"Columbo" Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Richard Irving

Writers:

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

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

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

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

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:

Agent Carlson: Let's understand this one thing: if you start harassing this woman, I'm going to take it upstairs.
Lt. Columbo: Ah, just one minute, uh, Mr. Carlson. You see, it's like this: this is not just a kidnapping; this is a murder now... and I kinda figure that's my department. I'll see ya 'round.

Movie Connections:

Features Double Indemnity (1944)

A classic Columbo

"Ransom For a Dead Man," one of the earliest episodes in the entire "Columbo" series, is also one of the best. Lee Grant is terrific as the arrogant and confident Leslie Williams who is sure that she has succeeded in fooling investigators into thinking that her husband was murdered by kidnappers. Even after Columbo subtly implies that he is on to her plan, she coldly and gloatingly dismisses him in true classic Columbo killer fashion.

Everything comes to a very desirable end with that incomparable seen in the airport. Columbo gives us a wonderful conclusion as he smoothly but surely makes that smile disappear from Leslie Williams' face. Her tribute to him after being nailed serves as very memorable and very uplifting to our hero.