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.

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.

This episode is aided greatly by a terrifically sincere and sympathetic performance by Suzanne Pleshette as a woman who has witnessed a murder from a distance and is doubted, even by her own mother, played well by Kate Reid. Ultimately, she comes to be manipulated by the killer, a military officer, also played well by Eddie Albert who is perfectly cast as the steadfast and hardhearted officer. But it is the attractive and talented Pleshette who really shines here. Sad to read years later that she and Albert did not get along with Falk, who was selfish and thoughtless when it came to his fellow actors as he fought to get the show's producers to allow him to direct episodes, especially since Pleshette was friends with Falk from her days in New York City when she was just starting out her career. Nevertheless, there is a chemistry here between them in their scenes together that is undeniable, a testament to Pleshette's professionalism. Good to know they re-kindled their friendship a year later, but they would never act together again.

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 good, workmanlike episode of "Columbo." But for the first time, another guest star is more interesting than the one who plays the murderer.

A young divorcée, Mrs. Stewart (Suzanne Pleshette), and her mother (Kate Reid) are out sailing when the daughter happens to look into the window of a nearby house; she sees a man in a bathrobe shoot another man in military uniform. Her mother doesn't believe her, and she even begins to doubt herself when the man she accuses proves to be the celebrated Major Gen. Martin Hollister (Eddie Albert).

"Columbo" fans know the splendid formula here. We witness a high-status personage commit a murder. The rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) investigates and knows intuitively who the killer is. He plays a cat-and-mouse game with the criminal until he is able to prove his suspicions right and send the sophisticated perpetrator up the river. But my plot description above skews toward the witness, because for once that's who really captures our interest. Not the murderer.

Eddie Albert is best known as the straight man in the wacky sitcom, "Green Acres," but also played a wide variety of supporting roles in Hollywood, two of which earned him Oscar nominations. Here he plays a war hero who has aged into a corrupt businessman capable of cold-bloodedly murdering a colonel (John Kerr). This fellow Marine, who has conspired with him in illegal shenanigans, visits the bathrobe-clad Hollister to warn him that they are about to be exposed. Hollister thinks he can prevent discovery by getting rid of his co-conspirator. Albert is far too amiable to give this potentially fascinating character any depth; which is a shame, because Columbo finally discovers the damning piece of evidence through his understanding of Hollister's psychology. The impact of this revelation is muted because Hollister is not a fully realized character.

But Mrs. Stewart and her mother are. We meet them at the moment before the shooting; the camera cuts to the two of them just as it happens. Mrs. Stewart tells her mother what she just saw, and the mother immediately belittles the idea.

We soon learn this is the essence of their relationship. Mrs. Stewart phones the police, despite her mother's mockery. Columbo investigates, but Hollister has covered up the murder so well that not even our eagle-eyed detective can find anything. And when he meets Stewart and her mother, he thinks even less of her report. Mrs. Stewart clearly lives an empty life, poisoned by a mother who never misses a chance to denigrate her. Later, Hollister appears and seduces his witness. Finally even she begins to doubt what she saw.

Suzanne Pleshette ("The Bob Newhart Show"; Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds") gives a splendidly sympathetic performance, further enhanced by her interplay with the excellent Kate Reid ("The Andromeda Strain"). They are the heart of this episode. Eddie Albert's performance never really gels and prevents this from being a top-notch "Columbo" outing.

MISCELLANY: The music is credited to Gil Mille, but the score seems to be stock music from earlier episodes, primarily from Mille's "Death Lends a Hand."

Mrs. Stewart calls Columbo "an unmade bed," probably the first time anyone had used this apt metaphor.