Dead Weight

A solid early Columbo effort. Much of the success of any Columbo episode hinges on the chemistry between Columbo and the murderer. Here Peter Falk and Eddie Albert rate high marks. Albert is if anything a little too controlled and smug. Not unrealistic for a general who is accustomed to getting his way. And sometimes he dangles clues in front of the detective as if trying to get caught. The banter between Kate Reid and Suzanne Pleshette is also quite good. BTW Suzanne looks ultra fetching in those mod clothes she wears. A cameo by semi-regular Timothy Carey adds to the fun. I agree with the consensus that the ending is a little too pat and abrupt, but a minor quibble.

PLOT: A famous retired general (Eddie Albert) shoots a subordinate officer to safeguard his past shady business dealings in the military, but a troubled divorcee (Suzanne Pleshette) witnesses the event from a sail boat and reports it to the police. The pompous war hero then starts smoodging her.

COMMENTARY: Pleshette was only 33 during shooting and really cute while Albert makes for a worthy antagonist. There were unfortunately some problems on set with Falk storming off and missing a day due to a power play with Universal involving their reneging on the original agreement to allow Falk to direct other episodes. But this caused problems with the co-stars and the studio had to get a stand-in for Peter to shoot scenes with Albert and Pleshette. The director refused to reshoot the scenes after Falk returned. Suzanne expressed her frustrations years later on a talk show (watch it on Youtube) while Albert frankly told Peter that he was a such-and-such (a word that starts with 'a').

Thankfully, I was never able to discern any problems with the episode, which reveals the expertise of the director, actors and editors. "Dead Weight" may not be as good as the previous two installments, but it's still a solid Columbo entry. There's a sequence where the general takes Columbo for a ride on his yacht, which is reminiscent of a plane scene in the second pilot "Ransom for a Dead Man."

GRADE: B

This is a very solid segment of Columbo, and the main reason is the performance of special guest killer Eddie Albert, who solidly portrays General Holister with a brazen arrogance. Some motives in other episodes leave something to be desired, but the one here is much better and believable. It turns out that Holister murders a fellow officer(John Kerr) because of their shady involvement in construction projects, which are about to be investigated; it's hard not to feel bad for the victim, because he came to visit Holister to warn him and promises he'll keep his name clear and take the fall himself. Without going into detail about the entire plot, Suzanne Pleshette puts in a good performance as Helen Stewart, who claims that she saw the General shoot this man while she was boating with her mother, played by Kate Reid; a few other Columbo actors, Val Avery and Timothy Carey, also make appearances. The scenery at the shipping docks and the beach houses also add to this fine episode. The real star though is the cocky Albert, and most of his scenes are memorable. Perhaps my only flaw is that maybe he's too cocky with Columbo, as he acts very guilty at certain times. I thought the ending was decent, but too easy for Columbo to arrest him, as the suspect keeps the murder weapon on display for the public to see. This is still a terrific episode with quirky characters and interesting scenes.

This episode seems to be hated, and doesn't even reach a 7. In my opinion all of the original Columbos deserve to go over the 7 mark...

I've noticed in reading the reviews certain people don't believe a kind of female loser would fall for a man twenty-years older, but he is a famous rich man while she was in a marriage being cheated on by a guy who probably had no money, and this General put on what my parents would call "the full court press" so it seems very realistic...

Also, when he shows her his house from the distance she claimed to see the killing from the boat... that made a lot of sense. Had the General gone to court they'd have brought the jury out there and he'd get off, with an apology from the police... including our scruffy beloved hero...

So that's probably the reason it's a hated episode... It's a reach, there's no body, and Columbo has nothing really to hang onto but that... well that's a spoiler...

But anything with Timothy Carey serving stew to Peter Falk deserves SOME praise for gosh sakes... And this is an entertaining episode...

Featuring as the victim John Kerr who played the fiance of another Columbo victim Anne Francis from one of the great bad movies, The Crowded Sky...

Just saying.

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.