The Columbo Phile: A Casebook

351 Pages·1989·18.76 MB·english

by  Mark Dawidziak

For my mother and father,
no mystery why
Copyright © 1988, 1989 by Mark Dawidziak

Dialogue quoted from episodes of Columbo (copyright © Universal City Studios, Inc.)
is used with permission of MCA Publishing Rights, a division of MCA Inc.

All rights reserved.
The Mysterious Press, 129 West 56th Street, New York, N.Y. 100I9

Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: May 1989
I0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

DESIGNED BY GIORGETTA BELL. MCREE

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dawidziak, Mark, 1956–
The Columbo phile.

Bibliography: p. 344
Summary: Discusses the origins, plots, and personnel
of the innovative television mystery show which starred
Peter Falk as the scruffy Detective Columbo.
1. Columbo (Television program) [1. Columbo (Television
program) 2. Mystery and detective television
programs. 3. Television programs] I. Title.
PN1992.77.C583D38 1989 791.45'72 88-43479
ISBN 0-89296-376-X
Author's Note
This book was completed in the fall of 1987 and accepted for publication in March 1988. In
May 1988, ABC announced that it was reviving Columbo as part of a new Mystery Movie
package. Although plans for the revival are detailed in the ninth section of this study (see the
chapter titled "More Columbos"), the focus of The Columbo Phile' is the character's ten-year
stint at NBC (1968–78)—two TV movies and 43 episodes.
Contents
SELECTED QUOTES ...........................................................Xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................xiii
FOREWORD ...........................................................................I
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................3

PART I. THE PLOT THICKENS OR HOW COLUMBO FOUND NBC 11
The Good Lieutenant ...........................................13
Levinson & Link: The Men Behind the Raincoat 15
Filling the Raincoat .............................................20
Case #1: Prescription: Murder .................... 24
Footnote #1: The Raincoat ..................................32
Case #2: Ransom for a Dead Man ............... 33

PART II. THE FIRST SEASON (1971-72) ..........................39
Getting the Wrinkles in .......................................41
Case #3: "Murder by the Book" ..........................48
Case #4: "Death Lends a Hand" ..........................55
Footnote #2: The Car ..........................................58
Memorable Exchanges About Columbo's Car .....61
Case #5: "Dead Weight" ......................................63
Footnote #3: The Murderers ................................66
Case #6: "Suitable for Framing"...........................69
Case #7: "Lady in Waiting" .................................74
Case #8: "Short Fuse" .........................................79
Case #9: "Blueprint for Murder" .........................83
Summing Up the First Season .............................87

PART III. THE SECOND SEASON (1972-73) ...................91
The Return of the Raincoat .................................93
Case #10: "Etude in Black" .................................97
Footnote #4: Dog ................................................100
Case #11: "The Greenhouse Jungle" .................102
Case #12: "The Most Crucial Game" ................106
Case #13: "Dagger of the Mind" .......................111
Case #14: "Requiem for a Falling Star" ............117
viii THE COLUMBO PHILE
Case #15: "A Stitch in Crime" ........................123
Case #16: "The Most Dangerous Match" .......128
Case #17: "Double Shock" ..............................133
Summing Up the Second Season .....................138

PART IV. THE THIRD SEASON (1973-74) • ...............141
The Lucky Third ...............................................143
Case #18: "Lovely but Lethal" ........................146
Case #19: "Any Old Port in a Storm" .............150
Footnote #5: Columbo's Theme Song .............156
Case #20: "Candidate for Crime" ....................157
Case #21: "Double Exposure" ........................................162
Case #22: "Publish or Perish" .........................168
Case #23: "Mind Over Mayhem" ....................173
Case #24: "Swan Song" ...................................178
Case #25: "A Friend in Deed" .........................183
Summing Up the Third Season .......................189

PART V. THE FOURTH SEASON (1974-75) ............191
Fourth and Six ..................................................193
Case #26: "An Exercise in Fatality" ...............197
Case #27: "Negative Reaction" .......................202
Case #28: "By Dawn's Early Light" ................207
Case #29: "Troubled Waters" ..........................213
Case #30: "Playback" .......................................218
Case #31: "A Deadly State of Mind" ..............222
Summing Up the Fourth Season ......................228

PART VI. THE FIFTH SEASON (1975—76) ...................229
A Fifth of Columbo ..........................................231
Case #32: "Forgotten Lady" ............................233
Case #33: "A Case of Immunity" ....................237
Case #34: "Identity Crisis" ..............................241
Case #35: "A Matter of Honor" .......................246
Case #36: "Now You See Him" ......................249
Case #37: "Last Salute to the Commodore" ...254
Summing Up the Fifth Season .........................259

PART VII. THE SIXTH SEASON ( 1 9 7 6 - 7 7 ) ...........261
A Season of Sorts .............................................263
Case #38: "Fade in to Murder" ........................264
Case #39: "Old Fashioned Murder" ................268
CONTENTS ix
Case #40: "The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q.
Murder Case" .................................................273
Summing Up the Sixth Season ..........................278

PART VIII. THE SEVENTH SEASON (1977-78) ..............279
Seventh Summit .................................................281
Case #41: "Try and Catch Me" ..........................283
Case #42: "Murder Under Glass" ......................288
Case #43: "Make Me a Perfect Murder" ...........292
Case #44: "How to Dial a Murder" ...................297
Case #45: "The Conspirators" ...........................302
The End of the Trail ..........................................306

PART IX. AFTER COLOMBO ............................................307
Falk Talk ............................................................309
The Star, the Producers and the Story Editors
After Columbo ................................................311
Mrs. Columbo or Kate Loves a Mystery or
Viewers Hate Kate .........................................314
Late Night Columbo ..........................................316
More Columbos ..................................................317

PART X. VIVA COLUMBO! ..........................................321
Columbo at the Emmys .....................................322
Columbo in Print ...............................................323
A Columbo Character Sketch ............................324
The Real Mrs. Columbo ....................................327
Multiple Appearances on Columbo ....................328
Classic Columbo Lines ......................................331
How the Murderers See Columbo .....................338
Columbo Trivia .................................................342
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................344
INDEX ...................................................................................346
Selected Quotes
"Columbo, you're magnificent. You really are. . . . You're the most persistent creature I ever met,
but likable. The astonishing thing is you're likable. . . . You're a sly little elf."
— DR. RAY FLEMING (GENE BARRY)
Prescription: Murder (1968)

"Columbo is so obsessive. He is so curious. I think he's unaware of just how good he is. These
little problems are so interesting and bother-some to him, he doesn't know he forgot to shave that
morning. He's a genuine eccentric."
— PETER FALK

"It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime weddings of character and actor. They come along very
rarely."
— RICHARD LEVINSON
Co-creator of Columbo

Columbo: "The most influential, probably the best, and certainly the most endearing cop series
on TV."
— Time magazine

"Mystery is solving a problem, not gunplay and fights and car chases."
— VINCENT PRICE

"Peter fought every inch of the way for quality."
— PATRICK McGOOHAN

"You sure don't look like a policeman."
— MRS. WALTERS (KATE REID)
"Dead Weight" (1971)

Mysteries: "They're tricky, I'll tell you that. I could never figure those things out."
— LIEUTENANT COLUMBO
"Murder by the Book" (1971)
"I can look like a mess. That part is me. I can be stubborn. That part is me, too. But I have no
great detective powers like Columbo. I'm not good at solving mysteries or puzzles. I mean,
Columbo . . . what a mind! Who has a mind that sharp? Maybe Sherlock Holmes is that
clever. It's a photo finish."
− PETER FALK

"This is a murder now, and I kind of figure that's my department."
− LIEUTENANT COLUMBO
Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)