Let's watch Columbo: Dead Weight!
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- čas přidán 1. 08. 2024
- Episode synopsis: (via IMDb) A war hero shoots and kills his business partner; an easily manipulated young divorcée is the only witness.
Guest Stars: Eddie Albert, Kate Reid, and Suzanne Pleshette.
What are your thoughts on Dead Weight? I enjoyed this one, but it's definitely not my favorite or up there in comparison with other Columbo episodes. Still fun to see Eddie Albert as the killer! I used to watch a lot of Green Acres with my sisters when we were younger.
Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
1:46 - Reaction
40:17 - Thoughts/Shooting Columbo
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Where does Dead Weight rank for you guys in Season 1 of Columbo?
My Favourite Episodes of all time. Ransom for a Dead Man, Lady in Waiting, Short Fuse, Columbo Goes to Collage, Try and Catch Me, Forgotten Lady, Any old Port in a Storm, Double Exposure, Publish or Perish, Greenhouse Jungle, Lots more i like, the only one i wasn't very keen on was his final one in 2003 Columbo Likes the Nightlife, and wow, my dad died in 2004 just a year later.. seems like only a couple of years ago. I like the next one you're going to do, Suitable for framing about the art guy. Cool episode.
A good season 1 epi is with Roddy McDowell. Now, I think it was entrapment and wouldn't hold up in court. I'd be interested to hear your opinion.
@@adampare8088 The episode with Roddy McDowell was Called Short Fuse, it's up there with one of my favourite, maybe it wouldn't hold up today but it was only a Tv show. he knew he was guilty so he did what he had to do to get his man.
@@80s_kid. Ty for the epi name. Speaking of Roddy, ever see him (in last role before dying of lung cancer) in 80's movie Fright Night? It's such a fun movie
@@adampare8088 Yes i have seen the movies, there was 2 fright night movies, Roddy McDowell was in both, it's a long time since i seen them, i think he died in the late 90s. Sad. he was a really good actor, my dad passed too from lung cancer in 2004. horrible and sad way to go.
Suzanne Pleshette never fails to stun.
Despite the murderer & witness thing, I almost get the feeling Hollister's affections were genuine towards her. He easily had her convinced he was innocent, she was desperate for love, he was getting old. But he's a bumbler in his old age- that contract investigation would likely catch up to him eventually even if he had just let the guy go. Leaving the body stored away would have been safer(the clothing bag thing would be reused in the reboot era). Anyone could verify or debunk his claim of a replica gun. Funny enough the reboot series would also have a General Patton clone in a relationship with a young woman.
"This Old Man" wasn't in the series until Falk ad-libbed it in "Any Old Port In A Storm", after which it became a recurring joke.
This episode was also horribly besieged by Falk's dispute with the studio. Eddie Albert hated working with Falk. Susan Pleschette had been good friends with him but the ordeal left them not speaking for years. The final scene actually used a body double as Falk refused to show up to film it.
I think the role of the Mother character is that with her always been critic of every thing the daughter does, makes the daughter more vulnerable to the flattery of the Eddie Albert's character.
Good insight!
27:35. "You're the one who downgrades yourself." That was a very powerful statement. It actually hit me kind of hard because I can relate to it. Great video! I love Columbo and I love your channel.
Eddie Albert (born 1906) was 31 years older than Suzanne Pleshette (born 1937) at the time of this episode. This episode is better than I remembered. I liked Suzanne a lot and really felt heartache for her and her loneliness. Eddie Albert is better than I remember as a villain. I think he did end up caring for her. Finally, I liked the touch of Columbo giving him the dignity of not being cuffed as he was led off by the other officers.
Yes I agree! Suzanne played a very sympathetic character and it was hard to watch her get manipulated and bogged down by the people around her. :( (especially by her mother, what a horrid woman). The touch of Columbo allowing General Hollister to get taken away with a sense of dignity is really nice. It makes the whole ordeal very 'polite' in a way.
Enjoyed your reaction. I don't recall another Columbo where the witness was one of the main characters. She was just as interesting as the one who plays the murderer.
Thank you! Yeah it was an interesting take to have a witness to a crime for once!
Greetings from Russia!
When Peter Falk refused to act, at the end of the episode at the exhibition, in some shots from the back, another actor is visible, this is noticeable by the hairstyle.
Been waiting for Your video all week.. Seen this episode many times.. i was going to mention that One of Columbo's favourite tunes is This old Man, an old Irish song, but you beat me to it, you know what, i wish i could reset my mind when ever i want so i can watch Columbo episodes again and make it feel like it's the first time watching them. it's sad sometimes when you've seen each episode many times and you know whats going to happen and even know what each character is going to say before they've even said it. When you mentioned Universal, i always thought they filmed Smoke and Shadows there. where he gets motion sickness swinging around the street with Fisher Stevens in the directors chair. i think they definitely filmed some of Requiem for a falling star there as well.. one of my favourite actors in Columbo is Val Avery, i didn't realise he was in this episode, he was good in the episode A friend in deed, i liked him. i thought he played the cab driver in Ashes to Ashes but that was Ron Masak.
Suzanne Pleshette played Bob Newhart's wife on his first TV show The Bob Newhart Show.
It was that show that started the TV drinking game originally called "Hi Bob."
Eddie Albert was also known as playing the warden in the original "The Longest Yard" with Burt Reynolds in 1974
My father loves this show. A while back he was stuck at home sick, and I set him up with some streaming TV. He managed to find one of them had Colombo and he was all set til he got better.
It's so good and binge-able!
One of my favorites episodes house of general is in collins Island
Most of this episode is filmed on Balboa Island and in the water surrounding it, just off Newport Beach, California. It's a little strip of land that's got very expensive housing, a yacht club, some businesses and other spaces for other things like an American Legion Headquarters, and a small 'pier' area somewhat like Coney Island or things you would imagine from the movies. I grew up about 20 miles-ish from there, and the best thing that I remember was (and thankfully it's still their, even through the pandemic) is a small shop that serves chocolate covered bananas with various toppings.
Yes coney island
Suzanne Pleshette was stunning indeed. I believe she also did a TV movie where she played Leona Helmsley and did a guest appearance on The Fugitive, since she was close with David Janssen from the show. There's some nice stories about the 2 of them in The Fugitive Recaptured companion book. I believe she even gave a eulogy at Janssen's funeral. There's also stories about problems trying to get the filming of this episode done in Shooting Columbo. They stemmed from Levinson and Link making Falk wait until the last minute to give him his directing assignment for his Season 1 episode. Yes Falk pissed off both Pleschette and Albert because of him not being on set a couple days and Jack Smight the director having to use a stand in for some shots.
I believe Columbo Cries Wolf also has a body in plastic inside a wall hidden by the killer. Also has Columbo figure out that the killer put the body somewhere Columbo already had searched, like in Blueprint for Murder a few episodes later.
Thanks for your video - looking forward to the next one. :)
Although nowadays directors are aware that fans can pause and zoom videos to suss out details and goofs, I don't really think that was the case back in 1971 when this episode aired.
TVs were anything but high definition. And although early versions of VCRs had been invented, they were extremely expensive, costing the equivalent of thousands of dollars in today's money. If there was an early adopter of VCR technology and had taped it, the resolution captured on the tape was not that great - even if they had Betamax format (which captured a clearer picture than the VHS format that eventually dominated the market).
Finally, although VCRs could pause, the zoom capability required to magnify Columbo's Police ID enough to be legible wasn't available till much later when digital media and players came along. So I think the prop man who made Columbo's badge figured it was safe from prying eyes. :)
I think this is the most upbeat reaction/review of this episode that I've seen... including my own. I'd put this one as #7. It's decent, I just think that the first half of the story comes off as believable (or plausible, anyway), and it slowly loses ground from there.
Btw: I think that Columbo suspected the General, before he even got to the front door. I think as soon as he knew that the General had his own boat, he had already had his killer... like always, he just has to prove his suspicions, which started with sending Sanchez down to the dock.
Themes for these TV movies could vary per episode. The theme you are NOT getting as we saw them was the NBC Mystery Movie. The rotation included McaMillan and Wife, McCloud, and Columbo for sure and each year a new 4th movie. That is why they lasted at least a 1 /1/2 hours with commercials, and sometimes 2 hours. They're format was movie length and not the typical 1 hour TV show. When we heard that theme we would rush to the TV so we wouldn't miss the beginning. In 1971 I was 15!!!! Here is what we saw: czcams.com/video/8VI9mUyG_f0/video.html
Columbo, McCloud and McMillan & Wife had a special rotating schedule. The shows had a movie of the week type vibe. QUINCY M.E. Started off the same way, but eventually went to a standard hour long weekly drama with commercials..
Hi Melissa ...love this latest reaction video..really enjoying them very much..THANKYOU..
Next week is a personal fav anyway so looking forward to it..
take care Melissa..
very best wishes
Bob in uk..
I wish that was his theme song. It took forever to find a fuller version on CZcams.
It would have been very risky for the general to have killed Columbo, especially since Columbo was sent there.
Even though this is one of the least popular Columbo episodes, I liked the change of pace and how different it was from most episodes. Most people know Eddie Albert from Green Acres, but I highly recommend the original The Longest Yard from 1974 where Albert played the prison warden. Easily the best performance of his career.
honestly this is maybe my least favorite columbo. between using fake shemps for columbo do to Faulk fighting for his right to direct, to the "romance" not being very believable. still it's fun watching falk do his thing either way.
When I first watched this episode back in August [working my way through Columbo; watched all of the original 70's stuff at this point], I had a little bit of a crush on the woman playing Mrs. Stewart.
Well, then again, I had a bit of a crush on most of the women in Columbo... yes, even the killers.
Several observations:
1. This was the first of Val Avery's four appearances in Columbo. He played Mr. Barnes who rented out the boats. Avery would return in "The Most Crucial Game" (Season 2), "A Friend in Deed" (Season 3) and "Identity Crisis" (Season 5). Just one more thing about Val Avery. July 14th will mark what would have been his 100th birthday.
2. If Mrs. Stewart was such a good friend to General Hollister why did he need to ask Mr. Barnes where she lived?
3. I know you found Kate Reid's portrayal of Mrs. Walters insufferably annoying. Reid played a far more sympathetic character in a 1977 Canadian TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's "The Ugly Little Boy". The film was directed by Barry Morse who most famously played Lt. Gerard in "The Fugitive". I remember watching "The Ugly Little Boy" as a child more than 40 years ago and was deeply moved by Reid's performance. I think you will find it equally resonant.
I love the theme in Season 1 by Gil Melle. I wish they'd have kept it.
With regards to the niece, Columbo initially stated that his niece "Marilyn" is divorced with a new husband and that they now have six children. When Helen asks if Columbo really does have a niece he answers that he of course has a niece, his wife's sister's girl "Cynthia".
Definitely a toxic mother. The worst dig for me was when she victim-blamed her daughter for her husband cheating on her and for divorcing her (20:16): "Yeah, well you were sure when you were married to Tom, too. Do you remember that? You had him running around with every woman in town! No wonder he asked you for a divorce!"
some said that if you put men on a pedestal, he lose interest and choose someone else....
if a man puts a woman on the pedestal he stays with her.
I guess its too much analysis anyway and may not be alôways true.. I guess also man should also let the woman fall in love with his lifestyle, because if he is a good-hearted man with values and volunteering from time to time, helping a community of people and friends, itsa attractive because it creates a balance in society.
If she is attracted only to his looks, it can be a short-term attraction.
VHS didn't come out until a couple years after this episode was released so pausing wasn't really a thing. And we couldn't enhance until June 25th 1982. Yes it's a Blade Runner reference.
I think the maid reason for the toxic mother was to make the Suzanne Plashette character so insecure as to be willing to overlook the age difference between her and General Hollister as well as the fact that he could be a murderer.
Good morning. I just found your channel last night and have watched all five of your Columbo reaction videos. Are there more?? I love them so much. I noticed you mentioned Suitable for Framing is next but I can't find it. How many have you done total so far? Thanks soooooooo much. Can't wait for the next one.
Hi there! Working on uploading the next one today! Thanks for checking out my channel! 😃
Thanks so much. I'm so excited.@@meltyenjoys
I love your channel.@@meltyenjoys
This was my first favorite episode of Columbo... mainly due to how charming Suzanne Pleshette is. I felt that her character was very sympathetic throughout, from her first witnessing the murder, through the bad treatment she received from other characters and her doubting herself, to the big let-down for her at the end. I think this is my second-favorite of Pleshette's acting roles, after her performance in Hitchcock's The Birds.
Eddie Albert did a nice job, too. Although I, too, have memories of watching him on Green Acres, his best role, in my humble opinion, is as the wingman in Roman Holiday.
I'm enjoying your reactions, Melissa 👍
4:15 - "Pardon me, you'll have to speak up- I can't hear you over your outfit."
7:20 - I wasn't as enamored with 'This Old Man'. I guess Columbo was always kind of a cartoon character, but only to the criminals. In adding that little musical number he became a cartoon character to the AUDIENCE. A bit gimmicky for my tastes, but I still love him. XD
16:03 - Nailed it. XD
20:45 - I find that hilarious. I watch Case Closed/Detective Conan, and every time the same voice actor is used for another murderer I get a chuckle out of it. Now imagine using completely the same actor.
21:50 - I'm 50/50 on boats. Used to vacate to a lake on Wisconsin with the family a lot as a kid, and I've been on my share of ferryboats. I don't have any particular problem with 'em, but recently I've had an inkling to see what a cruise is like. In spite of all the bad press they tend to get.
40:23 - I've always loved that about the man. These days you'd have people champing at the bit for more confirmed lore. Frickin'... MatPat having a field day. But no. What do we know about Columbo? What's confirmed? That he's a shrewd, loveable genius.
45:10 - Agreed, not one of the stronger episodes, but... Peter Falk as Columbo is always a joy to watch regardless.
I love/imitate 70s fashion, lol. Specifically because I grew up watching this show and was impressed by everyone's look. 😂
I believe that tune, by Gil Melle was meant to be the "Columbo Theme" playing off of the jazzy music throughout Dave Grusin's music in the first pilot. But by season 2, Gil Melle was making the music score for Rod Serling's Night Gallery, so Billy Goldenberg and Dick de Benedictus, (Matlock) took over the music score after season 2
❤
He had niece Cynthia ,brother george, wife never show up😅 his name is frank columbo
This is actually a very good episode.
People get it
As a fan of Peter Falk and Eddie Albert it is sad that Peter was having difficulty with the Columbo people and was acting less than professional. Eddie was looking forward to acting with Peter but was very disappointed in the end.
The house was Peter Falk's
Eddie Albert was a Real WW l l war Hero. He plays his part to the tee
The mother seemed like she was bitter that her presumably sole child "lost" her husband like she did with seemingly little prospect of finding a suitable new one in time for her to one day become a grandmother. Well at least that is the vibe I was getting. Columbo trying to comfort her daughter with the story of his niece re-marrying and having 6 children with her new husband gives some credence to that narrative I think. While the mother was gaslighting her and clearly misguided she also genuinely seemed to want the best for her daughter. The way she lit up when a famous and well off general showed interest for her daughter said it all.
Ya did a good jerb
The chili guy is the same actor who played the sniper from Kubrick’s ‘The Killing’ from the 50s, he stole every scene he was in
Your right too many killers over explain themselves still having seen every episode colu.mbo doesn't always suspect people from his first scene with them usually by the second scene he does though. Sometimes though he has to rely on a witness or call their bluff to catch them out. Good climax this one
The actress playing Suzanne Plachette's mother was only about seven years older than her.
The angle on Columbo's face that you remarked on and laughed about was achieved with a wide angle lens at close range (not zoomed in). I'm puzzled over exactly why the lens size was switched in the context of the scene. I can understand your reaction entirely.
Regarding the ID and everyone figuring no one could read it:
In 1973 & 1974, there was no way to pause or freeze a scene. And even with VCRs later the quality of tapes was even worse than the broadcast. There was really no reason for anyone to think people would be able to read that ID!
I think Suzanne Plachette's outfits were intentionally loud to show that her character was a free spirit.
At the time Eddie Albert was 65 and Suzanne Plashette was 34.
I’m pretty sure that Suzanne Plachette was in Laverne and Shirley
The next year, 1972, Suzanne Pleschette became the wife on the Bob Newhart Show for about 6 years.
On a talk show, Suzanne Pleshette described how Peter Falk effectively went on strike because he wanted the studio to let him direct an episode (Blueprint for Murder). Eddie Albert flat out told him that he was being an unprofessional asshole.
Good review and episode although not my favorite. Columbo looks like his first name would be "Frank" and he definitely isn't "Trevor" lol. I read a while back that Eddie Albert and Peter Falk basically couldn't stand one another and there were problems on the set involving Falk's absence. Susanne Pleshette mentioned it also.
Привет из России. Большой поклонник лейтенанта Коломбо. Пересматриваю этот сериал постоянно )))
Interesting that Columbo doubts the witness at first - I don't remember him doubting a witness in any other episode.
Then by the time Columbo starts to believe her, the General has schmoozed and gaslit her enough that she doesn't believe herself anymore. To the point that at 33:11 she actually now *insists* she was wrong, the same way she had insisted to her mother and Columbo that she was right.
I like this episode but i never understood the motive for the murder. How does murdering Dutton help Hollister avoid the impending investigation into his business contracts? Seems like he still has that problem to deal with but now also a murder suspicion on top of it. Great review.
CZcamsr DaThings came out with a CZcams Poop of the Columbo episode, "Murder: A Self Portrait" yesterday; the title of the poop is "YTP: Klumbo". I watched it several times yesterday and today, and it had me dying of laughter several times. I think you'll get a big kick out of watching it, particularly how silly it can get with the editing and sentence mixing.
Hi Melissa
Being a big Columbo fan I am enjoying your videos.
Is it possible for you to split the screen so we can see the show better?
Noted! I’ll take a look and see what I can do for the next video, if possible!
Dead Weight doesn't rank that highly with me, and it is most for the reason you describe. You don' get too invested in the killer, and the romance plot isn't all that either. But in all honesty, it is the smugness that keeps me away. But other than that, I like it quite a bit. Especially the setting. I'm glad they used it for a lot of the episode.
This episode is so silly. Hollister leaves clues all over the place and Mrs. Stewart changing her tune on the murder. It's totally unrealistic. I think you'll agree and "that's an order".
That guy that gives Columbo the chili in "Ransom for a Dead Man" and this episode? Those are his only appearances. He never appears again after this and I think it's sad. He seemed like that cool best friend you could talk about your problems with, or just relax and have a bowl of Chilli with. Wish he was in more episodes; he and Columbo seemed to like each other.
That actor is in Fade in to Murder s6e1 as well. He plays Tony, the owner of the delicatessen.
Eddie Albert is another of the many guest murderers “playing against type.” Here he seems arrogant and a little creepy, while he usually plays nice guys. But the height of that kind of casting on here has to be Dick Van Dyke.
I’m assuming you need the captions because sometimes the dialogue is hard to hear. I understand that. I have the same problem but… Whoever is writing the captions can’t hear either because they get sooooo much wrong. I have the entire DVD box set. So annoying how many mistakes they make in transcribing the captioning.
The 30 age year age difference between Eddie Albert and Susanne Pleshette was so common in Hollywood casting it was ridiculous. It’s less and less now than it was before but I can think of Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a movie from the 90s. Now what’s really outlandish is the fact that Kate Reid, the actress playing the mother is only seven years older than Suzanne Pleshette. I mean, Eddie Albert is older enough to be Reid’s father for cryin’-out-loud!
1) The actors portraying the daughter and mother might be of similar age, no? (the dynamic between these two are arguably at least as interesting as the murder case itself);
2) "...very _individual_ person..." feels like a *goof* to me (INTERESTING);
3) This telefilm is neither among the worst, nor among the best. What is really noteworthy is that the travails of the witness arguably serve as a metaphor for women in general (certainly back in the early 1970s), in terms of their credibility being questioned, or their worth being downgraded.
I agree. Good acting, but kind of slow and dull.
Age difference shouldn't be judged if both parties are of legal age and genuinely love each other. 🤷♂️
What makes the romance creepy in this is that he's manipulating her.