Gosh, I'm disappointed.
I was privileged to interview both Peter Falk and Eddie Albert, and I loved both of them. Eddie Albert was at the end of his life and such a dear man, and Peter Falk and I had a blast, and even some correspondence afterward.
So it wounds me to read that Suzanne Pleshette had known Falk since her teen years and stopped speaking to him after this episode, and that Eddie Albert said to him, "I always wanted to meet you and work with you. You're an a***ole." What could have gone on?
"Dead Weight" is from Columbo's first season and concerns a General Hollister (Albert). He has a construction company that does business with the military, and the procurer, Colonel Dutton (John Kerr) has been giving him business and allowing him to put in ridiculously low bids. Now there's an investigation, and Dutton is fleeing the country. He promises Hollister that his name will never come into it should he be found, but that's not enough for Hollister, so he shoots him.
Just as this happens, Helen Stewart (Pleshette) and her mother (Kate Reid) are sailing by the house (which was actually one of Peter Falk's homes) and sees the murder. She reports it to the police, and they're skeptical. This is the great war hero, General Hollister, as famous as Patton, whose materials and artifacts from the war are about to be put on exhibit. (In real life, Eddie Albert was a major war hero as well.)
Helen insists that she saw what she saw; General Hollister tracks her down and starts wining and dining her. Soon her story changes.
This is a good episode, with Columbus suspecting the General right away. The only problem with the episode is that Helen should have realized what the General was up to, but we're supposed to understand it's because of her past history. If you can buy it, that part works.
Especially good here are the performances, done, it seems, under duress. Eddie Albert has the soldier's coldness and arrogance but can turn on the charm; the beautiful Pleshette, so young here, is vulnerable as someone hurt by her divorce and in need of attention. Kate Reid's sharp retorts are fun.
Falk, of course, is perfection as Columbo. At one point, Hollister takes him out on his boat, and Columbo becomes seasick. "It's amazing to me that someone named Columbo is so uncomfortable on the water," Hollister says. "Must have been another branch of the family," Columbo tells him.
I was privileged to interview both Peter Falk and Eddie Albert, and I loved both of them. Eddie Albert was at the end of his life and such a dear man, and Peter Falk and I had a blast, and even some correspondence afterward.
So it wounds me to read that Suzanne Pleshette had known Falk since her teen years and stopped speaking to him after this episode, and that Eddie Albert said to him, "I always wanted to meet you and work with you. You're an a***ole." What could have gone on?
"Dead Weight" is from Columbo's first season and concerns a General Hollister (Albert). He has a construction company that does business with the military, and the procurer, Colonel Dutton (John Kerr) has been giving him business and allowing him to put in ridiculously low bids. Now there's an investigation, and Dutton is fleeing the country. He promises Hollister that his name will never come into it should he be found, but that's not enough for Hollister, so he shoots him.
Just as this happens, Helen Stewart (Pleshette) and her mother (Kate Reid) are sailing by the house (which was actually one of Peter Falk's homes) and sees the murder. She reports it to the police, and they're skeptical. This is the great war hero, General Hollister, as famous as Patton, whose materials and artifacts from the war are about to be put on exhibit. (In real life, Eddie Albert was a major war hero as well.)
Helen insists that she saw what she saw; General Hollister tracks her down and starts wining and dining her. Soon her story changes.
This is a good episode, with Columbus suspecting the General right away. The only problem with the episode is that Helen should have realized what the General was up to, but we're supposed to understand it's because of her past history. If you can buy it, that part works.
Especially good here are the performances, done, it seems, under duress. Eddie Albert has the soldier's coldness and arrogance but can turn on the charm; the beautiful Pleshette, so young here, is vulnerable as someone hurt by her divorce and in need of attention. Kate Reid's sharp retorts are fun.
Falk, of course, is perfection as Columbo. At one point, Hollister takes him out on his boat, and Columbo becomes seasick. "It's amazing to me that someone named Columbo is so uncomfortable on the water," Hollister says. "Must have been another branch of the family," Columbo tells him.