off with Peter Falk so well, that this marked his 1st of 4 separate guest-appearances on the series. 

Burr DeBenning (McCLOUD: The Concrete Corral) is “Captain Loomis”, Rumford’s loyal right-hand man.

Tom Simcox (THE GREEN HORNET: Corpse Of The Year) is “William Haynes”, whos spent several years trying to have the academy shut down and turned into a junior college, and becomes one of the more spectacular murder victims in the series’ run (albeit off-camera).

Madeline Sherwood (81 episodes of THE FLYING NUN) is “Miss Brady”, Rumford’s secretary, who’s extremely loyal to him, and does as little to help Columbo as possible.

Bruce Kirby (an endless resume including a 2nd-season NIGHT COURT) is “Sgt. George Kramer”. The character appeared in 4 COLUMBOs in the 1970s, and several more during the revival in the 90s.

This is an excellent episode (though, as with all of them this year, far too long and slow), but, it just might be my 2nd-LEAST-favorite one in the series so far.

[gregjh]

Sorry for butting in, I'm watching season 9, episode 3. Columbo is up against a very sharp attorney. The attraction here is that the attorney catches on to Columbo's hidden intelligence very quickly and openly calls it out. It makes for an intriguing battle.
There's so much to like about this episode, the clash of wits, the scene where Columbo tells a joke to the suspect, the final "gotcha", it's one of the best from the late era.

[profh0011]

Checking my own index... the 9th season... is the 2nd one on ABC (1989-90)

I thought the 8th season (the 1st of the revival) was EVEN WORSE than the previous few.  What I didn't realize was, when ABC revived the show in 1988, it started out with no less than 9 producers.  That's an awful lot of dead-weight, HMM?

But here's the thing.  One of them was Peter Falk.  After one DREADFUL season (with 4 terrible stories in a row), Falk decided to push his weight around-- and TOOK OVER control of the show.  Season 9 had 6 stories-- EACH ONE very different from the other!  I always described it as, "Playing with the format".  What I hadn't realized was, when the original creators were in charge for its first 2 years, they used to do that very thing.  But when others took over, it got too "formula".  Like, the SAME plot every time.  Falk put a stop to that.  The 6th episode that year was the first "normal" one.  But after 5 "different" episodes, the "normal" one was ALSO "different".

For the first time, COLUMBO became one of my FAVORITE series at that point.  So I've always praised Falk's efforts in that regard ever since.



It'll be a while before I get there.  I'm trying to watch every "NBC Mystery Movie" in order-- ONE PER WEEK.  This is gonna take years.  (It already has!)

[profh0011]

Oh, JESUS!!!!!

If the episode you referred to was "Agenda For Murder" with Patrick McGoohan... that's my #1 FAVORITE Columbo!!

[gregjh]

Oh, JESUS!!!!!

If the episode you referred to was "Agenda For Murder" with Patrick McGoohan... that's my #1 FAVORITE Columbo!!

Yes sir, that's the one!
My favourites (not in order) include this one, Any Port in a Storm, A Friend in Deed, Murder by the Book (I just discovered it was directed by Steven Spielberg) , Negative Reaction and Etude in Black.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Troubled Waters
The Cruise Ship Murder   (7 of 10)

A married car dealer hosting a car dealers’ convention on a cruise ship, is being blackmailed by a singer he had a fling with, and decides to kill her.  As luck would have it, a musician she had an affair with earlier is also on board, and becomes the obvious murder suspect.  But as it happens, Lt. Columbo’s wife won a free cruise on that very ship, and the ship’s Captain, in the style of so many Hercule Poirot stories, asks for his help to solve the crime before they reach port.

Robert Vaughn (THE MAN FROM UNCLE) is “Hayden Danziger”, who was on the ship during its previous cruise, in order to learn enough about the layout of the ship to carefully plan every step of his murder.  Although Columbo suspected him almost from the beginning, it took the entire rest of the story for him to nail down every single little detail to secure an arrest and conviction.

Patrick Macnee (THE AVENGERS) is “Captain Gibbon”, who on the one hand asks for Columbo’s help, but on the other, winds up giving him non-stop hell about being discreet, not bothering the passengers, and ending his investigation once HE thinks they’ve found the murderer.  It takes an hour and 22 minutes into the story before you can see in his eyes that he suddenly realizes that the Lieutenant is in fact far better at his job than he often appears.

Bernard Fox (BEWITCHED, HOGAN’S HEROES) is “Purser Watkins”, who pops up from time to time.  I found it amusing that between him and Macnee, there were 2 different actors who’d played “Dr. Watson” in the 1970s in the same story.

Dean Stockwell (THE DUNWICH HORROR) is “Lloyd Harrington”, who was in love with the murdered girl, and whom all the obvious evidence seems to point to.  My favorite moment in the story is probably when Columbo shows him a photo of Danziger, and when Harrington asks if Columbo thinks Danziger is the murderer, he replies, “YES.  I just don’t have him yet.”

As with so many stories this year, this one definitely goes on longer than it ever should have.  But for a change, it was the ship’s Captain who got on my nerves, instead of the Lieutenant.  I really wished that right at the end, the Captain could have acknowledged Columbo with just 3 simple words:  “Lieutenant?  Good job.”

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Playback
Murder On Videotape   (7 of 10)

An egotistical inventor decides to murder his mother-in-law when she announces she’s replacing him as CEO of her electronics firm.  He uses an elaborate surveillance system in their mansion and multiple videotape recorders to make it appear he was out of the house at the time she was shot dead.  Columbo, as usual, takes the long, hard road to nailing down what really happened.

Oskar Werner (FARENHEIT 451) is “Harold Van Wick”, who somehow manages to be more arrogant, egotistical and annoying than possibly any murderer on this show before him.  After awhile, you wouldn’t think that possible.  One thing he isn’t, is cool, as by halfway in, you can see the cracks appearing as he gets more and more irritated at Columbo’s line of questioning.  Always a sure sign the Lieutenant is on the right track.

Gena Rowlands (TONY ROME) is “Elizabeth Van Wick”, Harold’s wife, who’s confined to a wheelchair, frustrated at being kept at home when she’d be much happier getting out and about, but who loves her husband without any restrictions.  Even the Lieutenant feels for her, with what he knows he has to do to her husband.

Martha Scott (THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) is “Margaret Meadis”, the mother-in-law who’s finished turning a blind eye to her son-in-law draining her company of money while incessantly cheating on his wife (her daughter).  Her murder is actually caught on-camera.

Also in the cast are Herbert Jefferson Jr. (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, I was surprised to see him in 2 NBC Mystery Movies back-to-back playing different roles), Trisha Noble (a regular on STRIKE FORCE a few years later) and Bart Burns (my favorite “Pat Chamber” on the 1958 MIKE HAMMER series, who seems to have the ability to be invisible in most of his roles even when you’re looking straight at him.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  A Deadly State Of Mind
The Egotistical Psychiatrist Murder   (6 of 10)

A psychiatrist who uses hypnotism as part of his methods is having an affair with a patient who he’s using to help him write a book.  When her jealous husband catches them together, and accuses the man of just being the latest of the lowlifes she’s attracted to, he makes the mistake of attacking both the psychiatrist and his wife.  A fight ensues, and the husband is accidentally killed.  It could have ended right there, as a matter of self-defence, but, NO!  So fearful of how the bad publicity might affect his career and potential book sales, he convinces his weak-willed lover (who’s now a widow) to tell the Police her husband was killed by a pair of house invaders.

As soon as Lt. Columbo shows up to investigate, you know this isn’t going to end well.

It’s one thing that the widow has so much trouble keeping her fake story straight that Columbo is increasingly suspicious by the scene.  It’s another thing when, repeatedly, obvious physical evidence is brought up in the story, and then almost immediately ignored!  Also, the ending was so confusingly presented, I got confused, even though I knew what Columbo was trying to do.  I’m tempted to ask that old question, “Who writes this stuff?”, but I think it tends to go without saying.

When it looks like the widow is going to break down, the psychiatrist uses hypnotism to have her unknowingly commit suicide.  And, he does it right in front of Columbo, who shows up at a party of rich eggheads, and, inexplicably, winds up spelling out intimate details of a murder investigation that is STILL IN PROGRESS.  What?  Who the hell DOES that?

George Hamilton (LOVE AT FIRST BITE) is “Dr. Mark Collier”.  He should have stuck with romancing his assistant at the research clinic.

Lesley Ann Warren (VICTOR/VICTORIA and 23 episodes of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE) is “Nadia Donner”, who’s used and abused by both her husband and her lover.  It’s unusual for the actual planned murder to take place so far into an episode (though one of my favorite instances of such happened during the ABC revival).

Stephen Elliot (DEATH WISH, ARTHUR) is “Carl Donner”.  When he found out his wife was cheating on him—AGAIN—he should have just snapped photos and hired a lawyer.  I guess the shrink wasn’t the only one with too big of an ego here.

Karen Machon (STRIKE FORCE: Humiliation) is “Dr. Anita Borden”, Collier’s put-upon lab assistant and part-time lover.  I liked her, but couldn’t understand how she ever put up with so much verbal abuse from her boss and alleged boyfriend.

Bruce Kirby makes his 2nd of 9 appearances as “Sgt. George Kramer”.  I always remember him for his 2nd season NIGHT COURT episode, “The Gypsy”, where he tangled with “Madame Loretta”.  He was also great as Hanna’s father in 4 early episodes of ANYTHING BUT LOVE, and thought that show seriously lost something when his character disappeared from the cast.

One thing I really appreciated about this episode: it, and the previous McCLOUD Mystery Movie, “Return To The Alamo”, cut back to the 90-minute format instead of 2 hours.  The vast majority of 2-hour stories were PAINFULLY padded out, and the extra 20-25 minutes too often tried my patience.

[profh0011]

COLUMBO:  Forgotten Lady
The Deadly Comeback   (6 of 10)

A retired musical-comedy star wants to stage a comeback, but her rich husband flat out refuses to finance her new project.  She winds up killing him, but Columbo, as usual, is quick to find fault with the situation and her alibi.

Janet Leigh (PSYCHO) is “Grace Wheeler Willis”, absolutely obsessed with recreating her previous successes, and determined that nothing and no one will get in her way, even if she has to kill the one man in her life who genuinely cares about her more than anyone else.

Sam Jaffe (LOST HORIZON) is “Dr. Henry Willis”, arguably the least-deserving murder victim in this show’s entire history.

Maurice Evans (BEWITCHED) is “Raymond”, the loyal butler, who only shows great irritation when Columbo arrives, and refuses to go away.

Linda Gaye Scott (BATMAN: The Ring Of Wax) is “Alma”, the surprisingly much-younger wife of Raymond the butler!  (Good for him!)

John Payne (SUN VALLEY SERENADE) is “Ned Diamond”, Grace’s longtime dancing partner, now too old to act with her, but still a loyal friend offering help and advice where he can.

Francine York (BATMAN: The Bookwork Turns) is “Sgt. Lefkowitz”, the very–attractive Police woman who hounds Columbo because he’s YEARS overdue at the Police target range, and is in danger of having his Detective license revoked if he doesn’t take care of it.  Turns out, he can’t hit the target, which is why he never carries a gun—another violation of his job!

This turns out to be a really tragic episode, when we find out at the end WHY the dead husband refused to fund her comeback.  For once, the killer is not brought to justice, because Columbo realized it would serve no good cause.