A true shame we never got Richard Kiley back for more episodes. He had Robert Culp potential to have been one of the greatest recurring Columbo villains. I think.
C'mon man, it's been over 2 years since the last Columbo review - the world needs you! You can't just stop... before getting to the William Shatner episode(s)!
Thank you for doing these!!! I found Columbo when I was in college a few years ago and was surprised that most people weren’t talking about it. This and suitable for framing are my favorite episodes. I can't forget about Now you see him. Jack Cassidy was great in it and I wish sergeant Wilson appeared in more episodes
One of the very best episodes. I think Kiley and Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Barry Mayfield in A Stitch in Crime were among the most ruthless and unsympathetic killers, and they did such a great job.
Awesome review!!! Great job summing up this really full and fantastic episode. I truly enjoy your reviews. You've done so many already! Take your time with season 4. I don't want you to get burnt out from writing, reading, and editing.
Stellar review of a stellar episode. It is funny that they made a police commissioner such an evil character when the Mystery Movie the following week would probably be McMillan and Wife.
The French have a word 'frisson' for that delicious little shiver of delight that a moment gives you. There are several first class 'frissons' in this episode such as the ending in the apartment.
Just found your channel last week and I have quickly gotten through all the Columbos. You do a great job in covering all these. I have loved the series since I was a kid growing up with the show. Can’t wait for season 4! It has to be a lot of work but I think people like myself really appreciate it. Thanks for doing all this
What a fantastic review and analysis of one of my favorite Columbo episodes. A Friend in Deed is definitely one of the best in the series. Great call out of how Columbo puts his career on the line with grim determination. Bravo!
As always, bravo! I love this episode. It's a murderer's row of character actors and Gazzara directing? Gold! It also deftly navigates the posh and the seedy--no easy feat. Kiley is really one of the great baddies of the series--arrogance and menace in equal measure. He physically dominates every scene he is in. If Halperin and Dale shared a cell in San Quentin, I have no doubt who gets the top bunk (despite his late arrival)! 😉 Thanks for all of your great work here.
There's also Joshua Bryant before "The Commodore" and Eric Christmas as the jeweler. And Arlene Martel playing a completely different kind of role from her "Greenhouse Jungle" one.
Once again, you hit the nail on the head. A Friend in Deed is one hell of an episode. I wish Richard Kiley had returned later in the series a la Robert Culp, Jack Cassidy, and Patrick McGoohan. I realize it may be quite some time until you discuss Season Four. But please come back as soon as you can. We all miss your Columbus reviews when you’re gone.
Just to add, Richard Kiley made a name for himself as a kind of opposite of this role: he was the original Broadway Man of La Mancha: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7UBKjC4WTa8.html
Best line of episode-when detective tells columbo he threw her into the pool… Columbo’s genius and character comes through when he simply asks- “why didn’t she just swim?”
So many great Columbo episodes but this one rises to the top and stands out. Have seen it numerous times once every few years and it's pretty much flawless with a brilliant ending as is Richard Kiley..
I liked the critique that You gave on this episode... Yes, this was definitely one of the most suspenseful episodes of all time as Columbo puts his career on the chopping block - by going after the crooked commissioner.... As his technique of proof of the commissioner 'tampering' with evidence , by creating the entire fictitious scene, and getting caught doing it.... Absolutely priceless... Outstanding acting and great props, as usual with all Columbo episodes... I did not realize that 'Run For Your Life' Ben Gazarra directed this, until you brought that up....
NYPD's slogan is that they have "the finest police force on the planet". Based on the apartment recently rented by Columbo that's shown in this episode, LAPD's slogan might well be "the poorest police force in the galaxy".
Of all the great Columbo episodes this one IMO was the best and rises to the top. #1. Basically a perfect episode which had it all.. a great plot, great villain, great all-around cast and a brilliant ending. Richard Kiley as the deputy police commissioner was superb as were the others. Every few years I'll watch it. Have seen it a half dozen times and no doubt will see it a few more..
This is my favorite episode! It shows, as you mentioned, the city fleshed out. Also, it was expertly written, acted and easy to follow. (Of course, the commissioner should have known just how savvy Columbo was from other cases he solved.)
This is probably one of my favourite episodes. Really good review and yeah one of the things I questioned was if you know Columbo is good why have him on the case?
I think he either wanted to show that he was taking the case seriously by putting the best man on the case, and was arrogant enough to think he could still fool him... Or, he's such a crap deputy commissioner that he asked for Columbo because that's the only Homicide detective whose name he can think of. Of course, the real reason is to make him look suspicious since he shouldn't have known he'd need a homicide detective in the first place, and that's unfortunate, since that and the drowning spoil an otherwise good episode
@@thomaspearce3002 I don't think he was thinking of bragging I think, instead, he looks down on police officers who aren't interested in promotions and careers and doesn't think much of them. He's arrogant in that he thinks ANY homicide detective is less intelligent than he is, because "if you're so smart, why aren't you rich"?- or, in this case, "if Columbo was smart why isn't he deputy commissioner?" He sees homicide detectives as glorified grunt, and Columbo as just the best grunt. He doesn't think fooling Columbo is a big deal, he thinks fooling Columbo will be as easy as fooling any other detective
The Deputy commissioner was originally shown to be in a Bell Jetranger helicopter when flying over the city, but when it came time to jump out into the pool the helicopter had changed to a McDonnell Douglas MD 500.
One thing that bothered me about this villain is that he was a bit of a lazy bully- he didn't do anything to repair his story once it was clear that Columbo was knocking holes in it left and right. He just doubled down on his authority and outright ordered Colombo to pin it on a burglar. And I was never worried that Columbo would just go "oh well you're the boss I guess" The best villains adjust and become moving targets for Colombo. doctor Heideman, for example, planted drugs on a victims exboyfriend to throw the detective off.
I never understood why he asked for Columbo. If you want to get away with murder, why would you bring in someone who's probably known in thier professional circle for getting results.
My favorite Columbo, period. Columbo has to take on his boss. I love how Halperin puts down his wife's charity work. "Helping bums? Good for nothings? Malcontents?" 😂
Great stuff! I love everything Columbo, I have every episode on DVD, love your take look forward on your back catalog, and future endeavors, subscribed.
7 second drowning, yeah. murders are always very bloodless in columbo. lot of guys got instakilled with a single bullet fired from the hip across a room, like the projectionist in double exposure
8:27 this scene sums up everything I've been saying about white Hollywood. In almost every Columbo episode where the killer is unmasked, you will see how well the police treat them. No handcuffs and they're escorted out with respect. In this scene with the interaction of an innocent black man, the tv cops treat him like a suspect, aggressively. Look at any movie or tv series in that time era, even today you will see it. This is why Police Officers act the way they do because they've watched it on the big screen growing up.
Just love your reviews. Even though I have seen all the episodes of Columbo v 1.0 A question I meant to ask was, how many times did Columbo meet a future victim whose death he had to investigate.
My top 5 Columbo Episodes (in order of airing) : Murder by the Book Suitable for Framing Any Old Port in a Storm Double Exposure A Friend in Deed Honorable Mentions: Death Lends a Hand Now You See Him Try and Catch Me
I enjoy Columbo and enjoy most of the people who tell us this stuff UNTIL one four letter word then I am GONE. Disrespect for your audience should be something they all think about andturn away.
I've watched a few interviews with William Link. IIRC, he wasn't keen on this episode, in that it depicted Columbo in the police station, dealing with superiors, office politics etc. He and Richard Levinson had conceived of Columbo as a somewhat mysterious, transient character who would appear, solve the murder and disappear again, without any of the usual police procedural stuff.
I guess I can understand their trepidation, but I think an episode like this really showed another side of things that we don't get to see. In some respects it felt like an entirely different show in a great way from start to finish. The only thing I think that would have enhanced it was to have the commissioner show up one or twice a season before this so we could have had a better sense of the man before the curtain fell on him. Hindsight's 20/20 though.
Well, when he first walked into the bar after killing his wife asking for help, he somehow managed to tell the commissioner the entire story in a matter of seconds because in the next shot, the commissioner already knows everything. That's a bit silly.
You don't know when season 4 will be out, it will take a while? On behalf of the subscribers I have hired Private Investigator Brimmer to dig up some dirt on you, my chauffeur Quincy has already reported that you experimented with drugs in college and like to shoot people with silly string. If you know what is best for you, start on season 4 now. We need a new episode every week. Thank you. And one more thing, we know that you put subliminal cuts in your videos.
