"Columbo" Candidate for Crime (1973)

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

Irv Pearlberg (teleplay) &
Alvin R. Friedman (teleplay) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

4 November 1973 (Season 3, Episode 3)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Senatorial candidate Nelson Hayward murders his domineering campaign manager, staging it to appear that Hayward himself was the intended victim of a mob hit gone wrong. Columbo hits the campaign trail to catch the killer.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Campaign Manager | Politician | Election | Detective

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Jackie Cooper	...	Nelson Hayward
Joanne Linville	...	Mrs. Hayward
Tisha Sterling	...	Linda Johnson
Ken Swofford	...	Harry Stone
Robert Karnes	...	Sgt. Vernon
Jay Varela	...	Sgt. Rojas
Vito Scotti	...	Chadwick
Regis Cordic	...	Deputy Commissioner
Sandy Kenyon	...	Harris
Jack Riley	...	Director
Mario Gallo	...	Dr. Perenchio
Jude Farese	...	Highway Patrolman
Clete Roberts	...	TV Anchor Man
Angelo Grisanti	...	1st Detective
Lew Brown	...	2nd Detective
Don Diamond	...	Larry
James G. Richardson	...	Shelly
Bill Andes	...	Campaign Mgr.
Lucille Meredith	...	Lucy
Katey Sagal	...	Secretary (as Katie Sagal)
Larry Burrell	...	Newsman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Val Bisoglio	...	Dentist (uncredited)
Dianne Turley Travis	...	Blonde At Birthday Of Mrs Hayward (uncredited)

Directed by
Boris Sagal

Writing credits
Irv Pearlberg		(teleplay) (as Irving Pearlberg) &
Alvin R. Friedman		(teleplay) and
Roland Kibbee		(teleplay) &
Dean Hargrove		(teleplay)
Larry Cohen		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	associate producer
Dean Hargrove	....	executive producer
Roland Kibbee	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dick DeBenedictis		(music score) (as Dick De Benedictis)

Cinematography by
William Cronjager		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert L. Kimble

Art Direction by
John W. Corso		(as John Wm. Corso)

Set Decoration by
Bill McLaughlin		(as William J. McLaughlin)

Production Management
Brad H. Aronson	....	unit manager (as Brad Aronson)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Walt Gilmore	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Edwin S. Hall	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grady Hunt	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Henry Mancini	....	composer: "Mystery Movie" theme
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main title

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Viasat3 (2008) (Hungary) (TV) (re-release)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

The children's song, "This Old Man" appears in almost every episode of the Columbo series, sometimes as background music, but more often Lt. Columbo is seen singing, humming, or whistling the tune. The episode, "Candidate for Crime" is the only episode where the murderer ('Jackie Cooper', as political candidate Nelson Hayward) is seen using it, in this case whistling it, as he prepares to film a campaign commercial.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the senator walks down the stairs with his PR team he has make-up protection paper around his neck. The paper is crumpled. Miss Johnson calls him and in the next scene he removes the paper, which is now straight.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: You know, isn't it funny the way people react under the stress of a situation?

Soundtrack:

This Old Man

Candidate for one of the best in the series!

A vintage Columbo episode that pits him against a candidate for the US senate (played by Jackie Cooper) who murders his domineering, heavy-handed campaign manager.

On reflection, this is a highly effective addition to the series. The tension is efficiently created and maintained through excellent pacing: Columbo's progressive unbalancing of all of the people involved in the love-triangle (murderer, murderer's wife and murderer's lover) is effectively interwoven with the tension evoked by a soon-to-be-decided election.

There is plenty of wonderful interplay between Columbo and murderer: the balance of power see-saws intermittently, as the murderer offers one or two sharp answers to Columbo's questions before Columbo's intuitive nature proves too difficult to overcome.

Jackie Cooper gives an excellently stern-faced performance as the murderer, perfectly exhibiting the dubious sincerity that often riddles the image of politicians. In the end, the script-writer cleverly convinces the viewer that the murderer's desire to be become a US senator has been overtaken by the need to expel Columbo's suspicions about the whole case.

Undoubtedly, Columbo is handed to the case by a a somewhat impetuous act, but this a credible resolution given the desperation that the murderer feels, in order to revitalise the theory that he has been the murder target all along.

In conclusion, a decisively scripted, superlative Columbo story which is strong in all departments and is certainly one of the best in the long-running series.