Dead Weight
- Episode aired Oct 27, 1971
- TV-PG
- 1h 16m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
A war hero shoots and kills his business partner; an easily manipulated young divorcée is the only witness.A war hero shoots and kills his business partner; an easily manipulated young divorcée is the only witness.A war hero shoots and kills his business partner; an easily manipulated young divorcée is the only witness.
Jim Pelham
- 2nd Officer
- (as Jimmy Pelham)
Bobby Gilbert
- Exhibit Patron
- (uncredited)
Bart Greene
- Exhibit Patron
- (uncredited)
Chester Jones
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
Jack Slate
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
Earl Spainard
- Fisherman
- (uncredited)
Gary Wright
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe white house on the water that is supposed to belong to Maj. Gen. Hollister was, in real life, actually owned by Peter Falk, and is located in Newport Beach, California.
- GoofsThe General kills his victim instantly with one close-in shot. So he was either shot in the head or in the heart. Either wound would produce copious amounts of blood everywhere. Yet when Columbo enters the house, there are no bloodstains to be seen anywhere. It would be impossible to clean all such traces by that time.
- Quotes
Helen Stewart: Some men, Lieutenant, do not wanna look like an unmade bed!
Featured review
Feet of clay
Gosh, I'm disappointed.
I was privileged to interview both Peter Falk and Eddie Albert, and I loved both of them. Eddie Albert was at the end of his life and such a dear man, and Peter Falk and I had a blast, and even some correspondence afterward.
So it wounds me to read that Suzanne Pleshette had known Falk since her teen years and stopped speaking to him after this episode, and that Eddie Albert said to him, "I always wanted to meet you and work with you. You're an a***ole." What could have gone on?
"Dead Weight" is from Columbo's first season and concerns a General Hollister (Albert). He has a construction company that does business with the military, and the procurer, Colonel Dutton (John Kerr) has been giving him business and allowing him to put in ridiculously low bids. Now there's an investigation, and Dutton is fleeing the country. He promises Hollister that his name will never come into it should he be found, but that's not enough for Hollister, so he shoots him.
Just as this happens, Helen Stewart (Pleshette) and her mother (Kate Reid) are sailing by the house (which was actually one of Peter Falk's homes) and sees the murder. She reports it to the police, and they're skeptical. This is the great war hero, General Hollister, as famous as Patton, whose materials and artifacts from the war are about to be put on exhibit. (In real life, Eddie Albert was a major war hero as well.)
Helen insists that she saw what she saw; General Hollister tracks her down and starts wining and dining her. Soon her story changes.
This is a good episode, with Columbus suspecting the General right away. The only problem with the episode is that Helen should have realized what the General was up to, but we're supposed to understand it's because of her past history. If you can buy it, that part works.
Especially good here are the performances, done, it seems, under duress. Eddie Albert has the soldier's coldness and arrogance but can turn on the charm; the beautiful Pleshette, so young here, is vulnerable as someone hurt by her divorce and in need of attention. Kate Reid's sharp retorts are fun.
Falk, of course, is perfection as Columbo. At one point, Hollister takes him out on his boat, and Columbo becomes seasick. "It's amazing to me that someone named Columbo is so uncomfortable on the water," Hollister says. "Must have been another branch of the family," Columbo tells him.
I was privileged to interview both Peter Falk and Eddie Albert, and I loved both of them. Eddie Albert was at the end of his life and such a dear man, and Peter Falk and I had a blast, and even some correspondence afterward.
So it wounds me to read that Suzanne Pleshette had known Falk since her teen years and stopped speaking to him after this episode, and that Eddie Albert said to him, "I always wanted to meet you and work with you. You're an a***ole." What could have gone on?
"Dead Weight" is from Columbo's first season and concerns a General Hollister (Albert). He has a construction company that does business with the military, and the procurer, Colonel Dutton (John Kerr) has been giving him business and allowing him to put in ridiculously low bids. Now there's an investigation, and Dutton is fleeing the country. He promises Hollister that his name will never come into it should he be found, but that's not enough for Hollister, so he shoots him.
Just as this happens, Helen Stewart (Pleshette) and her mother (Kate Reid) are sailing by the house (which was actually one of Peter Falk's homes) and sees the murder. She reports it to the police, and they're skeptical. This is the great war hero, General Hollister, as famous as Patton, whose materials and artifacts from the war are about to be put on exhibit. (In real life, Eddie Albert was a major war hero as well.)
Helen insists that she saw what she saw; General Hollister tracks her down and starts wining and dining her. Soon her story changes.
This is a good episode, with Columbus suspecting the General right away. The only problem with the episode is that Helen should have realized what the General was up to, but we're supposed to understand it's because of her past history. If you can buy it, that part works.
Especially good here are the performances, done, it seems, under duress. Eddie Albert has the soldier's coldness and arrogance but can turn on the charm; the beautiful Pleshette, so young here, is vulnerable as someone hurt by her divorce and in need of attention. Kate Reid's sharp retorts are fun.
Falk, of course, is perfection as Columbo. At one point, Hollister takes him out on his boat, and Columbo becomes seasick. "It's amazing to me that someone named Columbo is so uncomfortable on the water," Hollister says. "Must have been another branch of the family," Columbo tells him.
helpful•311
- blanche-2
- Jan 5, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Mord unter sechs Augen
- Filming locations
- Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California, USA(BI Ferry, Pleshette sailing and reporting shooting to police officer.)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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