Dead Weight
- Episode aired Oct 27, 1971
- TV-PG
- 1h 16m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
3.3K
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
"Dead Weight" (1971)
PLOT: A famous retired general (Eddie Albert) shoots a subordinate officer to safeguard his past shady business dealings in the military, but a troubled divorcee (Suzanne Pleshette) witnesses the event from a sail boat and reports it to the police. The pompous war hero then starts smoodging her.
COMMENTARY: Pleshette was only 33 during shooting and really cute while Albert makes for a worthy antagonist. There were unfortunately some problems on set with Falk storming off and missing a day due to a power play with Universal involving their reneging on the original agreement to allow Falk to direct other episodes. But this caused problems with the co-stars and the studio had to get a stand-in for Peter to shoot scenes with Albert and Pleshette. The director refused to reshoot the scenes after Falk returned. Suzanne expressed her frustrations years later on a talk show (watch it on Youtube) while Albert frankly told Peter that he was a such-and-such (a word that starts with 'a').
Thankfully, I was never able to discern any problems with the episode, which reveals the expertise of the director, actors and editors. "Dead Weight" may not be as good as the previous two installments, but it's still a solid Columbo entry. There's a sequence where the general takes Columbo for a ride on his yacht, which is reminiscent of a plane scene in the second pilot "Ransom for a Dead Man."
GRADE: B
COMMENTARY: Pleshette was only 33 during shooting and really cute while Albert makes for a worthy antagonist. There were unfortunately some problems on set with Falk storming off and missing a day due to a power play with Universal involving their reneging on the original agreement to allow Falk to direct other episodes. But this caused problems with the co-stars and the studio had to get a stand-in for Peter to shoot scenes with Albert and Pleshette. The director refused to reshoot the scenes after Falk returned. Suzanne expressed her frustrations years later on a talk show (watch it on Youtube) while Albert frankly told Peter that he was a such-and-such (a word that starts with 'a').
Thankfully, I was never able to discern any problems with the episode, which reveals the expertise of the director, actors and editors. "Dead Weight" may not be as good as the previous two installments, but it's still a solid Columbo entry. There's a sequence where the general takes Columbo for a ride on his yacht, which is reminiscent of a plane scene in the second pilot "Ransom for a Dead Man."
GRADE: B
helpful•81
- Wuchakk
- Jan 20, 2019
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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