Episode 2 - Ransom for a Dead Man

This week on the Columbo Files! Join our hosts, John Soares and Antonicus Maximus (Anthony to his friends), as they dive into the second Columbo pilot, 1971's "Ransom for a Dead Man." They discuss the history behind this episode's legendary cast, compare Peter Falk's performance here with that in "Prescription: Murder", and discuss the the events of the episode in their three act breakdown.


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Good Overview

Good overview of the episode.

Just wanted to point out that the “detective episode” that Margaret was watching on TV is actually a famous movie starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck called “Double Indemnity”. In the movie, Barbara Stanwyck plays a wife that colludes with her husbands insurance agent (Fred MacMurray) to kill her husband to collect the insurance money. Also worth noting, that in Double Indemnity, as in Ransom for a Dead Man, it’s the stepdaughter that first starts to suspect the stepmother of her fathers murder.

Great take on the episode.

You touched upon couple of things I've noticed as a fan of Columbo for 35 years, and I look forward to you exploring these themes in future episodes.

The show is constantly a window into the past, reflecting its time. Fashion, music, cars, and social issues are constantly updating from season to season.

You talked about the "answering machine" that forwards calls. I never anything like that back then, but I'm sure it was cutting edge technology back then for a wealthy Los Angeles citizen. The show often used the newest technology in their stories, often to create alibis.

I think the show tried to be socially progressive, with things like women having jobs that traditionally belonged to men, and in the 90s, a couple of gay characters. The character of Columbo falls somewhere in the middle, because as you pointed out, he questions how a male secretary could be okay working for a woman. Maybe he was just trying to get the guy to talk, maybe he.meant it, but I don't think his opinion lasted long after that. And in the 90s when he hears about the guy couple he gets uncomfortable and snickers. I think his values.are stuck in the past, but he isn't judgemental about progressive ideas.

I would love to hear more from you guys on the subject. Keep up the great work on the show.