Ransom for a Dead Man

If I recall correctly, Lee Grant won or was nominated for an award for her great performance of Leslie Williams, a cold blooded killer and confident lawyer who is both arrogant and greedy. She exhibits no remorse whatsoever during the entire episode, as we get to see her coldly murder her influential husband. She manipulates the detective in charge, but when the husband's body finally surfaces, Columbo is in charge and he sees right through Leslie, even when she falls apart at the bad news in front of several people. Without describing in detail the rest of the episode, there are some memorable scenes which has Columbo attempting to fly Leslie's plane, and how Leslie's step daughter Margaret constantly hounds her, because she feels that Leslie murdered her father. I thought perhaps there was a bit too much Margaret, as her tirades towards her step mother go on and on for much of the latter half of the segment. Anyhow, you'll have to sit through close to 2 hours before we finally get to the underwhelming finale when Columbo finally arrests Leslie, which seems slightly convenient rather than grand.

This is a solid season 1 episode, and watch for the fine portrayal by Lee Grant, who makes this Columbo a memorable one. Peter Falk also does a fine job as he's on the hunt after the killer.

Three years after the original Columbo pilot "Prescription: Murder", the great man got another chance for immortality in this film. Of course, the rest is history as Columbo went on to become one of the greatest and best-loved TV characters ever.

This pilot sets a high standard (which wasn't always maintained, let's be honest) and has strong writing and characterisation, as well as showing some visual flair with slow fades, jump cuts and other effects.

Columbo here is the Lieutenant we will come to love, absent-minded, rambling, but with pin-sharp instincts and a deep sense of justice ("I couldn't have you convicted on false evidence" he says at one point. He wants to catch the criminal but he will do it fairly and properly). The performances of Peter Falk and Lee Grant are excellent.

Some reviewers have felt the suspect wouldn't be stupid enough to use the ransom money after being so smart in planning the crime and covering her tracks. I think the fact the money was going into a *Swiss* bank probably made her feel it was a risk worth taking - you can't get any information out of those guys, so no-one would know it was the ransom money. Besides, she really doesn't have a conscience.

Leslie Williams is a very clever lawyer and has just become an equally clever murderer. Shooting her husband and dumping his body, Leslie uses a tape recorder and some threatening letters to make it appear that her husband has been kidnapped. Naturally she contacts the police and drops off the money only for her husband to be found dead with the police all lamenting their failed attempt to get him back alive. However the liaison with the local police (Lieutenant Columbo) has one or two things that just don't ring true and suspects something other than a simple kidnapping.

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. Knowing this ahead of time won't ruin anything for you; 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. However with this film we are really in the territory where the formula was created. This second pilot sees a murder committed in the first few moments, Columbo brought in and filled with doubts and suspicions. In essence the plot is solid and interesting, with Columbo picking away at small things that bother him but it doesn't quite ring true.

The film brings in Columbo quickly, which is a good thing, but it seems to spend too much time on Margaret, which is a bit of a drag. The film could have lived with her in a smaller role but outside of her the rest is still pretty strong. Falk is much, much better as Columbo than he was in the first pilot (Prescription Murder) as he is much more animated and quirky rather than flat as he was then. He is funny and dogged and, although he isn't as good as he would quickly become, he is still pretty good. Grant is strong and is a good foil for Columbo – shame they do not have as much time together as other films allow. Mattick is annoying and, like I said, she gets in the way and is a misjudged part of the film generally.

Overall a good start proper to the successful series. The majority of the formula is in place and it is surprising how little tweaking it needed to make it run and run from there. Fans will love it of course but it has an appeal beyond that (it was released in cinemas in the UK) and is worth a look.

1. Peter Falk as Columbo has his hands full trying to prove his case against husband killer Leslie Williams played by the gorgeous Lee Grant. 2. Leslie's step daughter Margaret provides some help to Columbo, but I believe that she was fortunate that Leslie didn't decide to eliminate her step daughter as well! 3. I picked out one small interesting scene to mention. Shortly after Leslie takes her adversary for an airplane ride, he goes into a diner for a bowl of chili. Apparently our favorite detective has eaten there before because the cook knows that chili is Colombo's favorite dish. (In later episodes we see the lieutenant sitting down to enjoy a bowl of chili, but this is the first time we see this happen in the series). 4. In 2011 when the news reports came out that Peter Falk had passed away, I made my way to a greasy spoon diner and had a bowl of chili exactly the way Colombo liked it, with "ketchup and lots of crackers".

... but don't hold that against it.

Esteemed trial lawyer Leslie Williams (Lee Grant) murders her husband at their home, dumps the body in a remote area, and then has the whole thing set up to look like a kidnapping for 300K. That's 2.3 million dollars in 2023. She pays the ransom, but switches the bag holding the money with an empty bag at the last minute and then hides what would have been the ransom, so she has lost no money. When the police find the empty bag and Leslie's husband's body they just figure the kidnapping went bad and the thieves got away with the money. They begin a manhunt for the kidnappers and Leslie seems home free.

Enter stage left Lieutenant Columbo who has been troubled from the start by various aspects of this case. Leslie has been smart - she has no accomplices except a couple of, what were then, high tech devices. But she has an adversary - her stepdaughter who doesn't like Leslie and is aware of certain facts that have her believing that her father was murdered. Complications ensue.

There are three years between the first Columbo movie and this one, and Columbo now has his more familiar disheveled appearance. The film does some things that date itself. For some reason the producers thought fading in and out between scenes in such a way that it seems like somebody is having a bad dream is a good thing. They also have the daughter character talking about the "fuzz" - I guess they are just trying to be "with it" but it just seems funny now. Also note Columbo being fascinated with Leslie's landline attached to a punch card reader and a tape recorder.

What is a little different from this Columbo versus some of the others is that the "why" of the murder unfolds gradually, with the episode. I'd recommend it.