"Columbo" A Friend in Deed (1974)

Director:

Ben Gazzara

Writers:

Peter S. Fischer (written by)
Richard Levinson (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

5 May 1974 (Season 3, Episode 8)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A police commissioner provides a false alibi for a wife killer, but then expects an alibi in return.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Murder | Crime Solving | Detective | Nude Woman Murdered

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Richard Kiley	...	Mark Halperin
Rosemary Murphy	...	Margaret Halperin
Michael McGuire	...	Hugh Caldwell
Val Avery	...	Artie Jessup
Eric Christmas	...	Bruno Wexler
Eleanor Zee	...	Thelma
John Finnegan	...	Lt. Dreyer
Arlene Martel	...	Salesgirl (as Arlene Martell)
Victor Campos	...	Doyle
Joshua Bryant	...	Dr. MacMurray
John Calvin	...	Charlie Shoup
Byron Morrow	...	Amos Lawrence
James V. Christy	...	Sharkey
Alma Beltran	...	Mrs. Fernandez

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied)

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Richard Kiley and Rosemary Murphy had not met before shooting their first scene, where Kiley's character Mark Halperin dives into a swimming pool to pull out his drowned wife, played by Murphy, and attempt to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Upon finishing the scene, Kiley held out his hand to Murphy and said, "How do you do? I'm Richard Kiley."

Goofs:

Plot holes: When Commissioner Halperin peruses Artie Jessup's police file, Jessup's home address is listed in its entirety as "874 South Central Ave. L.A." Halperin goes to that address - a rooming house - intending to plant evidence to frame Jessup. Halperin walks through the front door, heads up the stairs and goes to unit 13 - even though the report didn't list Jessup's room number. (Halperin doesn't even bother to check the mailboxes.)

Soundtrack:

Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring

One of the gems of season 3

Thanks to Universal for releasing the DVD sets. I became a Columbo fan in the 1980's when CBS was running heavily-cut versions after midnight. Edited Columbos are pretty good-- uncut, the good Columbos are the best TV detective programs of all time.

And Richard Kiley is the best Columbo villain of the third season. Donald Pleasence and Jackie Cooper also turned in emmy-quality performances that year, but Kiley brings a presence to the role that, physically, is intimidating. I don't think the Lt faced anyone quite this scary until they cast Rip Torn in the revival series in the '90's. He was the perfect choice for deputy police commissioner, in the way it makes you realize how a someone who seems to be so "in charge" can be evil penetrating the highest levels of order, and how he can pervert attempts to uncover it. The Lt's perplexity at Halperin's unwillingness to cooperate is one of the good bits on this. Big red flag, and you can see the Lt realizing it, in a turning point for the story.

This episode also has one of the best depictions of Columbo at work. As he wanders about the murder scene, it's like the camera's not even there--here's the bare intellect putting it together, and repeated viewings, when you know what he's thinking, are fun to watch.

Also, good job by Val Avery-- he was in a few other episodes, but Artie Jessup, a greasy little cat burglar just trying to make it on the outside, is his most memorable. Check out the way he tries to intimidate that fence, who isn't buying. Futility or what?

And catch Columbo's reaction when the husband hands him the major break, about the nightgown-- the case is cracked and he doesn't let on at all. Again, repeat viewing just makes it better.

Also I would be remiss not to mention the brief appearance by Arlene Martel as the jewelry saleslady. If I brought my crappy little watchband in, and she smiled at me like that while she turned me down, I'd consider myself blessed. By the way, Columbo picked up a bunch of people who had worked on Perry Mason-- Jackson Gillis was script editor on both shows, and some of the actors, such as Ms Martel, and the lovely and talented Jeanette Nolan, turned in memorable roles on both programs.

Finally, this episode covers the range of life in LA, from cozy clubs of the privileged to the seedy dives of the desperate. In fact, Columbo cracks it by having Halperin, a habitue of the former, be dragged into the latter.

One last comment-- I don't think Columbo did that well in seasons 2 and 3-- the episode with Julie Newmar and Martin Landau, for example, was in season 2-- the most depressing Columbo murder ever. And the cosmetics murder episode? If I had a chance to work with Vincent Price, I'd have made him the murderer if I'd had to rewrite the script from scratch. What. A. Waste. And that robot alibi in the one with Jose Ferrer-- even in 1972, they would have connected the computer with a cable, you wouldn't have had a ham-handed robot trying to type like a person. But they had Robbie the Robot available, so they had to write him and this Cute Kid into it. Completely unnecessary.

Peter Fischer (the author of this episode) came on board in season 4 as story editor, and frankly the improvement is noticeable. So, as a Columbo fan, looking at season 3-- I'm just glad they got Mr Kiley for this one, that Columbo had to fight someone within the department, and that his solution relies on the character's shortcomings like it does. Best of season 3.