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IMDb > "Columbo" Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)
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"Columbo" Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)



Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   576 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Richard Irving
Writers:
Dean Hargrove (teleplay)
Richard Levinson (story) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ransom for a Dead Man on IMDbPro.
TV Series:
"Columbo" (1971)
Original Air Date:
1 March 1971 (Season 1, Episode 0)
Plot:
A lawyer comes up with a clever plan to murder her husband. After the deed is done, a seemingly slow-witted... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Primetime Emmy. more
User Comments:
Middling murder-mystery with Lt. Columbo indeed resorting to a shopworn bag of tricks... more

Cast

 (Episode Cast) (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)

Peter Falk ... Columbo
Lee Grant ... Leslie Williams
John Fink ... Michael Clark

Harold Gould ... Agent Carlson
Patricia Mattick ... Margaret Williams
Paul Carr ... Hammond
Jed Allan ... Phil
Charles Macaulay ... Richard
Hank Brandt ... Attorney (as Henry Brandt)
Jean Byron ... Pat (as Jeane Byron)
Richard Roat ... Perkins
Norma Connolly ... Celia
Harlan Warde ... Paul Williams
Bill Walker ... Crowell

Timothy Carey ... Bert
Judson Morgan ... Judge
Richard O'Brien ... Priest
Celeste Yarnall ... Gloria
Lisa Moore ... Nancy
Lois Battle ... Waitress
Reginald Fenderson ... Mechanic
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Angelo De Meo ... Desk Clerk (uncredited)
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Episode Crew
Directed by
Richard Irving 
 
Writing credits
Dean Hargrove (teleplay)

Richard Levinson (story) &
William Link (story)

Richard Levinson (character) &
William Link (character)

Gene Thompson  uncredited

Produced by
Dean Hargrove .... producer
Richard Irving .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Billy Goldenberg 
 
Cinematography by
Lionel Lindon (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Edward M. Abroms 
John Elias (uncredited)
 
Art Direction by
John J. Lloyd 
 
Set Decoration by
Bert Allen  (as Bert F. Allan)
 
Production Management
Donald L. Gold .... unit manager (as Don Gold)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Bisk .... assistant director
 
Sound Department
Robert R. Bertrand .... sound (as Robert Bertrand)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burton Miller .... costumes
 
Editorial Department
Richard Belding .... editorial supervisor
 

Series Crew
These people are regular crew members. Were they in this episode?
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Richard Levinson  creator
William Link  creator

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Runtime:
120 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Finland:K-7 (2004) | UK:PG | Sweden:11
Company:
Universal TV more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Produced as a second pilot for the Columbo TV series, three years after Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV). Its success led to Columbo being made part of a rotating Mystery Movie wheel of programs for most of the 1970s. more
Quotes:
Lt. Columbo: Uh, did she ask where the body was?
Agent Carlson: No.
Lt. Columbo: I didn't think so. Oh, listen, one more thing, Mr. Carlson. She didn't, uh, ask how her husband was killed, did she?
Agent Carlson: No...
Lt. Columbo: That's what I thought.
Agent Carlson: All right, Lieutenant, what's bothering you now?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Nanny: A Fine Friendship (#2.19)" (1995) more

FAQ

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful:-
Middling murder-mystery with Lt. Columbo indeed resorting to a shopworn bag of tricks..., 29 July 2007
6/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Lee Grant, smirking and narrowing her eyes like a cat about to pounce, plays a hotshot lady lawyer who kills her attorney husband and makes it look like a kidnapping-turned-homicide; Lt. Columbo, curiously on the case from the very beginning (before there is a dead body), matches wits with Grant, eventually using Lee's hostile step-daughter as a tool to uncover the truth. This early "Columbo" teleplay by Dean Hargrove, with an original story conceived by the team of Levinson & Link, gives us some fun background details on Columbo himself (he's nervous in planes, likes root beer and always orders chili at Barney's Beanery in Los Angeles), but skimps a bit on the lieutenant's investigation. Without showing us the homework involved, Columbo seems to be picking details out of the air (always the right details, naturally), and when he talks about the victim's car keys missing, or the car-seat being too close to the wheel, it's unfair to spring these details on us as afterthoughts (there's no suspense involved when Columbo does his puzzle-solving off-camera). Aside from cunning Grant--and Peter Falk doing his usual solid work--the acting here is relatively mediocre, and the cut-and-dried climax seems a little flat.

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