Last Salute to the Commodore (2 Mar. 1976)

Charlie Clay runs the ship building business of his father-in-law, Commodore Swanson, who turns up murdered; Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Director:

Patrick McGoohan

Writers:

Jackson Gillis, Richard Levinson (creator),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Robert Vaughn, Wilfrid Hyde-White

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Robert Vaughn	...	Charles 'Charlie' Clay
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Kittering, Esq.
John Dehner	...	Commodore Otis Swanson
Dennis Dugan	...	Sergeant Theodore "Mac" Albinsky
Diane Baker	...	Joanna Clay
Bruce Kirby	...	Sergeant George Kramer
Joshua Bryant	...	Wayne Taylor
Susan Foster	...	Lisa King
Fred Draper	...	Swanny Swanson
Rod McCary	...	Coast Guard Officer Ens. O'Connor
John Finnegan	...	Guard (as J.P. Finnegan)
Joseph Roman	...	Fred - Shop Foreman
Hanna Hertelendy	...	Woman
Jerry Crews	...	Watchman

Storyline

Charlie Clay runs a ship-building business owned by his father-in-law, Commodore Otis Swanson, who is not happy with his profiteering son-in-law's shady dealings. Nor is he pleased with any of the people closest to him, including his alcoholic daughter Joanna Clay, his elderly nephew Swanny Swanson or his lawyer Kittering. Soon the Commodore is murdered, and Charlie Clay covers it up by impersonating the Commodore, taking the corpse out on the man's yawl at night and throwing the body overboard. Lt. Columbo investigates this case with the help of a veteran sergeant and a 29-year-old novice. The rumpled, redoubtable detective knows Clay covered up the crime, but his assumption that Clay committed the crime may prove premature.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | son in law | rowboat | broken watch | scuba diving | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1976 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dialogue between Sgt. Kramer and Lt. Columbo over smoking (Kramer: "Thought you were gonna quit;" Columbo: "Not yet. No, not yet, Sergeant. Not yet") as Columbo figuratively rides off into the sunset (actually, rowing himself away toward a yacht club), is almost certainly a clever response directly aimed toward intense fan curiosity at the end of season five over Peter Falk returning to play Columbo in subsequent years.

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Goofs

Columbo lights up one of his trademark cigars, then sets off in a rowboat while whistling "This Old Man" - yet he still has his cigar in his mouth while he's supposedly whistling.

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Quotes

Columbo: You'll notice that none of you have seen this watch closely. You've only heard it. You heard it tick, but I was talking about a watch that was found at the scene of the crime that was broken. It was smashed. It did NOT... tick. It didn't work. The commodore's watch. Now you see it. And this is the broken inside part. And we took this watch to a jeweler and we had the broken inside part replaced. So, now the watch ticks. You all heard it tick.

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Connections

Featured in Big Daddy (1999)

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Soundtracks

"This Old Man"
(uncredited)
Traditional English children's song/nursery rhyme.
On soundtrack in several variations at end as Columbo rows away

User Reviews

Why does nobody see the sheer joy they had when they made it?

"Last Salute" is an episode directed by Falk's friend McGoohan and from start to finish the viewer can enjoy what is almost a pastiche of a crime mystery. Columbo lingers in the harbor, in no hurry at all, works together with Mac (because his boss insists), makes him drive his car, gets entangled with Robert Vaughn in the car, with the telephone, tries TM on the deck of the boat. He seems in a jolly mood all the time. Note how he touches and lays his arms around everyone in this episode. It is an episode as calming as the waterfront itself. And it probably isn't up to what most viewers expect. But that always is a problem. We need to accept it as a creative thing too. And Columbo always had it's own patterns and in-jokes, but because of many different directors as well as guest stars and considering the fact that the show ran for 35 years, there is no such thing as the one formula it sticks to. So it is really quite sad that there are always these remarks 'the last of the real Columbo's', 'the final good episode', 'here's where episodes became to long', 'here's where Falk was too old', etc, etc. Enjoy every episode for its own merits. "Last Salute" is in no way possible to be compared with outings like "Double Exposure" of "A Stitch in Crime". So don't. Just sit, relax and watch this episode. And there is no episode like it, it is beyond comparison.