After being absolutely spoiled last time round watching Murder By The Book, Series 1 of Columbo continued its strong early season form in the shape of Death Lends a Hand.
So let’s get ambidextrous and furious as we race back in time to 6 October 1971 to hang with another of the Lieutenant’s most enduring foes: three-time guest killer Robert Culp.
Dramatis personae
Lieutenant Columbo: Peter Falk
Investigator Brimmer: Robert Culp
Arthur Kennicut: Ray Milland
Lenore Kennicut: Patricia Crowley
Directed by: Bernard Kowalski
Produced and written by: Richard Levinson and William Link
Score by: Gil Melle
Columbo Death Lends a Hand – Episode synopsis
Irascible Private Dick, Investigator Brimmer, attempts to blackmail the wife of media mogul Arthur Kennicut into revealing the inside line on her husband’s dealings with politicians and other heavyweight decision makers. Brimmer figures Mrs Kennicut will agree to his scheme, given that he’s just told her husband she hasn’t been having an affair – despite knowing full well she had following an investigation.
“After giving Lenore a good old-fashioned TV shaking, Brimmer then backhands her to the face.”
Later that day she breaks into Brimmer’s beach house to inform him she won’t play ball. Not only that, she’ll tell her husband about the affair and let him know how Brimmer really operates his business. Arthur Kennicut is not a man to have as an enemy.
The two clash. After giving Lenore a good old-fashioned TV shaking, Brimmer then backhands her to the face, sending her tumbling backwards to smash her head on a coffee table. Although not premeditated, Brimmer has a dead body on his hands and a plan that has spectacularly back-fired. He dumps the body in a far-away industrial estate and slinks away into the night.
Nanoseconds from rage appears to be Brimmer’s default setting
Not content to merely rely on the LAPD (including one Lieutenant Columbo), Kennicut hires Brimmer and his agency to help crack the case. During the first meeting between the two investigators at Kennicut’s palatial home, Columbo gains his first piece of evidence against Brimmer. They know the murderer wore a jewelled ring, because it left a mark on Lenore’s cheek. Professing a belief in palmistry, the wily Lieutenant gets to examine the hands of both Kennicut and Brimmer. Columbo notes that Brimmer does indeed wear a jewelled ring, though he keeps it quiet. The game is afoot…
Columbo’s investigations lead him to a local golf pro, who soon admits to an affair with Lenore. But Columbo eliminates him as suspect. His sun-tanned hands show he doesn’t wear a ring. Brimmer is looking increasingly likely to be the culprit, as the Lieutenant discovers him to be left-handed, like the killer, as well as being a man of a fiery disposition, apt to explode with rage given the right provocation.
“Brimmer is a man of a fiery disposition, apt to explode with rage given the right provocation.”
Brimmer throws Columbo a curveball, though, by offering him a job at his agency. He’ll triple Columbo’s pay, although he’ll take him off the Kennicut case. The Lieutenant mulls it over before ultimately declining.
With Kennicut demanding a swift conclusion to the case, Columbo plays his trump card. After finding out Lenore wore contact lenses, he has the body exhumed to see whether the lenses were still in place. He then calls Brimmer’s bluff by revealing that one lens is missing. If the killer only knew about this, says Columbo, we’d have the advantage because a crucial piece of evidence might be lying around to incriminate him.
Lenore Kennicut’s eye wear leads Columbo to discover a crucial clue
Stung into action, Brimmer desperately searches the thick rug in his home where Lenore fell, but to no avail. Maybe it’s in his car trunk, where he put the body before he disposed of it? But his car is in the agency garage after inexplicably failing to start earlier in the day. He must check, so heads over to investigate.
A frantic search of the trunk ensues and lo! He finds a contact lens in a corner. Pocketing it, he prepares to depart before being literally caught in the headlights as the hidden Columbo, Kennicut and co emerge from their hiding place.
“Would you mind telling us what you were looking for?” asks Columbo. “Papers… for a case,” snarls Brimmer, but no one’s buying it. Kennicut urges the investigator to confess to the killing, while the Lieutenant invites him downtown to explain himself on the record.
Feigning resigned annoyance, Brimmer agrees. As he marches out he attempts to bin the incriminating lens, but is stopped at Columbo’s command, who reveals the lens to the onlookers. As Kennicut looks on with pain etched on his face, Brimmer admits his crime and is lead away, lamenting that the Lieutenant never took up his offer of a job.
Brimmer busted, Columbo cool…
With just Columbo and Kennicut left at the scene, the detective reveals the truth: none of Lenore’s contact lenses were missing. That was just a ruse to draw out Brimmer. The one in the car trunk must be a coincidence, but anyway, Brimmer’s actions are all that matters now.
When Kennicut muses about how Brimmer’s car was out of action at such a crucial stage, Columbo spins him a merry yarn about how his misspent youth, putting cars out of action with a potato up the exhaust, must have played a part in him wanting to become a lawman, so he could make amends for these misdemeanours. The enigmatic Lieutenant then turns tail to leave the garage.
A bemused Kennicut turns to look at the car exhaust, checks himself, then spins on his heel and follows Columbo’s lead as credits roll…
Best moment – did he or didn’t he?
The final scene in the garage between Columbo and Arthur Kennicut is a thing of beauty. Firstly it reinforces the generally cordial relationship between these two very different men, enhancing the Lieutenant’s everyman appeal. But more importantly, by not looking up the car exhaust, Kennicut helps protect Columbo’s aura of mystery, which will be a key theme throughout the series.
We must always ask ourselves: is anything Columbo tells us true? Or does he make it up on the spot to suit his circumstances? Letting the viewer make their own mind up about what to believe is a pivotal factor in connecting to the character.
Columbo and Kennicut strike up an unlikely rapport
My opinion on Death Lends a Hand
If Murder by the Book gave us a quintessential killer in Jack Cassidy, Death Lends a Hand does so again with Robert Culp, who is many a fan’s absolute favourite. Jack will always be my personal No 1, but Culp gave us something very different.
“No one does barely controlled rage better, so Culp was perfectly cast as Brimmer and is a very dangerous adversary to Columbo.”
His villains are more threatening, less charming, more businesslike. Heck, with Cassidy you’d still want to hang out with him, even if you knew you were on his hit list. Culp is more liable to strike hard without notice. No one does barely controlled rage better, so Culp was perfectly cast as Brimmer and is a very dangerous adversary.
Suave, intelligent and dangerous, Robert Culp is a brilliant Columbo baddie
While the relationship between Culp and Falk is the glue that binds the episode together, special plaudits must also go to Ray Milland. He’s sensationally good in his understated performance as Arthur Kennicut. Cast as a media mogul, it would have been easy to fall into a one-dimensional braying and adversarial performance. Not a bit of it. Milland gives us depth and subtlety.
He succeeds in portraying Kennicut’s grieving, sorrowful side as effectively as he does the stern man of action. The dignified vulnerability he displays really touches the heart. I’d go so far as to say it’s one of the best non-killer guest star appearances we ever see in Columbo – everything his performance as Jarvis Goodland in Season 2’s Greenhouse Jungle is not, but that’s a story for another day…
“Ray Milland’s turn as Arthur Kennicut is one of the best non-killer guest star appearances we ever see in Columbo.”
And how is Falk faring in these fledgling days as Lieutenant Columbo? Extremely well. As mentioned in the review of Murder by the Book, he’s still refining the character, but Columbo’s as compelling as he’ll ever be. I like that we see his devious side coming through in such scenes as his effortless playing of a young, foolish private investigator to get inside information on Brimmer’s character.
He also displays a directness that we don’t often see. Note how he handles the nervous golf pro who has been having a fling with Mrs K. He’s very up-front with him, letting him know he’s onto him, and shaking his nerve. We are shown that Columbo handles different people in different ways, depending on who they are and the strength of their character. Perhaps the Columbo who rattles the golf pro is the real Lieutenant, more so than the bumbling, confused figure who so disarms the high society types who are his real suspects.
Columbo displays a direct, almost cocky approach to interrogating the weak-willed golf pro
Some of this directness and the speed of thought seems a little forced, mind you. Columbo’s onto Brimmer in a flash, for example – too quickly, really. He has no reason to suspect him when he’s reading his palm and establishing that Brimmer’s ring could be a match for the killer’s. Such big assumptions are more common in the early episodes, and aren’t always grounded in reason. It doesn’t greatly detract from the episode, though.
Probably the greatest insight we get into the Columbo character here is just what he’s willing to do to get his man. And while we know the Lieutenant’s motives are pure, Death Lends a Hand suggests his methods may not be. He blatantly plants evidence in Brimmer’s car as a means of collaring him, and he almost certainly put the car out of commission, too. It’s not exactly honest police work, and I do wonder if this is one reason why the episode didn’t open up Season 1 as was originally intended.
For Death Lends a Hand was the first episode of the season to be filmed, but was pushed back to accommodate Murder by the Book. Murder is the superior episode in my opinion, so a sensible move, but I have a hunch that Columbo’s unscrupulous tactics, as well as this not being a premeditated murder, might also have contributed to this being held back from raising the curtain on Season 1. Perhaps we’ll never know…
“While we know the Lieutenant’s motives are pure, Death Lends a Hand suggests his methods may not be.”
Elsewhere, the episode hits similar heights to Murder by the Book. The pacing is excellent, and some of the direction and editing is really first class. The murder itself is a particular highlight. After Brimmer lashes out, we’re shown everything and nothing as Lenore tumbles to her death, shattering a glass table with her head as she falls. The scene has been described as Hitchcockian with good cause.
Just as interesting is what follows, where Brimmer’s cleaning up of the crime scene is played out on a montage superimposed onto his glasses. It’s powerful, innovative stuff, and if you need a reminder you can view the clip below.
All credit must go to director Bernard Kowalski. He was in the chair for four Columbo episodes (also Exercise in Fatality, Playback and Fade in to Murder), but this is undoubtedly his most successful and memorable outing. Props to William Levinson and Richard Link, too. The show’s creators were also the writers of this episode (a duty they largely left to others) and it’s a really gripping mystery with great clues: everything they set the series up to be, in fact.
Readers of my previous reviews will probably have noticed that I do bang on a bit about the quality of the musical scores in these early episodes. Death Lends a Hand is no exception, but it’s very different to what we’ve heard before. Jazz composer Gil Melle is the maestro and this far-reaching and varied score is no less successful in setting the mood of the episode than the majestic efforts of Billy Goldenberg in Ransom for a Dead Man and Murder by the Book. Again, the clip above does an excellent job in showcasing Melle’s expert contribution.
In conclusion, Death Lends a Hand is another great piece of television, and almost as good as Murder by the Book. Certainly the two episodes ensured Season 1 got off to the strongest possible start and viewers can have been in no doubt that Columbo was shaping up to be one of the great televisual experiences of the age.
Did you know?
The exterior scenes of Arthur Kennicut’s mansion gardens (pictured below) were filmed at the iconic Beverly House, which was also a location used in The Godfather (1972) and The Bodyguard (1992).
How I rate ’em so far
It’s a close call, but Murder by the Book just shades it, remaining top of my list from the 4 episodes watched so far. It’s been quality all the way, mind you!
- Murder by the Book
- Death Lends a Hand
- Prescription: Murder
- Ransom for a Dead Man
Where does Death Lends a Hand rank in your list of favourites? Vote for your number one episode in the Columbo best episode poll here.
As always, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. Check back soon as I investigate whether Season 1 can continue to deliver the goods when I review Dead Weight, guest starring Suzanne Pleschette and Eddie Albert.
Read my thoughts on the 5 best moments in Death Lends a Hand here.
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Cheers until next time!
This is the third time I watched the episode, and the first time I noticed Bill Hickman, the greatest stunt driver of all time, as the motorcycle cop who pulls Columbo over.
And the acting from Ray Milland here is stellar. He’s devastated, but he’s holding it together to make sure Columbo finds his wife’s murderer.
And yes, I loved how he was going to check the car’s exhaust pipe for a potato but realized it didn’t matter.
Robert Culp is always on form, but my favorite Columbo performance is that of Justin’s dad in Columbo Goes to College.
And yes, the music was great in this episode.
I’ve never held this episode in as high a regard for one big reason: Why didn’t Bremmer just say that Mrs. Kennicut broke into his house, which she did, and they fought, which they did, and he struck her and she fell, which she did?
She’d been drinking. He could have said she confronted him about being followed by his investigators, and when he tried to explain he had nothing on her, she didn’t believe him and attacked him, demanding any evidence because, indeed, she did have an affair.
Yes, Brimmer would have had to appear in court, but at worst, he would be charged with negligent homicide, but he’d probably beat that because she broke in. There was no record of the earlier conversation, and given how careful Brimmer was, no one knew she came to his office. Kennicut himself might even testify how oddly his wife had been acting prior.
Given how cool and meticulous Brimmer is, that instead he panicked and decided to stage something requiring clean up and leaving the body somewhere just seems an unnecessarily complicated effort for someone as direct and expeditious as Brimmer.
The rest of the episode unfolds reasonably well, but watching it, I just keep thinking it all could have been avoided with only a slight twist of facts.
Because Kennicut wouldn’t have believed it. Lenore broke in to Brimmer’s beach house and physically attacked Brimmer? Nothing in her character suggests a violent nature. And as Lenore pointed out to Brimmer, since he’d already committed himself to Kennicut that there was no affair, saying otherwise would be admitting he’d lied earlier. That’s not a good strategy for getting someone to believe your new lie. Alternatively, if Lenore only was peeved at Brimmer’s unjust surveillance, she’d have complained at his office, not his beach house.
Too often I read comments critical of episodes on the grounds that the killer, in the first moments after the killing, didn’t spontaneously concoct a fullproof lie covering his tracks. Including here, where the death was 100% unplanned. That’s expecting too much. Brimmer recognized that there was no justification for what he did and thus tried to cover it up as best he could. I’m fine with that.
On the other hand, the lie Mark Collier tried to concoct in “A Deadly State of Mind” made no sense. Karl Donner was beating his wife. To stop the assault, Collier struck him with one blow of the handle end of a poker. That’s not a crime. This wasn’t a case of telling a better lie; all Collier had to tell was the truth. Nadia could corroborate it. Not only does Collier inexplicably lie, he then murders his corroborating witness. Bizarre.
Nah, that’s just unconvincing. She literally did break into the house, she literally had been drinking, she literally had been acting suspiciously, and Kennicut literally had enough doubts to hire a detective in the first place.
Clearly Kennicut thought there were things about his wife he didn’t know. And why would Kennicut doubt Bremmer? When Kennicut left Bremmer’s office, he was indebted to him and held Bremmer above reproach. It was his wife that he’d had shaky trust about.
If anything, it would seem like Bremmer coming forward about her “accidental death” would cement Kennicut’s trust further, especially if Bremmer said before their violent confrontation she had drunkenly admitted to an affair and named the golf pro. It would have been easy for Kennicut to confront the man and verify it happened. After all, Columbo figured it out. (Actually, Bremmer could have just copped to discovering the affair but deciding to do exactly what he told Lenore, which is forget about it, only leaving out the blackmail. Then he could have said she had second thoughts after drinking and came to confront him.)
The problem is Bremmer is presented as far too cool and calculating. In most of the other classic Columbo episodes, the villain has a clear personality flaw. Most are amateurs accomplished in their fields, but nearly all are either pompous or overconfident, brought down by their own hubris in missing a key detail or details for Columbo to exploit.
But Bremmer is not presented that way. If anything, his cold efficiency suggests he would find a far easier solution with words — playing chess — than one requiring him to stage this or that with a body and clean his house free of any evidence. If Kennicut bought the story, Bremmer might even have reaped publicity, as I’d imagine every competing media outlet in the country to Kennicut’s would have carried the story. His business might even have gotten better.
I think the rest of the episode more or less works. Another oddity is Brimmer conveniently having a house just a few miles from Kennicut’s beach home. That’s convenient for the set up, but I don’t know, if a rich and powerful man thought his wife was having an affair, it seems like he’d be suspicious of anyone that could be involved. That might include the investigator neighbor he hires since it’s kind of a cliche in detective stories that the gumshoe is fooling around with the wives of clients. But then rich people often travel in the same circles, sometimes without knowing it.
This is the only classic Columbo episode where I feel like the killer had better options and was presented as smarter than taking the one he or she did. Maybe if Bremmer had been presented as a different kind of character — maybe someone more smug but a bit out of his depth as Jack Cassidy might have played — I wouldn’t feel the same way. But Bremmer here just seems to make a decision for the sake of plot rather than character, and it never convinced me.
First, Lenore took one sip of a drink, then left the glass on a table. She was 100% lucid. An autopsy’s toxicological examination would disprove any claim that “she had drunkenly admitted” anything.
Second, you’re ignoring Brimmer’s belief that, owing to his relationship with Kennicut and his agency’s vast investigative resources, he could effectively take control of the murder investigation (and refocus suspicion in an entirely different direction). Were he to admit some level of involvement, however couched, this no longer would be possible.
And most importantly, the core of Link and Levinson’s Emmy-award winning script (their only script for the series) is that the killer — because he’s a seasoned investigator — is asked to help solve the case. It’s right there in the title: the killer, i.e., “Death,” is asked to “lend” Columbo “a hand” in his investigation. If Brimmer did as you suggest, whether probable or improbable, it’s an entirely different story. The unique dynamic between Columbo and a well-financed private detective investigating his own crime — what makes the story interesting — is eliminated. Brimmer might as well not be an investigator. That’s no longer essential to the story, because no one is going to ask the person who “accidentally” killed the victim to help run the investigation into her death.
Nah, that word salad is just too baroque and off base. Any investigation would show he had no motive to kill her as there is no evidence, and if he claimed she attacked him in his own house, the evidence there would corroborate it. There’s nothing to tie him to murdering her so much as her dying in a struggle after breaking in — after all, he wasn’t even trying to kill her in the first place. Nope, a few economical twists of the facts, and he would have been scott free since it would be up to the authorities to prove something for which there would be, at best, only circumstantial speculation. Just a poor, poor set up for the otherwise entertaining cat and mouse that follows.
“Word salad” is defined as “a jumble of extremely incoherent speech as sometimes observed in schizophrenia.” It is also considered a symptom of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. I trust that wasn’t your meaning. Additionally, “baroque” relates to a style of architecture, music, or art. Used here, I don’t know what you mean.
The instinct to conceal a crime that you did, in fact, commit is a strong one. Brimmer viciously assaulted Lenore and thereby caused her death. That’s a felony. And he thought he could get away with concealing his crime. I’m not bothered in the least by the realism of his choice.
“Saying otherwise would be admitting he’d lied earlier.”
I know I harp on this, but that’s always been my problem with Brimmer blackmailing Lenore in the first place.
How could he expect to ruin her by telling Arthur about the affair AFTER showing him the “clean bill of health”?
In spite of his “I’m a moralist” talk, that would almost discredit him as a detective!
And it seems like Lenore should’ve realized that and called him on it.
(But I try to ignore things like that once the episode gets started.)
Whereas Murder By the Book is superior in terms of direction and – especially – camera work (it is probably the best episode in that respect), I think I like Death Lends a Hand a little bit better overall. I find the story and the characters more believable, and I also think Columbo is coming more into his own here (I know this episode was recorded first, but still).
A very watchable episode. My only quibbles are that they didn’t satisfactorily explain the Leo thing; Mr. Kennicut disappears for a looong stretch; and, they make note that he’s a newspaper magnate who could make life very difficult for the department. They never really do anything with this. Mind you, I can see why- it would divert focus from the episode. But it feels like a potential plot thread they forgot to remove from the script.
Interesting that Levinson and Link would reuse the name “Brimmer” for a recurring character on Ellery Queen. Very different character, but they’re both rivals to the respective protagonists.
People are really bothered by Columbo talking to that kid without anyone being worried in “Identity Crisis,” but when Leo’s wife in this one sees Columbo with her son, her line is “Say, what’s going on here?”
That might not be a very dramatic line, but there are a lot of implications in it. So the two scenes are flipsides in a way.
I’m curious about a logical scene that never happens. From the beginning, Columbo is intrigued by the possibility that Kennicut hired Brimmer to investigate Lenore. He reacts perceptibly to two facts: (1) Kennicut’s use of the odd phrase “clean bill of health” when denying that his wife had ever been unfaithful; and (2) the revelation that Kennicut had hired Brimmer to investigate a “personal matter.” Even before reading Brimmer’s palm, Columbo has the lead he’s been missing, and reveals this in his own inimitable way (“I suddenly feel very much more optimistic about this whole thing.”). Feeling Brimmer’s ring adds yet another piece of the puzzle — but feeling his ring alone would not have connected Brimmer to Lenore. Lots of people wear rings.
This sends Columbo off on the trail of Lenore’s lover — to see if, indeed, her “clean bill of health” was a lie. He not only finds golf pro Ken Archer, but also Leo Gentry, Brimmer’s agent who was following them. And while doing so, he formulates a theory that explains Brimmer’s involvement (which he even spells out to Brimmer without mentioning any names).
Meanwhile, Columbo has eliminated both Kennicut and Archer as suspects.
So here’s the scene that never happens: Columbo asking Kennicut directly if he hired Brimmer to investigate Lenore. Why wouldn’t he ask? And why wouldn’t he also tell Kennicut that Brimmer lied to him; that Lenore was having an affair (with someone who didn’t kill her), and that Brimmer knew this but covered it up? He basically told Brimmer all of this already.
Did Columbo not trust Kennicut to maintain these facts in confidence? If Kennicut had any loyalty to Brimmer before, he wouldn’t have had any after hearing this (as Lenore well knew). Did he fear Kennicut tipping Brimmer off accidentally, with a hesitant word or gesture? Maybe. Although, before the garage scene, he clearly told Kennicut that Brimmer was Lenore’s killer. Kennicut’s first statement to Brimmer (“Why don’t you admit it? You were searching the trunk because that’s where you hid the body.”) reveals this. Columbo trusted Kennicut not to blow the sting then, why not hours before?
But even if Columbo had his reasons not to disclose what he knew to Kennicut, I can fathom no reason why he wouldn’t at least seek direct confirmation of the Brimmer-Lenore investigation from Kennicut, and that it was Brimmer who gave Lenore the “clean bill of health.” Why rely solely on circumstantial evidence and inferences when someone who knows directly is available and can be relied upon to give an honest answer? If Columbo didn’t want to reveal more, and if Kennicut followed up with another: “Why, is it important?” Columbo could easily give him another: “It’s not important. It’s just I like to get that background information very precise if I can.”
Sorry I can’t answer your reasonable question but had to say that your stepwise breakdown of Columbo’s investigation reminds me why DLAH is my favorite episode. Despite working off scant forensic-type evidence, Columbo makes one credible deduction after another by expertly reading each player in the game. It’s a beautiful thing.
Does he really? There definitely is a discernible internal logic to the path he follows — but how truly credible is it? As I see it, Columbo latches onto Brimmer without much reason at all. Kennicut calls him in, and almost immediately Columbo suspects him of Lenore’s murder.
One of the fortunate developments in the series after the opening episodes was the improvement of the initial clue that pointed Columbo to the murderer (the “click”). It wasn’t strong in “Prescription: Murder,” “Murder by the Book,” or “Death Lends a Hand” (the “click” in “Ransom for a Dead Man” — the strangely conducted phone conversation with the “kidnapped” husband — was significantly better). “Dead Weight” had an eyewitness, so a “click” wasn’t needed. It wasn’t until “Suitable for Framing” (“if he came in here to grab some paintings, wouldn’t you grab a DeGroat first instead of a Birenbaum”) and “Lady in Waiting” (the newspaper in the front hall) that Columbo’s immediate suspicions became more credible.
Not the greatest click, agreed. A vague initial suspicion arises from Columbo fairly assuming the killer was likely someone close to Lenore, and there’s Brimmer hovering around the husband to make the instant short list of suspects (and he wears rings!). However, as you mention, Columbo does sincerely check up on the more obvious, romantically involved suspect. Only after eliminating the golf pro as the killer for lack of ring-wearing and confirming the affair does he pivot his efforts back to the PI who may have lied to his client. Because lying always triggers Columbo’s spidey sense.
No doubt, the “missing” scene of which you speak would help tie this together. But I think it’s wrong to suggest that Columbo is certain Brimmer is the killer in that first meeting (even if I agree that Falk plays that scene very suggestively), the way Columbo does with many click clues. The viewer knows Brimmer did it so we are highly attuned to his guilt and Columbo’s interactions with him, but the fact remains that Columbo approaches the golf pro with an open mind that he may be the culprit. Easy to forget that because we already know he isn’t.
So sure, it’s a weak click, but hardly a nonbelievable approach to solving the case, all things considered.
And it’s not as if Brimmer was “hovering” on his own initiative. Kennicut told Columbo that he requested Brimmer’s help.
Upon further review … at the end Columbo does detail to Brimmer how precisely his ring matched the cut on Lenore’s cheek (“I felt the two diamonds sticking out and that raised rectangular border”) … so I guess he was certain after their first meeting and I retract my previous take. Of course, then that means DLAH actually features airtight early suspicion, as opposed to frivolous.
“You never should have let me read your palm.”
Love it.
As for the initial click, the script actually does answer your question on why Columbo didn’t seek later confirmation with Kennicut, or at least why L&L didn’t feel compelled to add such a scene. Columbo does not say in a vacuum “I suddenly feel more optimistic about this case.” Kennicut earlier noted Lenore’s clean bill of health, and Columbo has just told Kennicut he thinks the killer knew Lenore. Kennicut then introduces Brimmer, which leads to the following dialogue …
You two know each other?
Well, Mr. Brimmer’s done some work for me.
I see. I see. Some kind of security work? Guards for the paper?
Oh, it was a personal matter.
What’s the most likely (secret) personal matter requiring PI work? Infidelity. So Columbo has already confirmed that Brimmer was behind the “clean bill” report, he simply needs to check up on whether that was an honest report or a dishonest one.
And again, even if that click clue is awfully subtle, the slight whiff of suspicion becomes a powerful stench the moment Columbo feels Brimmer’s ring.
One unrelated note: I would love to know what Levinson and Link were thinking when they had Columbo say, “You know, I’m a superstitious guy. You know, I believe in signs. I believe in palmistry and astrology and all that kind of thing.” And then go on to discuss at length the “fate line,” “deep line of Apollo,” “mound of the Moon,” and their supposed meaning.
Keeping in mind that DLAH was the only series episode L&L wrote personally, the first series episode filmed, and intended as the series premiere, was this digression solely a one-off ruse (to feel the back of Brimmer’s hand), or part of the creators’ development of their unconventional central character? Is the fact that this side of Columbo never reappears in any future episode a reflection of the one-off intent of this scene, or simply an aspect of the character that was later dropped? After all, Brimmer’s ring was quite visible. Columbo didn’t need palmistry to see its unique details.
Hmmmm. I’d like to think it was meant as a one-off because then it serves as a better kind of character development in the sense that it’s an example of Columbo’s willingness to grasp at any nonsense excuse to burrow in close to his suspect while simultaneously lowering their guard by playing the fool.
If L&L had hoped to make superstitiousness a “real” aspect of the Columbo character, count me as happy they dropped it (or, perhaps, subbed in an interest in magic).
Fun to consider either way.
But if Brimmer wasn’t a suspect until AFTER Columbo read his palm …
And between the phony contact lens and the potato, developing Columbo’s willingness to deceive seemed fairly well covered.
I enjoyed this episode most of all due to the villain, who unlike so many other villains showed it was possible to be *really* annoyed with Columbo, but without all the overacting, snapping and yelling that villains often engage in. The loathing slowly beginning to simmer under the surface was amusing to watch.
So Leo was sent out of town because he knew about the affair? This loose end is never explained at the end but it seems sending him away was to get rid of the only witness that could link the killer to the blackmail.
and I could swear he was in the background in the final garage scene at the end with his distinctive marine crew cut and smart Kennicut company suit.
Rewatching this episode recently and I don’t think it’s that much of a jump to be onto Brimmer. Sure, a private security firm jumping in could be all about money, but Columbo asked questions about if they knew each other testing out Brimmer’s motives for being there. Checking the palm may have yielded nothing and Columbo would have moved on. But at that point, the Lt. has no suspects to go on except that he thinks it’s someone she knew and who therefore staged a crime. An ex-police officer in a private security firm, who knows investigatory tactics, who also knows the victim isn’t much of a stretch to me. The ring check cinches it.
Great observation! To go even further, I believe that Colombo’s “palm readings” were aimed at Kennicut. He read Brimmer’s palm to both sell the act and to cover all the bases. Columbo quickly realized that Brimmer’s ring finger was a better match than Kennicut’s and, as a result, quickly latched onto Brimmer.
Hi everyone, I have the same question that bigbeak raised (May 25, 2022) but no one seems to have answered. Can someone explain this. Like bigbeak, I thought it odd that Columbo says that he wishes the murderer knew about the missing contact lens. Doesn’t seem to make sense. Shouldn’t he have wished that the murderer not know so that the police could find it first?
His tactic is to propel Brimmer into doing something to incriminate himself. He knows it’s Brimmer. He’s trying to plant the idea in Brimmer’s head to make the move that Columbo wants him to make.
Bravo Sundance! They just aired the entire psychedelic sequence on Culp’s eyeglasses. Still awesome to see all these years later!
Brimmed called Kennicut and offered his “services”. I believe that Columbo was suspicious of the offer
I just realized why I like this episode so much.
First, the gotcha of baiting Brimmer into breaking into the maintenance garage is top-notch. We are there with him, sneaking around in the dark, then suddenly he’s blasted in the spotlight, caught red-handed by not just his nemesis Columbo, but also the spouse of the victim.
But there is a second gotcha – against us, in the audience. Columbo didn’t just fool the bad guy into incriminating himself; he fooled us into thinking the contact lens was missing in the first place.
This isn’t the only episode where Columbo’s plan for the gotcha is a surprise to the audience; but the deception of the audience starts so much earlier in this episode, way back at the scene in the cemetery, when we see Columbo plant the seed in Brimmer’s head.
And as if that weren’t enough, the writers dare to put us in the same league as the killer, by feeding us the same deception. And then we find out they even deceived us about the deception! Those rascals, Levinson and Link….
Good stuff. 🙂
Something I don’t get about what Columbo said….
In the cemetery, after Columbo reports the body has only one contact lens, he tells Kennicut (in Brimmer’s presence), “I only wish one thing. I wish the murderer knew about this…. There’d be a piece of conclusive evidence that might be lying around in his premises, and he’d have to find it before we did.”
I realize Columbo says this to spook Brimmer into hunting for the missing contact. But why does he say he *wishes* the murderer knew?
If Columbo had said, “I’m *glad* the murderer *doesn’t* know about this. Otherwise he’d be searching his premesis to make sure he finds it before we do,” that would make sense to me.
Or if he said, “I bet the *murderer* wished he knew about this, because he’d be searching his premesis to make sure he finds it before we do,” that would make sense.
Am I missing something obvious about the English language here?
Of course a great episode for all the reasons listed. And yes these early episodes had excellent scores, as did so many of the 70’s US cop shows though a lot of those were often only memorable for the music and opening credits -definitely not the case with Columbo of course! Not sure if anyone’s commented on this but isn’t the interior design of Robert Culp’s house fantastic?
My favorite episode of the TV series and possibly of all time. Culp is an excellently subtle villain, not really a bad guy but a jerk whose short fuse caused him to kill. I like that the writers didn’t allow his relationship with Columbo to become too strained or too drawn out. Some episodes show Columbo getting far too absurdly chummy with the suspect, causing the whole thing to get stale or tedious. This one keeps it just right. Columbo’s evidence gathering is also well done and realistic (the ring, the killer being left handed). The gotcha moment is very fulfilling, too, with a clever set-up by Columbo with the potato in the car exhaust. And I like that Culp actually shows remorse for what he’s done and apologizes. Not an over the top killer. I found the music in this episode to be particularly nice, such as in Columbo’s entrance while driving, when Culp first pulls up to the beach house and as the episode finishes. The bright photography is also refreshing (Columbo is not film noir stuff, nor should it be). The murder scene itself is superbly directed. Excellent use of slow motion. The clean up playing on his glasses is fantastic. Awesome through and through. My only complaint is that Culp being a seasoned investigator should have figured he was being led into a trap but it’s easily forgivable considering everything else.
Mrs. Brimmer going alone to Culp’s private beach house to tell him she’s going to destroy his life was seriously stupid. Why not destroy his life from a distance so she doesn’t have to worry about him murdering her.
You’re absolutely correct. But if she acted rationally, we wouldn’t have a murder.
I’ve already said this elsewhere, but it seems like she had a perfect opportunity for counter-blackmail – “I won’t inform on you to Arthur, and you won’t inform on me to Arthur.”
So she could have met with him and told him THAT.
Rewatching the crime scene clean up sequence clip, and I’m ashamed to say I just now noticed something exceedingly BRILLIANT in Culp’s clean-up.
First he very vigorously cleans every surface she may have potentially touched, and not just an up and down wipedown either, He scrubs everything with a towel for seemingly a full minute.
But what makes it brilliant is that he then RETOUCHES everything. He grabs the door handle over and over again, creating a plethora of prints and palm markings that SHOULD be there as he owns the home and uses the door frequently.
Same with the glasses, he finger marks them all repeatedly, and the fridge handle. Whereas Columbo used the lack of fingerprints on the phone in “A Friend in Deed” to begin to suspect foul play, if Columbo had shown up at Brimmer’s house, not only would he have found no trace of Mrs. Kennicutt, but all the fingerprints on the door handles and other surfaces that should be littered with Brimmer’s fingerprints would be.
It’s such a seemingly small detail, but it makes so much clear sense. It’s a testament to Brimmer’s intelligence that he remains thinking that far ahead.
Death Lends a Hand
is a superior Columbo
outing.
Marking Breakdown:
Entertainment: 5 out of 5
The love triangle flipping into an investigation
triangle, with Columbo gaining the killer as his
‘colleague’, is a great twist. Falk, Milland and
Culp are great in their roles. Even the lesser
roles – Leo’s wife, the golf pro – are well acted.
The writing is tight, the humor services the plot,
and the detective is in fine form.
Clues Leading Columbo To The Killer: 2 out of 2.5
For a top investigator who must now hide a
killing, Brimmer makes some incredible gaffes.
Not hiding his ring, or at least replacing it
to avoid suspicion with one that would not
have caused his victim’s scar. Leaving clear
tire tracks at the place he dumped the body.
(Though police are unable to capitalize on
them). Even the attempt to bribe Columbo
with a job offer is self-incrimination.
Surely also, his secretary will remember
Mr and Mrs Kennicut arriving separately
at his office, then leaving separately in
reverse order! Not a gaffe, but more
evidence, and another example of Brimmer’s
cavalier approach that strains belief.
Penalty of 0.5
Columbo knows very early that the lover and
the investigator are his two likely suspects.
Brimmer, in Kennicut’s good graces possibly
for the ‘clean bill of health’ is very likely the
same one who investigated his wife’s infidelity.
The remaining clues are all logical and
believable.
Gotcha: 2.5 out of 2.5
Superb gotcha. Particularly as Columbo
must now recruit Kennicut as a powerful ally.
He also uses Brimmer’s surveillance net
against him, and hardball tactics to stress him
into making even bigger gaffes. Cool and
calculating to the end, Brimmer does not fall
to pieces, but confesses anyway to blunt
Kennicut’s avenging wrath.
Final Rating: 9.5/10
All right, here we go. After having watched the entire NBC-era series, with the very notable exceptions of the two pilots, I’ve determined the DEFINITIVE (sarcasm) A-list episode ranking.
Grade A
Death Lends a Hand
Suitable for Framing
Double Shock
Publish or Perish
A Friend in Deed
Grade A-
Murder by the Book
Any Old Port in the Storm
Negative Reaction
Now You See Me
The Conspirators
I did not intentionally limit the A-level tier to 10 episodes, that’s just how it shook out. As is plainly evident, Cassidy is king in this humble viewer’s esteem. The last entry to squeeze in was Negative Reaction. The top B+ episode that just missed the boat was By Dawn’s Early Light. (My arm could be twisted on that one.) Interestingly (to me at least), while I actually quite enjoy most of the episodes with female killers, somehow none managed to crack through this glass ceiling.
I continue to struggle to name a personal all-time favorite ep, and I have come to agree with several CP posters that is the result of no A+ Columbo existing. That hurts to type because the overall series is so brilliant, but the truth remains that each episode has some shortcoming impactful enough to prevent it from standing clearly atop the field. Nevertheless, as has been stated eloquently by our beloved site host, even a B episode of Columbo is still among the best TV ever produced.
Would it not have been possible to make an EXACT match of the diamond in Brimmers ring to the wound on the victims face even with 1970’s forensics? If so, the case would have been resolved straight away. I’m assuming it wasn’t possible. Other than that, the episode is great.
No idea this was filmed first yet shown second. Sort of like a Star Trek.
When Brimmer drove away after dumping the body, he left a pair of beautifully clear tyre prints in the dirt. I assumed this would be an important clue. However, although it wasn’t raining and the next day was sunny, one of the officers at the scene can be heard to say “no tyre tracks we can use”.
One thing I couldn’t help noticing: no one wears ear protection at an indoor shooting range?
Interestingly enough, Robert Culp plays the only killer in the history of the original series run that plays a killer who accidentally killed his victim. Every other episode is premeditated murder.
Would Culp have faced first-degree murder charges or something lesser? If he’d fessed up immediately would he have just been charged with manslaughter? Does his attempt to cover up the crime increase the severity of the charge against him?
I don’t think the murder in Dagger of the Mind was premeditated. As CP put it, death by flung cold cream hardly reads as an airtight plan.
Lovely but Lethal and Any Old Port weren’t premeditated murders either.
Legally, you can be charged with premeditated murder for actions that took you one second to consider. It doesn’t need to be something you plan out for days. Did Brimmer commit first-degree (premeditated) murder under California law? This was 50 years ago. Going by the law now? I don’t know. Maybe someone could possibly try to make it a first-degree case.
I think second-degree (intentional killing without premeditation, impulsive) is more in line with what happened. Voluntary manslaughter in California is for something like a heat of passion killing, the killer may not have fully understood the consequences of his actions ahead of time. Columbo in this episode said it looked to him to be an unpremeditated murder. As viewers, we don’t know what was going through Brimmer’s mind exactly, but we have a front row seat to the murder. To me it seems like Brimmer did not intend to kill her – he looks shocked and checks for a pulse. But the force he used, even though the weapon was his hand/fist, with him being stronger than she was, etc., it was clear that he was angry and wanted to cause harm. Again, I see this as second-degree murder under California law today.
Culp moving the body would bring additional charges, such as tampering with evidence. It would not change the severity of a murder charge.
Of course, at the end Brimmer admits he killed her and that it was an accident. Unless you had a prosecutor who was hell-bent on making an example of Brimmer and really pushes premeditation despite what Brimmer confessed to, I don’t see how it could be first-degree murder.
The DA might conclude,
that given the location –
Brimmer’s beach house – the victim
was being confined at the time of the
unintentional slaying. That might make
it a much more serious charge, as
technically, it is a killing committed during
the commission of a crime. In truth, she
came there on her own free will, but
Brimmer throttles her, preventing her
from leaving. If the prosecution can prove
that, then he could possibly get a sentence
more in keeping with premeditated murder.
This happened in Canada with the Cecilia
Zhang case, where the charge was First
Degree Murder from the outset, even though
the victim died accidentally during the
kidnapping. The judge chose to believe that
the killing was not ‘accidental’. In other words,
the circumstances outweighed the mere absence
of an intention to kill, and the First Degree charge
was upheld.
Great review and comments.
One stray thought. As the episode progresses, Mr Kinnicut trusts columbo more and more to the point of exhuming the body on a very long shot.
Couldn’t Columbo have asked him straight up what the personal matter was Brimmer had done for him?
Knowing Brimmer had investigated his wife would have saved him quite some time.
I know the episode wouldn’t have been as riveting and we wouldn’t have had the marvelous scene with the golf pro, but it’s an important part of the investigation.Their facial reaction would have been a giveaway.
It’s also possible that the body was never exhumed, but it was staged to look that way. Kinnicut could have been playing along and helping Columbo catch his wife’s (suspected) killer at that point. Easier to do than the painful reality of exhumation, and just as effective.
No, Columbo did fool Kennicut into believing the contact was missing, just like he fooled Brimmer; and the body was indeed exhumed.
This is clear in the final scene, after Brimmer is caught and hauled away. Columbo and Kennicut were speaking privately, and the killer had been exposed, so there was no reason for Columbo to continue any deception with Kennicut.*
Kennicut tells Columbo it’s a good thing Lenore lost her contact lens. So Kennicut clearly believed the ruse. And Columbo tells Kennicut the medical examiner actually told him both contacts were still on the body, which couldn’t be known till after the body was exhumed.
Columbo wouldn’t have faked the exhumation, because he knew Brimmer might just walk up that hill to the grave site to see the casket for himself.
And Columbo had good reason to keep Kennicut in the dark, just like Brimmer, because there was no guarantee Brimmer would even show up at the cemetery for Columbo to trick him. Brimmer might have been otherwise occupied during the exhumation and showed up at Kennicut’s home several hours later, where
he would have had to find out about the missing contact from Kennicut himself. Columbo wouldn’t want to take a chance that Kennicut would be able to keep a straight face while knowingly repeating the lie to Brimmer.
We in the audience are actually deceived too, into suspecting Columbo conspired with Kennicut. This is what helps make this episode so good. The first time we watch it we wouldn’t know Columbo was deceiving us; the next time we watch it we’d remember Columbo had deceived us and the killer, but we’d be analyzing clues to see whether Columbo had also deceived Kennicut, or if he was in on the plan.
First, we hear Columbo tell Kennicut his plan would be a longshot. We in the audience might think that the longshot was whether Columbo and Kennicut could successfully deceive Brimmer into thinking a contact was missing; but actually the only reason Columbo calls it a “longshot” is to fool Kennicut (and us) into thinking Columbo was nervously hoping one of the contacts had fallen out (when Columbo knew all along that whatever the medical examiner told him, Columbo was going to tell Kennicut and Brimmer that one contact was missing.)
Second, the director skillfully has Kennicut give us some “shifty eyes” while he’s sitting in the car – making us wonder if Kennicut is in on Columbo’s deception, and his shifty eyes must be because he’s worried that Brimmer (sitting right next to him) is about to figure out it is all a lie.
* – Although there was no longer a reason for Columbo to continue deceiving Kennicut about the missing contact, Columbo wasn’t quite willing to come clean and point any guilt at *himself* about that potato getting shoved into the car’s backside….
Columbo knew early that Brimmer’s
investigator, Leo, had been tailing
Kennicut’s wife and lover in an infidelity investigation.
No need for him to ruffle the media magnate’s feathers,
by contradicting him. And telling him that he now knew
a personal secret that Kennicut would rather no one
knew.
Every time this superb episode is aired here in the UK on 5 USA, the glasses montage scene is left out, can you believe.
Watched this one again Sunday night on MeTV, and noticed that the motorcycle cop who pulls over Columbo is legendary stunt driver, Bill Hickman (Bullitt, The French Connection, among many others).
A solid episode, and my second favorite Robert Culp episode behind “Double Exposure.”
To those in the States this top notch episode is on ME TV this evening. I rarely miss a Culp or Cassidy Columbo, they were all so good.
Am watching it Jerry (from the Chicago area on MeTV), and am totally absorbed. Just witnessed the impulsive murder which was clearly committed in a moment of rage, and unwittingly, as evidenced by the closeup of the horror in the Culp character’s eyes. A terrific start. Thank goodness my advanced years prevent me from recalling the rest. That’s why I haven’t reread the undoubtedly perceptive Columbophile review yet.
Wasn’t that pool set also used in The Jerk?
Just a bit of trivia: Ray Milland played the would-be murderer in Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder,” which featured John Williams as a very Columbo-like detective. In fact, I’ve often wondered if his portrayal might have been part of the inspiration for our favorite detective.
Yes, it was a BIG part of the inspiration for Columbo. The others were the novel “Crime & Punishment” and the movie “Les Diaboliques.”
Good ep. Anyone else note how a younger Culp looks like a bit older Alan Ruck, from “Ferris Bueller”? 🙂
So how did columbo manage to put the potato up the exhaust pipe of a car in a private – and one assumes secure and guarded – underground parking lot?
He slipped a fiver to the attendant? But point taken, they could have shown how.
Earlier you say Columbo “planted evidence” in Brimmer’s trunk. The phony lens is not evidence. It’s part of a ride, and totally legal.
Correction: it’s a RUSE, not “ride.”
Indeed the contact lens found by the murderer was a pure coincidence
When Columbo talked about the potato in the exhaust pipe, this hinted that he planted the contact lens. It is too unlikely that the trunk of a car would have a random contact lens in it. BTW the police are allowed to lie to suspects about anything they want.
One of my favourite episodes of Columbo. I love the use of the images seen in Brimmer’s glasses. Robert Culp made such a perfect villain.
Gil Mellé also composed the theme to “Night Gallery” which was also enjoyably angular and dissonant.
And the opening them of Kolchak: The Night Stalker (tv, not the TV movies)
Just watched “Death Lends a Hand.” (Did you know that, as of May 2020, every episode of Columbo is free to watch on the IMDBtv app?)
My first thought was that Mrs. Kinnicut made a very bad move. She went to Brimmer’s apartment with the intent of refusing his attempt at blackmail. She planned to tell her husband EVERYTHING. The affair. The blackmail attempt. All of it.
Why tell Brimmer ANY of that? Why not just tell her husband?
It makes no sense.
(Well, yeah, she told Brimmer so that he could kill her, but that was the scriptwriter. It made no sense for her to do this.)
As for how Columbo caught on so quickly? Easy.
Mr. Kinnicut TOLD Columbo he had had his wife investigated. “She had a clean bill of health.” That should have set Columbo to wondering. Why had Mr. Kinnicut been suspicious? Who did he have inverstigate her? Who gave her “a clean bill of health?”
A private investigator, of course.
Next thing you know, we have a private investigator who has “volunteered his services.”
Well, isn’t this nice? Here Columbo wants to know a bit about a private investigator, and suddenly, we have one who has inserted himself into the investigation. THAT bears looking at, & Columbo does not disappoint. He spins that bit about palmistry in the same scene, and confirms a suspicion immediately. This PI who has just inserted himself into his investigation wears just the right type of ring, and if very likely the man Kinnicut would have had investigate his wife.
Too much coincidence for me, certainly. I think Columbo is dead right to suspect Brimmer, even BEFORE he checked his palm.
I think you are right about Columbo putting on an act. The Columbo who talks to the golf-pro is laser-focused. The Columbo who nearly walks into a closet to leave a room is an act. (Very lucky to have found the golf clubs in there, though. A bit much.)
Somewhat agree; but I think you possibly should watch that part again where (you say) Kennicut told Columbo he’d had his wife investigated.
Kennicut’s words stopped well short of saying she’d been investigated. And the term “clean bill of health” is offered as his own summary of his wife’s fidelity.
The expression, though, is an odd choice of words, and would have registered that way with the brilliant Lieutenant.
I thought the same thing. Mrs. Kennicut goes alone to this sinister guy’s apartment to threaten HIM? I doubt it.
The writing and thought that went into this episode is fantastic. Some things that rarely get noticed is Brimmer sends Leo away so Columbo can’t question him. Notice how Columbo sees the young p.r. guy, Denning, who works for Brimmer is a bit of a gossiper so Columbo takes advantage of that and gets Denning to identify one of Brimmer’s agents has a “crew cut and is an ex-Marine type” repeating what the golf pro said. Columbo even gets Denning to give Columbo Leo’s address. The fake palm reading, which you mention, gives Columbo a chance to check Brimmer’s ring. Notice Columbo doesn’t ask to see Brimmer’s palm, he just grabs his left hand to ensure he gets the hand with the ring. Then Columbo loses the fake receipt for the file and asks Brimmer to make one up so Columbo can see if Brimmer is right or left handed. Then of course the planted contact lense to force Brimmer to look for it in his “disabled” car gives this episode a climactic ending.
There is a thing about this episode that doesn’t add up. When Brimmer calls Leo and later Columbo asks about Leo and search him, and it turns out that this part is ignored by the plot. This is almost like the plothole on Dashell Hammet’s The Big Sleep, where not even the author knew who killed the chaufeur. It is a violation of the dramatic principle of Chekhov’s gun.
PS. I understand that Leo is probably that guy that was on Kinnicut ‘s case and Brimmer wants to get rid of him. But this is hinted but never said, making it a little fuzzy.
Besides Kinnicut is not aware of his wife’s infidelity that would be revealed on the trial. What I always get bugged on Columbo is when I image the trial and all that can go wrong. The movie Ricochet spoiled Columbo for me when Denzel Washinton says about Columbo: “Ah, yeah, except they never show the trial, you know, when the perpetrator walks. And without Leo Brimmer probably would walk.
I disagree whenever people say the perpetrators would be found Not Guilty at trial. In most of the Columbo episodes, the perpetrator would be a fool not to take a plea bargain. I think most of the cases would never go to trial, there would be a guilty plea in the hopes of avoiding life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Brimmer wouldn’t walk completely because he disposed of the body and hid evidence.
Violating Chekhov’s Gun is itself an excellent device for mysteries, throwing the viewer off as well. Just so long as the solution is also there and not Deus Ex’d at the end.