"Columbo" Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)

Director:

Richard Irving

Writers:

Dean Hargrove (teleplay)
Richard Levinson (story) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

1 March 1971 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A lawyer comes up with a clever plan to murder her husband. After the deed is done, a seemingly slow-witted...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Lawyer | Detective | Crime Solving | Detective Series

Cast

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)

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

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Levinson		creator
William Link		creator

Production Companies

• Universal TV (as A Universal Studios Production)

Distributors

• DeAgostini Japan (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Tallmantz Aviation  aerial sequences
• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2004) | UK:PG | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Barney's Beanery - 8447 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

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.

Quotes:

Leslie Williams: You know, Columbo, you're almost likable in a shabby sort of way. Maybe it's the way you come slouching in here with your shopworn bag of tricks.
Lt. Columbo: Me? Tricks?
Leslie Williams: The humility, the seeming absent-mindedness, the uh, homey anecdotes about the family: the wife, you know?
[laughs]
Lt. Columbo: Really?
Leslie Williams: Yeah, Lieutenant Columbo, fumbling and stumbling along. But it's always the jugular that he's after. And I imagine that, more often than not, he's successful.
Lt. Columbo: I appreciate that compliment, Mrs. Williams, and I particularly appreciate it coming from you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield (1997) (VG)

Good early Columbo murder mystery.

The Columbo movies are all great murder mysteries to watch. Difference with most other serials/movies is that in a Columbo movie you always get to see the killing right in the beginning, which also means that you already know who is the killer. So all the Columbo movies show is how Lieutenant Columbo solves the crime, in his own unique way. This is an approach that always works surprising well and the movie also still leaves plenty of surprises, since you never know exactly how the killer came to its deed and what the motive was.

The movie gets of course carried by Peter Falk as the strange and quirky but of course clever and very observing Lieutenant Columbo. Though I liked the 'old man' Columbo better in the later TV movies. He pretends to be more stupid than he in fact of course truly is, in order to harmlessly gain trust from his suspects. It's a great character and basically the foremost reason why this Columbo TV movies are so popular and still great to watch after all those years. The Columbo movies were made in even 5 different decades, all with Peter Falk in the title role, which says something of its popularity and quality of the series, that just never seems to dry out. The series will probably won't ever stop until Peter Falk is no more. Acedemy Award winner and multiple nominee Lee Grant also plays a good role but most of the other actors in this movie seem like C-grade TV series actors. Especially Patricia Mattick was annoyingly bad and all her character ever did was moaning.

This movie is the second of two Columbo pilots. Strangely enough it was made 3 years after the first Columbo pilot "Prescription: Murder", as if the first pilot was not a total success but they still wanted to give it a chance, having faith in its potential.

It has a good story that drags a bit at points and the clues left out for Lieutenant Columbo are at times a bit too obvious but knows to keep your interest throughout. It has some interesting side-plots and developments but it doesn't ever allow things to fully develop in order to make it all fit into the time span of the movie. This also means on the other hand that the movie feels like it wrapped up too fast toward the ending.

The movie features some quirky '70's effects and trick but luckily enough it never really crosses the line. It's also a reason why this movie surely doesn't feel outdated and is actually now just still as good as ever to watch.

7/10