Count me in as among those who consider this one of the top Columbo episodes. The construct from start to finish is excellent. This is the kind of episode that helped build "the charm of Columbo" that has made the series stand the test of time. This is not the standard episodic construct of "good cop gets bad villain." It's actually something a bit different.
Some people may feel that a Columbo storyline that doesn't finish with Columbo arresting the villain makes this episode a sub-standard episode. This is because the episode does not meet a predetermined evaluation of how Columbo "must" act. What makes this episode work so well is the fact that Columbo comes off as more human and humane then ever with the decisions he has to make and how it affects his own behavioral patterns. This case emotionally bothers Columbo.
Janet Leigh plays a version of Nora Desmond. In a weird way she actually is both the same and completely different Nora Desmond that Carol Burnett played! Both Nora's are alive but they have already caught the next bus out of town.
Now...any person in any industry may grow older and have this happen to them. Many people around the world all have to deal with their own version of Nora Desmond...someone they love but are not the person they once were and they really don't know it. They character of Nora is a universal composite...and an exceptionally brilliant universal composite at that!
People who have checked out a bit but who are still here are generally very habitual and predictable. Frustration and anger sometimes well up inside such people because things like their sense of time are messed up. They try and remember what they did an hour ago and they just cannot grasp it. One of the other things that this leads to is a sense of habit. Having the habit is important...it is somewhat grounding for reality for the afflicted.
Columbo can see this habit and this character of Janet Leigh's for who she is. There is a piece of the puzzle missing and Columbo logically concludes the 4 possibilities for what occurred because he knows the character of the afflicted...he is Columbo...behavioral patterns are most important to him. While Janet Leigh's character could possibly be doing many other things Columbo knows she isn't because she is a creature of Modus Operandi. This leads him to have to make decisions that really disturb him.
It's really a beautiful story about tough decisions people face with older loved frames framed as a Columbo episode. A modified version of Sunset Boulevard is the vehicle used to achieve the script construct...and the cast and crew obviously bought into it for they do an excellent job.
Some people may feel that a Columbo storyline that doesn't finish with Columbo arresting the villain makes this episode a sub-standard episode. This is because the episode does not meet a predetermined evaluation of how Columbo "must" act. What makes this episode work so well is the fact that Columbo comes off as more human and humane then ever with the decisions he has to make and how it affects his own behavioral patterns. This case emotionally bothers Columbo.
Janet Leigh plays a version of Nora Desmond. In a weird way she actually is both the same and completely different Nora Desmond that Carol Burnett played! Both Nora's are alive but they have already caught the next bus out of town.
Now...any person in any industry may grow older and have this happen to them. Many people around the world all have to deal with their own version of Nora Desmond...someone they love but are not the person they once were and they really don't know it. They character of Nora is a universal composite...and an exceptionally brilliant universal composite at that!
People who have checked out a bit but who are still here are generally very habitual and predictable. Frustration and anger sometimes well up inside such people because things like their sense of time are messed up. They try and remember what they did an hour ago and they just cannot grasp it. One of the other things that this leads to is a sense of habit. Having the habit is important...it is somewhat grounding for reality for the afflicted.
Columbo can see this habit and this character of Janet Leigh's for who she is. There is a piece of the puzzle missing and Columbo logically concludes the 4 possibilities for what occurred because he knows the character of the afflicted...he is Columbo...behavioral patterns are most important to him. While Janet Leigh's character could possibly be doing many other things Columbo knows she isn't because she is a creature of Modus Operandi. This leads him to have to make decisions that really disturb him.
It's really a beautiful story about tough decisions people face with older loved frames framed as a Columbo episode. A modified version of Sunset Boulevard is the vehicle used to achieve the script construct...and the cast and crew obviously bought into it for they do an excellent job.