On November 21st, 1977 season 7 kicked off with an interesting episode featuring Ruth Gordon as a famous mystery writer who kills her nephew because she believes he killed her niece.
What to watch for
A few things I found interesting or notable in this episode.
Did he or didn't he?
The motive for the murder is revenge. Abigail thinks Edmund murdered her niece, though it's never completely clear that he did. It's said that the writers deliberately kept it vague as to whether or not he killed her, and that parts of the script were even tweaked during filming to remove more explicit clues about whether he did or didn't.
Opinions on Edmund differ. Some found him to be a polite, eager-to-please young man who explictly told Abigail that he didn't want anything from her. Other saw him as a conniving gold digger who probably killed his wife and was intrigued by the opportunity to pilfer some valuables from Abigail's safe when she wasn't looking.
Hello again, Mariette
Mariette Hartley plays Abigail's pretty assistant, Veronica. If she looks familiar it's because she also had a prominent role in Season 3's Publish or Perish as the literary agent.
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| It's an exercise class |
This is the second Columbo that features belly dancing, and Columbo's fascination with it. This happened, somewhat more awkwardly, in Identity Crisis too.
Abigail seems to have intended to throw Edmund's car keys off the pier, before she's surprised by Columbo and Dog. She ends up awkwardly handing them over to Columbo, in a move that was the beginning of the end for her.
Edmund 2:30
Abigail has a page in her typewriter that says simply "Edmund 2:30". It's a reminder in the days before Post-It notes that she wants him to come to her house at 2:30 tomorrow to initiate her revenge plan. Of course, it's a minor assumption that he would do it - the whole plan is ruined if he has other plans and offers to come at 11:00AM instead...or after she gets back from her trip.
Lawyer and electrician
Another modest reach in the episode is when Abigail sabotages the light switch, then asks her lawyer to fix it before they leave. Seems like an odd choice for a wealthy woman - undoubtedly Annie the maid could have summoned an electrician the next day.
And how dedicated to client service is the attorney, for agreeing to do it!
Speaking of whom...
G.D. Spradlin plays Martin Hammond, the attorney (and electrician). Outside of Columbo he was best known for Apocalypse Now, Ed Wood, and The Godfather Part II.
Pay attention to how Spradlin sees her off at the end, aboard the cruise ship. The implication is that he's also figured out that she killed Edmund.
Setting the trap...with a pen
Abigail's elaborate show of telling Edmund he's her heir, and having him sign the new will is all part of getting his guard down so that he'll more easily stroll into the safe for her.
Even better, it's clever to have her lawyer there for part of it so that he becomes a witness to the good will between them and how warmly she treated him.
Adding to the trap...notice how Abigail gets him to put his fingerprints on her jewelry box and her cash box?
Did she say...?
When talking about why she had a will made up for Edmund too it sounded like Abigail said that way the rights to the book would come back to where they started. I assume she meant her estate, because if Edmund had the rights to the book it would be because Abigail had passed away and he'd inherited them.
The keys are the key
Abigail's undoing are Edmund's car keys, which he carelessly (but fortunately) left on the table in plain sight. Abigail made a mistake hiding them in the sand downstairs. She'd have been better served to just quietly set them back on the table where she found them when she and the lawyer left the room.
Nobody would have questioned Edmund leaving his car keys on that table after they found his body in the safe.
It's possible Columbo would have solved the case without the keys, though. Interpreting the scratched arrow, and finding the torn page, were the real clinchers and the keys didn't have anything to do with that. (other than making Columbo more suspicious that this was more than a botched burglary)
A stylish ride
Abigail's car is a 1976 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible.
"Shall we compare poverty stories, Lieutenant?""Not in a Rolls Royce, Ma'am."
Did she rile him?
While visiting Edmund's apartment Abigail is rather condescending to Columbo. Can't help but wonder if that's what causes him to become a bit more direct with her about her not going on a trip, and that he'll be happy to talk with her lawyer.
Veronica is shrewd
When Veronica springs her plot to use the keys to blackmail Abigail into giving her a raise, she wisely declines the solo trip.
"Who knows, it might be like one of your books. By the time I came back the police might even suspect me of killing Edmund."
Dog gets frisky
Dog even makes an appearance in this episode, in a sort of awkward scene on the pier between Columbo and Abigail.
Abigail seems to have intended to throw Edmund's car keys off the pier, before she's surprised by Columbo and Dog. She ends up awkwardly handing them over to Columbo, in a move that was the beginning of the end for her.
I suspect this scene took a lot of takes, had a lot of on-set tweaking, and then a lot of furrowed brows in editing to try and get right.
Turnabout is fair play
At the end of the pier scene as they're about to part Abby throws his own line back at him (sort of).
"Lieutenant Columbo, just one more question..."
A tall order
I wonder if Edmund hid the torn script page in the light bulb socket because it was the highest point in the room and unlikely that Abigail (played by an actress who was barely 5 feet tall) would be able or willing to reach it.
As long as Volare?
I haven't timed it yet but the scene at the end where Columbo and Abigail try to piece together the scratched arrow on the safe deposit boxes seems to go on forever. Even my wife commented on it. Made me wonder if the episode was running a minute or so late and they needed to pad it.
Just a few more things...
- Ruth Gordon was the oldest Columbo killer by quite a ways, I think. She was born October 30th, 1896 so she was 81 years old when the episode aired.
- Columbo makes a subtle reference to a previous case, Troubled Waters, when he meets her on the ship. He tells her that he and his wife tried a cruise once before and enjoyed it.
- Credit to the camera and lighting crew. It couldn't have been easy to get the lighting exactly right for the scenes filmed inside the safe.
What did you think of this episode? Let us know in the comments below!
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