Dead Weight

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.

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.

Retired Major General Martin Hollister has made some money by being part of a business that gets work at very high prices, thanks to a partner inside the Government that awards him contracts and splits the profits, even though others are cheaper and better. However his partner's employers are onto him and Colonel Dutton is looking to run. Hollister can't end his career on the run and kills Dutton – effectively cutting any possible route back to him. However a woman boating off the marina thinks she sees the murder and calls it in. With no other evidence, body or weapon Columbo is ready to drop it but can't discount the eye witness account from Helen Stewart. While Columbo keeps digging for clues, Hollister gets to know Helen – hoping his easy charm will make her doubt what she has seen.

As with many TV film series (such as Perry Mason), if you like one or two of them then you'll pretty much like them all. This entry in the Columbo series pretty much follows the usual formula – we know the killer and the "perfect" plan but then watch Columbo follow his hunch and gradually starts to pick holes in the story he is told before eventually finding enough to prove his suspicions. Saying this is not a spoiler – it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually down to several factors whether or not the Columbo film stands out or if it is just average. Here we try something pretty different – the cat and mouse games go three ways, with both men vying for the heart and mind of the witness to the crime. It could have been very good, and some strong moments in this dynamic show how well it could have worked, but too much of it is unconvincing and forced. If Martin and Helen had been good friends already before the murder, the step up to semi-lovers would have been easier to take. As it is, it feels too sudden and easy, and it surely would have set off alarm bells in everyone's mind – Helen would have suspected and Martin would have known better once the seeds of doubt were evident after only one or two meetings. Helen's character is well written and is a little believable that she would be suckered in by male attention, but Hollister is not as well laid out as a character – a problem since the conclusion relies wholly on an understanding of his character.

The film fails to set up Hollister as a vain and proud man early on and tries to do it suddenly at the end – mostly by Columbo telling us who he is. This weakens the solution because we have not been allowed to see these traits really until then. If it had been better written then these little things would have been evident across the film – just like personality traits are always there – it would have impressive if it had done this and it would have been further proof of Columbo's powers of observation (although, in a way it still is – but just a lot less effective). Falk is still good though, and even in 1971 he has "gotten" his character just right – almost a second skin even then. Albert is OK but could have been better; he toys with Columbo but then that didn't work because (with no evidence or body) why would he? He also seems smarter than the road he takes – not his fault as a performer but more of the material letting him down. Pleshette is good but again she is held back by the material; it was a nice performance though, and she did the best she could with it.

Overall this was a good try – but I really want to be able to say more than that. If it had been better written then it would have been a very good variation from formula but, with the unconvincing aspects looming large over the story, it doesn't work as well as the occasional strong moment suggest it could. The performances are all pretty good but the writing and development of characters and the plot lets them down when they need it most. Fans will enjoy it but, without anything being added by the change to formula, even they will probably acknowledge that it is not one of the better Columbo films.

The third episode from Columbo's first season, this one casts former Green Acres star Eddie Albert as a Patton like General whose murder of a soldier is witnessed by Suzanne Pleshette, an ordinary citizen whose word is suspect. After all, who would you believe? A highly decorated legend of the military or an anonymous citizen? The mystery is fairly effective, but it's the performances that stand-out. Albert is really quite good as the General, and he manages to add an effective menace to the twinkle in his eye. Pleshette is always good no matter the material, and Falk is first rate.

The cool demeanor of Eddie Albert's Martin J. Hollister and his enjoyable interplay with Columbo makes "Dead Weight" a pleasure to watch multiple times. This is one of Columbo's toughest cases because Hollister has convincingly succeeded in swaying unstable Helen Stewart from what she originally thought she had witnessed. Excellent plot, excellent directing. The music score adds to this first season episode's likability. The final clue, additionally, is rather unique. It points to the villain's tragic flaw, which is exciting to discover and shows that Hollister is yet more complex with more compassion inside than we realized.