Six and a half months after Ransom for a Dead Man launched the series (Prescription Murder was in 1968, there was more than a 3 year break between that and Ransom) the show was off and running, with what is officially designated as Season 1, Episode 1 - Murder by the Book.
📺You can watch it for free on Tubi (may not be available in all regions)
What to Watch for
Bits of Columbo trivia and interesting tidbits...
Early in a beautiful career
This episode was directed by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was only 24 years old when it aired. He already had several directing credits to his name by that point.
Out of order
This was the second episode filmed, Death Lends a Hand was filmed first, but the producers thought this one was so strong they bumped it up and aired it first.
Three but no more
This is the first of three episodes in which Jack Cassidy played the murderer. The other two are Now You See Him in Season 5, and Publish or Perish in Season 3. Perhaps he'd have returned to kill every other season, but he died in a fire in December of 1976. Word is the fire was caused when Cassidy fell asleep on the couch while holding a lit cigarette. He was only 49 years old.
Have a Nice Day
Ken's Mercedes, sort of ironically, has a "Have a Nice Day" bumper sticker on it. Jim, sadly, won't be having a nice day.
Ken enters the parking garage thru an "Exit Only" gate, then parks in spot 62. When they leave, however, he's parked in spot 59 (as you can see above).
The Prank
When Jim opens the door Ken is rather awkwardly holding a pistol. Jim explains that he's not afraid because Ken's not wearing gloves, his finger isn't on the trigger, and there are no bullets in the cylinder.
Seems to me that if it's Ken's gun, and he intended to take it with him, that he might not bother with gloves. Plus he'll have plenty of time to wipe the gun down later. And the finger could go to the trigger pretty quickly if it needed to.
It also occurred to me that Ken might have been showing Jim the gun now, as a prank, so that Jim wouldn't think twice about it if he saw it in Ken's pocket, or looked up to see Ken holding it, later.
When asked why he has it Ken says he's taking it down to the cabin, "for protection". It's not clear what he would need a gun for protection for, though. it doesn't seem like a bad neighborhood. Then again, there are two homicides committed down there over the next few days.
We'll Meet Again
The portrait of Mrs. Melville that hangs on the wall in the office appears again in Season 6's Bye Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case. It hangs on the wall in the meeting room of the Sigma Club.
Forgotten Evidence again
Once again we get the cinematic technique of showing the murderer appear to leave something behind. In Prescription Murder it was Ray's kerchief on the phone; in Ransom for a Dead Man, Leslie appeared to have left Paul's briefcase behind. This time it's Ken's lighter, which is still on the desk when he's done ransacking the office.
And once again we get the close up of his hand returning to retrieve it.
Good Housekeeping
The first time I watched this episode I barely noticed that the couch Ken has Jim sit on to make the call to his wife, when he shoots him...is covered in plastic. It's the only piece of furniture in the room that is.
Speaking of coverings, it's curious that Ken is wearing gloves at this point. His fingerprints are already on the gun from The Prank, and his fingerprints being in his own car or cabin aren't evidence of anything.
By the way, Jim's last words are true... "This will be the last time, I prom...<BANG>."
He got some breaks
It's fortunate for Ken that Jim didn't need to use the bathroom at Ms. La Sanka's after that long drive. Would have given up the game if Jim had walked into the store at that point.
He's also lucky that Joanna was home when he called. If she'd been out shopping, or in the bathtub, the plan doesn't work. I suppose she might have had an answering machine, though, and that would have been just as good.
Franklin the Showman
Columbo catches on early that Franklin has a huge ego, and that being exposed as not being "half of the great mystery writing team" would be devastating to him. Franklin is all about the publicity and being the public face of the team...losing that means losing his livelihood (though the book royalties should more than sustain him) but also means losing the public adoration.
Perhaps the insurance policy will be a small comfort.
Books Books Books
Ken gives Columbo a stack of books to read; perhaps as a delaying tactic to keep Columbo busy. But the sharp-eyed might notice that the stack apparently includes two copies of one book, and three copies of another.
In 1971 people weren't freeze framing moments of TV shows and zooming in on things like this. It was a simpler time for prop men.
The Debut of The Car
This episode is also notable because it's the first time we get to see Columbo's trademark Peugeot convertible. We first glimpse it at about the 30:45 mark, in the shadows at Ken Franklin's house when the police have arrived to investigate Jim's body on the front lawn.
Add: The lighting is so bad that I had to do a lot of looking to make sure this wasn't actually Franklin's Mercedes. But the side trim and door handles match the Peugeot and not the Mercedes, and the rear of the top looks different from the Mercedes.
We get a much better look at it quite a bit later in the episode when Columbo pulls up in front of Ms. La Sanka's store to look around for evidence.
We'll Meet Again - Part 2
If you like Ken Franklin's house, stick around, you'll see it again. Eric Wagner lives there in The Most Crucial Game in Season 2.
Cursed episode?
Cassidy wasn't the only star of this episode to meet an untimely end. Barbara Colby played the lusty blackmailing grocer and in 1975 she was gunned down while leaving an acting class in Los Angeles. She was only 36 years old.
A Quick Quip
Almost unnoticed is a quick line that Ken Franklin delivers while Ms. La Sanka is blackmailing him over strawberries.
La Sanka: "I felt just terrible because they said he was killed in his office."
Franklin: "So did he."
Just a Few More Things
- The young beauty that Ken takes to the play is Anitra Ford. In real life she was one of the first models on The Price is Right game show.
- The book that Ken gives Ms. La Sanka is "Prescription Murder" which is the title of Columbo's first pilot.
- Jim has two phones on his side table and a third on his desk.
- The actual location of Ken's cabin is at Big Bear Lake, California - not San Diego.
- Mark Russell plays one of the detectives questioning Joanna at the office after Jim is killed. He must have lost his job as a police officer, because in the following episode he's working as a detective in Brimmer's agency in Death Lends a Hand.
- Martin Milner, who plays Jim, is about 12 years older than Rosemary Forsyth, who plays Joanna.
Plot Holes
Granted that in 1975 (Pre-TSA) it was a lot faster/easier to get into and out of an airport, but to be honest I never really bought the "driving back instead of flying" argument Columbo makes. Franklin is right when he asks how much time you really save. He'd have had to drive to San Diego Airport (which may well have been twenty or more minutes out of the way, park, find a flight, buy a ticket, get to the gate, board, etc. At LAX he'd have to get off the plane, find a car rental place, rent a car, decline the insurance, and then drive the rented car to the Ferris home.
San Diego to L.A. is only a 2 hour or so drive. Flying would have been more expensive, less convenient, and very possibly not any faster.
What did you think of Murder by the Book? Let us know in the comments below!
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