Great Detectives Revisited: #1 Columbo

A good part of any action-adventure thriller is mystery. There is always a mystery at the heart of the story, usually but not always centred on what the villain is up to, and mystery novels have always played a big part in my life, as have some of the many excellent TV adaptations. In fact, one of the first novels I ever wrote was a crime mystery novel, and I have several outlines for crime novels in the vault which I'm hoping to get to at some point, but... only time will tell.

So, on the subject of crime novels/TV shows – and inspired by my James Bond reviews – I thought it might be fun to dust off the magnifying glass and take a closer look at some of the great detectives and their finest cases. I’ll also be swinging by some of the TV adaptations as well.

This list isn’t in any particular order, so I’m not saying Columbo is the #1 greatest, but simply kicking off with him because I just finished watching Troubled Waters (1975) with Robert Vaughn and Dean Stockwell and then followed this up with Robert Culp’s excellent performance in The Most Crucial Game (1972).

And I’ll start with the point that unlike many other TV detectives, Columbo only ever existed on the small screen and never on the page, but he’s no weaker for that and in my mind ranks as one of the greatest TV detectives for many reasons – so let’s get to it.

First – the format. Columbo differs markedly from other TV crime shows in the way it shows the viewer not only who the killer is but also exactly how he or she dispatched the victim. This is a great spin on what was already a tired format by the late 60s and really makes for compulsive viewing as we watch how Columbo will work it all out and snare the villain. Later, crime writers would deal with the tired format problem simply by making their stories increasingly violent and bleak, but that’s another blog post I’m putting together and not for today.

Columbo was back when crimes could still be “cozy” and taken seriously at the same time, and many of his cases dealt with some serious issues. Same goes for Agatha Christie. While we all remember her stories as being about vicars using teapots to murder people on the croquet lawn, many of her books dealt with some pretty racy subjects, especially for back in the days when she was publishing, including drug addiction, smuggling and serial killers.

For me, the charm of Columbo is not just delivered by Peter Falk’s charisma, but by the direction of the episodes, the faded colours of the old film and the lower population of LA – check out the traffic! Last time I had to drive in LA it was seriously hectic, but things were a little different back in 68 when Columbo was pootling around in his delapidated Peugeot 403. This is part of the appeal of these great old films.

And the locations in these films are amazing – great shots of the city from the hills and some amazing modernist properties such as the Stahl House (below) used in the Columbo Pilot Prescription Murder and also the beautiful shots of the pool filmed in Bel Air for The Most Crucial Game when Dean Stockwell gets knocked off with a block of ice.

 

Another element that we have to talk about is the great cast these short films featured – Robert Culp, Patrick McGoohan, Donald Pleasence, Eddie Albert, Jackie Cooper, Ray Milland, Leonard Nimoy, Jack Cassidy, Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Martin Landau, Robert Vaughn, Johnny Cash... I mean, come on! What crime show today can pull names like these?

It must be said they did drop in quality a little when they returned in the late 80s but even here you can find some gems like Columbo Cries Wolf (1990) and Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (1989). However, if you want the real classics go early, to the first 7 series. You won’t be disappointed and if you like your crime somewhere just north of cozy with an original format and an outstanding cast, then grab some of these Columbos – boxed sets or even on Netflix in some regions.

My favourite episodes? Easy – Murder by the Book, Now You See Him, Negative Reaction, Double Exposure, Any Old Port in a Storm... the list goes on...

Oh – and just more thing... several actors have played Frank Columbo, including Bert Freed (Shane, Hang ‘Em High) and Thomas Mitchell (Gone with the Wind), but the TV series role was originally offered to Bing Crosby who turned it down so he could spend more time on the golf course...

 

 

 

 

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