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
TV
SCREAM QUEENS: 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
ALARUMS AND EXCURSIONS: 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
BEAUTY AND THE (RAINCOATED) BEAST: 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
!TNEMECNUONNA DETREVNI NA (AN INVERTED ANNOUNCEMENT!)
I just learned that this space has passed 500,000 views! Not too bad for a little blog that’s only been chugging along since 1827. Thanks to every one of you who has dropped by to check the place out. I’d like to return the favor with an announcement! You’ve followed along as the three amigos, … Continue reading !TNEMECNUONNA DETREVNI NA (AN INVERTED ANNOUNCEMENT!)
MOVE OVERBOARD, DARLING: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife
“’Remember now, Mrs. Shelby, if I’m going to represent you, I want you to have just one formula. For the press, there will be only two words, “no comment”. For the officers you will simply say, “I am not guilty. I have done nothing and the charge is unfounded, but I do not care to … Continue reading MOVE OVERBOARD, DARLING: The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife
THE ART OF ADAPTATION: Ms. Ma, Nemesis
If you ever go wandering through this blog and find some of my early posts about film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s work, you find yourself in the presence of a staunch purist. I mean, when your favorite author’s greatest strength is her plotting, why tamper with perfection? Why indeed? My relationship with adaptation has changed … Continue reading THE ART OF ADAPTATION: Ms. Ma, Nemesis
THIS TIME CARR DRIVES THE BUS: The D.A. Draws a Circle
It’s Leap Day, everyone! Every four years, we gather together 1440 minutes and set them before the people. It’s a gift of time! It’s an acknowledgement of our limitations at monitoring the whirl of planets and the time flow of the cosmos. To me, it’s more unnerving than Halloween and more deserving of celebration. When … Continue reading THIS TIME CARR DRIVES THE BUS: The D.A. Draws a Circle
MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: The Arrow Points to Sherwood
This was supposed to be a post about Sherlock Holmes. Recently, while ranking the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies with my buddies Sergio Angelini and Nick Cardillo, I admitted that I had never watched the series starring Jeremy Brett, arguably the David Suchet of Holmeses! I must say that the boys took me to … Continue reading MY YEAR WITH BRITBOX: The Arrow Points to Sherwood
CONSPIRACY THEORY: The Seven Dials Mystery
“’It’s impossible . . . The beautiful foreign adventuress, the international gang, the mysterious No. 7, whose identity nobody knows – I’ve read it all a hundred times in books.’ ’Of course you have. So have I. But it’s no reason why it shouldn’t really happen . . . After all – I suppose fiction is … Continue reading CONSPIRACY THEORY: The Seven Dials Mystery
Ah Sweet Mystery! 