NBC WORLD PREMIERE MOVIE: RANSOM FOR A DEAD MAN {COLUMBO PILOT} (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television movie served as a pilot for the "Columbo" police drama series. Leslie Williams kills her husband and, in the presence of the FBI, pretends to receive a ransom phone call. She cashes in her stocks and her stepdaughter's trust accounts and leads the police to believe that the kidnappers received the payoff. Lt. Columbo's suspicions are aroused when the body is found and Leslie asks no questions about how and where her husband died. Leslie's stepdaughter, Margaret, confides in Columbo and accuses her stepmother of murder. Margaret pretends to strike a deal with Leslie and allows her to buy her silence in return for a large cash payment. Leslie pays her with some of the ransom money, which Margaret then turns over to Columbo to seal the case against her stepmother. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: March 1, 1971 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:35:05
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T78:0106
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective; She Made It Collection (Lee Grant)
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1968-1978; ABC - 1989-2003
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Richard Irving … Executive Producer, Director
- Dean Hargrove … Producer, Writer
- Richard Levinson … Created by, Writer
- William Link … Created by, Writer
- Goldenberg, Billy (See also: Goldenberg, William) … Music by
- Peter Falk … Cast, Lt. Columbo
- Lee Grant … Cast, Leslie Williams
- John Fink … Cast, Michael Clark
- Harold Gould … Cast, Carlson
- Patricia Mattick … Cast, Margaret
- Paul Carr … Cast, Hammond
- Jed Allan … Cast, Phil
- Charles Macaulay … Cast, Richard
- Henry Brandt … Cast, Attorney
- Jeane Byron … Cast, Pat
- Richard Roat … Cast, Perkins
- Norma Connolly … Cast, Celia
- Harlan Warde … Cast, Paul Williams
- Bill Walker … Cast, Crowell
- Timothy Carey … Cast, Bert
- Judson Morgan … Cast, Judge
- Richard O'Brien … Cast, Priest
- Celeste Yarnall … Cast, Gloria
- Lisa Moore … Cast, Nancy
- Lois Battle … Cast, Waitress
- Reginald Fenderson … Cast, Mechanic