A shabby raincoat . . . a perpetually lit cigar . . . a mastery at playing the fool! No detective was better at getting under his adversaries’ skin than Lieutenant Frank Columbo of the LAPD. As played by Peter Falk, Columbo appeared in sixty-nine episodes that ran on and (mostly) off between 1968 and … Continue reading “Oh, just one more thing ma’am . . . “: THE COLUMBO DISTAFF DRAFT

In preparation for our upcoming draft of the best female murderers in Columbo, my pal Sergio Angelini sent me a list of twenty-one episodes. I have covered seventeen of them, and today we’ll look at the final four. Then I’m going to explain the upcoming draft to you – and why we’ll only be drafting fifteen episodes! I’ve only … Continue reading FINAL TWISTS: A Columbo Quadruple Bill

This new project of watching all the female murderers and accomplices on Columbo is not making an expert out of this first-time viewer. My sense is that the men who kill here are far more cold-blooded, motivated by greed, envy and a lust for . . . well, anything. And, from the feedback I’ve been getting, the … Continue reading LADY ON TOP: Two More Columbo Adventures

Our exploration into Distaff Columbo jumps to the second episode of 1976 and the first episode of the 1977 season. Both are a mere 75 minutes in length, both concern a murderess who is both sympathetic and ruthless – although one of them a character named Ruth and the other played by an actress named Ruth! - … Continue reading RUTHLESS RUTH! Two More Columbo Adventures

In Season 2, Episode Four, Columbo sent its raincoated hero to London, gave him a camera, and shot lots of footage of the Lieutenant trying to get a photo of the Queen – and it was frankly a drag. So I’m happy to report that, in Season 2, Episode Five, things have mightily improved. Columbo is back … Continue reading SCREAM QUEENS: Two More Columbo Adventures

Believe it or not, this is my first time watching Columbo, and as I’ve been skipping all the guy murderers to focus on the gal murderers in preparation for the upcoming Distaff Columbo Draft with Sergio and Nick, I can’t say my viewing is making me an expert on either the series or its lead character. Skipping around as … Continue reading ALARUMS AND EXCURSIONS: Two More Columbo Adventures

“How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?” (Walter Neff, Double Indemnity) The film Double Indemnity plays quite a bit in the background of Columbo’s second pilot episode, “Ransom for a Dead Man.” Why not? It contains one of the most fascinating murderesses to appear onscreen. Ace attorney Leslie Williams may … Continue reading BEAUTY AND THE (RAINCOATED) BEAST: TWO MORE COLUMBO ADVENTURES