User reviews

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 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.

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.

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

Eddie Albert is the guest murderer in this early Season 1 episode in the long-running series. He plays a renowned (retired) General who receives a visit from a Colonel Dutton, informing him that a mass arms contract investigation is imminent and this will uncover their dodgy dealings with the General's construction company. With the General fearing exposure and Dutton confirming that he is fleeing to Geneva, he decides to "bump off" his business associate. Unfortunately for him, the murder is witnessed by a woman out on her sailing boat with her mother....

John T. Dugan penned the script for this episode (he also undertook the same responsibility for the Season 2 instalment 'The Most Crucial Game'), but the overall impact is a disappointingly modest one.

The platform for the whole story has great potential because Columbo never has an eye witness to any crime, but the development of the story has distinct frailties which are compounded further along the line; this is a shame because Eddie Albert conveys the esteemed military aura and unruffled nature of his character particularly well. Furthermore, his scenes with Columbo have a quietly antagonistic feel to them.

The negative issues really lie in areas such as Columbo's uncharacteristic seeming scepticism at the eye witness's account, when in other episodes he galvanises a murder investigation with very little to go on. Then there is the murder set-up which takes place in front of a window - Albert's character is portrayed as battle-hardened and decisive, yet he is slipshod in the execution of his crime.

However, the love-interest which develops between Albert's character and the 'eye witness' played by Suzanne Pleshette - which the murderer carves in order to slowly undermine her account of the 'murder' - is a gross miscalculation by the script-writer in trying to inject the cleverness which normally saturates the concepts and associated writing in the series. Surely, an esteemed war hero, full of pride, would stand his ground against a shaky eye-witness account, but instead he seems to imply his own guilt by trying to 'win over' her affections and erode her dubious self-confidence about she saw.

Overall, the premise has big question marks hanging over it and the story's development seems to labour as a result. The performances are one of the major positives on show here - Albert and Falk excel in their scenes together but ultimately, too many holes in this episode very nearly sink it without a trace.

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.

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.

As a fan of Columbo, I did sort of like this episode but it was also disappointing as well. I do have to agree that the witness was much more interesting and likable than the murderer, and that is probably the first time I felt that since watching Columbo. The pacing is also rather slow and the story is a little uneven, while it is compelling in spots due to the pacing some of it is a little dull as well. The script has its moments, like with Columbo and Albert's character, but it lacks the sophistication and humour that makes other episodes enjoyable. However, it is striking to look at, the direction is good and the score is very nice. Peter Falk is exceptional as usual, while Suzanne Pleshette gives a wholly sympathetic performance and Kate Reid is good too. Only Eddie Albert disappoints, his performance I never quite warmed to, but I think the way the character was written and the fact the murderer isn't as interesting has a lot to do with it. So overall, it is good but it isn't great. 6/10 Bethany Cox

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.

Her mom thinks she's useless and she's none too fond of herself, but Helen Stewart believes she witnessed a murder. Turns out military cost overruns did not originate in the 1980s. Were we to check, we'd prolly find unscrupulous blacksmiths ripping off the Continental Army on bullets …

You might say offing the dude in front of a huge bay window lacks foresight — but he makes up for it in resourcefulness when cornered. Overall, the suspect is fastidious, formal, and pretends to fall in love with the witness … who begins to "doubt" her account still more, for more amorous reasons.

Enter Columbo.

His adversaries are beginning to take a recognizable shape — a rich, smart, and powerful one. It makes them proud … and they make mistakes. Or to put it another way, then comes the fall.

Have you noticed the cops are cowardly in Columbo? People are always telling them what they do and don't want, and whether they're doing their job properly, and when they don't have any more questions, like some kind of Jedi knight: "This is not the suspect you are looking for … "

(Note the later cop shows where offers are always interrogating some poor slob, who never wants an attorney. Revenge is sweet, or superiority and arrogance have simply switched sides.)

Nice touch with the gulls screeching over the gunshot.

And look for Gen. Hollister doing a passable Victor Kiam impression.

The ending is touching but I can't tell you how.

Culled from The Columbo Case Files: Season One.

First of all, I think that Eddie Albert was miscast here. I think of him as somewhat of a comedic actor, no a blood and guts general. He's that guy on the farm with Eva Gabor. Susanne Pleschette is beautiful here. But the people aren't the problem. It's just a rather dull story. First of all, the General shoots down a man in cold blood. Of course, he and the guy are crooked companions. I couldn't raise a bit of sympathy. Unlike most Columbo episodes there is little or no sophistication in the crime and the cover-up. The guy throws the body in the sea. If there were a real Columbo, it would take five minutes to put two and two together. The romancing of the young woman is really stretching things. I was surprised how slow and lacking in energy this was.

A woman out on a boat witnesses a murder across the water, the trouble is that the man she saw commit the murder is a high ranking official, a man of influence and means.

I don't think it's as sharp as the first two episodes, but it's still pretty watchable.

I really did enjoy the basics of the story, who would believe Joe Public, especially when it's their word against a high ranking official.

General Hollister could have gotten away with his crime if he'd kept quiet, he always seemed to be running his mouth off, and saying too much, Columbo instantly knew the man was guilty.

Peter Falk is truly settling into the role, he's wonderful, and his little quirks are all in place, he's doing his thing, walking away and turning back with just one final question.

Eddie Albert and Suzanne Pleshette both add a bit of star quality, both very natural actors. That scene where the pair meet for the first time, excellent.

A solid watch.

7/10.

Entertaining, if not totally plausible Columbo episode.

A flighty chick sailing around in circles in a boat turns her head at a precise moment to "see a shooting" in a marina apartment window from a long distance. Columbo tries to unravel her fish story. The killer finds out the name of the exact person who saw him (wouldn't happen) and then coerces her to begin a relationship with him (wouldn't happen) while Columbo realizes how to trap the guy on the advice of a local chili salesman (wouldn't-- well, you know).

Not a bad episode. Suzanne Pleshette is cute and Peter Falk is flawless, as usual.

Maj. Gen. Martin J. Hollister (Eddie Albert) is a former war hero who cheated the military on a crooked contract. His partner Col. Roger Dutton tells him that he has 30 days before a review is sure to uncover the scam. Hollister shots and kills Dutton. The only witness is Helen Stewart (Suzanne Pleshette) and she calls the police. Her mom doesn't believe her and neither do the beat cops. Columbo (Peter Falk) is send in to check.

I like the start with the mystery of where Hollister hid the body. A howcatchem does need some sense of mystery when so many questions are answered right from the start. Then it's a matter of Hollister doing some gaslighting on Helen. Finally, it's the mystery of flipping the witness back.

Eddie Albert guest stars as retired Major-General Hollister, who is preparing to donate much of his war belongings to a museum exhibit, but is surprised to be confronted in his home by a business associate that is about to be investigated by the Inspector General for shady business dealings that involve the General, who decides to shoot the man to stop him from talking, but this murder is unknowingly witnessed from afar by a beautiful young woman(played by Suzanne Pleshette) out sailing with her mother, and whose insistence that she isn't mistaken in this fact gets the attention of Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) who comes to believe her story, but how to prove it? Fine cast makes a big difference in thinly plotted entry.

One of the lesser Columbo movies. Eddie Albert is quite unbelievable as a decorated military man, and his persistent nagging of the woman who witnesses his crime would have set off alarm bells in almost any normal person's mind. Just to make the whole thing even more far-fetched, the writers try to convince us that Suzanne Pleshette is a rather desperate woman who is genuinely captivated by and attracted to Eddie Albert, and so lets herself be talked out of believing she saw what she saw. The whole romance business is rather embarrassing. It would have been a bit more believable had the witness been Kate Reid, who plays Pleshette's mother in her usual broad style, but in the end nobody involved in this story evokes much sympathy or concern.