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Season One

Background

Many criminals made the mistake of underestimating Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide investigator with a crumpled trench-coat and a beat-up car, who certainly acted as an incompetent bumbler.

The classical mold for a Columbo case involves a murder (occasionally unintentional and thus manslaughter) committed by someone powerful, intelligent, well-connected and often rich.

 That Columbo is seen as a working-class, dim-witted civil servant is to his advantage, though several of his suspects are able to see right through this facade. Columbo is often accused by suspects of having a "bag of tricks" such as humility and the muttering forgetfulness.

Columbo is polite. He has a keen intellect and good taste which he hides very well. Though a bit dated, his clothes are high quality. Not only modest, but also a bit shy, Columbo never divulges his first name. His absent-minded approach to cases, his distracted outbursts and constant pestering of suspects is his modus operandi. He is gifted at lulling anyone guilty into a false sense of security. Often he would pursue a line of question that brings about minimal information, not pressing enough to cause the suspect any alarm. Columbo would thank the suspect, and turn to leave - only to turn back at the last second, claiming to suddenly have remembered something (stating, "Oh, uh, one more thing..." or some variant thereof), and present the suspect with a far more serious and vital question, catching the suspect off guard. This is referred to as "the false exit".

Columbo always manages to catch the killer or killers in spite of some close calls. Often Columbo understands and even likes his suspects. There are times he shows regret after they have been arrested; however, usually Columbo expresses happiness at that point. In spite of being ungainly and disheveled, Columbo claims to be a "people person" and describes himself as "liking people".

His police procedure is to develop the theory that best fits what he perceives in the original evidence; he then doggedly pursues the general line until he obtains some proof. After obtaining this, Columbo allows it to lead him further along to the solution. 

As a result of his pestering, seemingly incompetent manner, Columbo is frequently threatened by his suspects with complaints and job loss, but is never criticized by his fellow officers or superiors. In fact, Columbo is recognized "as something of a legend" in the police sphere.

 And although the audience had witnessed the murder in the beginning of each episode, it was still a surprise to see what mistakes the killers had made during the seemingly perfect murder.


Review

Prescription: Murder-1968 

                          

Psychiatrist Ray Flemming employs his girlfriend to pose as his wife. Barry kills the wife in front of the girlfriend and the two of them take off on a plane for the 'perfect alibi'. They stage a fight on the plane and the 'wife' returns home where she is supposedly killed by an intruder. Things get messy when the dry cleaning comes back from the cleaners

 

Ransom For A Dead Man-1971

Lawyer Leslie Williams concocts an elaborate plan to make her husband's murder look like a kidnapping gone wrong. When it looks like all the bases are covered, Columbo must find a way to trip up this calm and collected lady

 

Murder By The Book-1971

Ken Franklin is the untalented writer but skilled PR agent of a mystery book writing team that created detective Mrs. Melville. He kills his partner and the real writer, Jim Ferris, because Ferris is planning on breaking up the team and writing on his own. Franklin uses an elaborate scheme to make it appear as if Ferris were killed by mobsters because his next story, an expose on the Mafia, would incriminate them. Franklin's plan is perfect except that a fan of Mrs. Melville, Lilly La Sanka, saw him.

 

Death Lends A Hand-1971

A private investigator kills his client's wife after she threatens to expose his blackmail scheme. The client then hires the detective to assist Columbo in the search for the killer.

Dead Weight-1971

A famous general kills an associate because he fears he will expose his illegal business practices. A somewhat neurotic divorcee witnesses the murder and reports it. The general then woos her and makes her fall for him, causing her to change her story.

 

Suitable For Framing-1971

An art critic, Dale Kingston, kills his uncle for his valuable collection of paintings. All the clues lead to the dead man's first wife but Columbo doesn't believe it.

 

Lady In Waiting-1971

Beth Chadwick is tired of her brother Bryce running her life. The last straw is when he threatens to break up her romance with Peter Hamilton, a company lawyer. Beth lays a trap for Bryce and shoots him, claiming that she thought he was a prowler. By stealing his house key, she plans for him to try to enter through her bedroom French doors. But when Bryce shows up after using a spare key, she is forced to improvise. The coroner's inquest backs up her story, but for Columbo, too many little things do not add up. If Bryce had to walk around the house to get to the doors, why are there no grass stains on his shoes? If Beth never went out the day of the murder, how did a late edition of the newspaper end up in the front hall? But when a witness remembers hearing gunshots before an alarm, Columbo figures it all out.

 

Short Fuse-1972

A chemist rigs a bomb in his uncle's car so he can gain control of his uncle's company. He then plants clues to make Columbo suspicious of the company's Vice-President

 
Blueprint For Murder-1972

An architect kills his business partner and deliberately lets Columbo suspect him, leading Columbo to think that he's hidden the body in the foundation of a building under construction. He plans to let Columbo dig up the site and find nothing, knowing that its the perfect place to hide the body since Columbo would never look in the same place twice. 

Watch more:

Pilot

Ransom for a Dead Man

Murder by the Book

Death Lends a Hand

Dead Weight

Suitable for Framing

Lady in Waiting

Short Fuse

Blueprint for Murder

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Season Two

Background

Columbo must be the only cop show ever made where you know exactly what’s going to happen before you’ve even sat down to watch it. It’s borderline Shakespearean in its lack of reliance on traditional mystery – just as you don’t see Macbeth in order to find out whether or not the Mac will get his comeuppance, so you don’t watch Columbo to find out who did it, or whether or not the Lieutenant will ensnare them. For this reason, it has been described as being not a whodunnit, which is true, but a 'howdunnit’ – but that isn’t quite right, either. In fact, we know exactly how each murder is done, and that’s what’s such sublime fun.

Every episode begins with the miscreant – nearly always from the upper echelons of society (the Lt wastes no time with riff-raff) – fastidiously planning how they’re going to bump off the person who has irked them. Their plan always works, at least to start with, and it’s not long before there’s a cadaver for Columbo, mac on his back and cigar in his mouth, to shuffle towards.

But not only do we know the identity of the murderer, and witness the murder itself, too – there’s generally only ever one suspect. We also know for absolute certain that Columbo will spend the entire show hanging out with him or her, and that when he unmasks them as the murderer, they’ll make no attempt to attack him, or scarper. Rather, as it dawns on them that, thanks to Columbo, they’re heading for life imprisonment at best, they’ll look at him much as a pensioner might a boy-scout who's just helped them across the road, and say something very much like, “Aw heck, Lieutenant – I guess I underestimated you!” 

For Columbo is less a howdunnit than a “how’ll-he-do-it” – the “he” being not the detective, the “it” being the solving of the crime – and in this way it subverts the entire genre. The writing and plotting is meticulous, and there’s something endlessly satisfying about watching the one-eyed, ever charismatic, impeccably believable Falk both solve the puzzle and drive the ice-cool murderer nuts with his endless, faux-apologetic declarations of “I’m just trying to tie up loose ends, sir”, and so on.

 Finally, of course, just as Columbo makes his wrong-footing “false exit”, there comes his most famous catchphrase, directed at the crim who by now thinks he’s home free: “There’s just one more thing…” The more apparently inconsequential that “thing” is, the more damning it will prove – but what will it be? Too thrilling.



Review

 

Étude in Black-1972

The mistress of a conductor becomes a target for murder after threatening to tell all to her lover's wife. 

The Greenhouse Jungle-1972

Jarvis Goodland, along with his nephew, plan a kidnap scam to break the nephews trust fund, but after the money has been collected, Jarvis kills his partner. 

 

The Most Crucial Game-1972

The manager of a football team kills the team's owner, disguising himself as an ice cream vendor as a cover. He then uses a recording of a faked phone call as an alibi to prove he was elsewhere at the time of the murder. 

 

Dagger of the Mind-1972

While on a work trip to London, to learn the techniques of the British police, Columbo gets involved with the murder of Roger Haversham, a rich old businessman who is financing the careers of two rundown theater stars. When Sir Roger threatens to end their careers, because he felt betrayed, he's killed. A short while after, his butler figures out the motives for his master's murder, and blackmails the actors, who have no other choice than to kill him and make it look like he commited suicide due to remorse, because he murdered his employer. Columbo stills manages to catch both the murderers, with the help of a pearl and a new umbrella.

Requiem for a Falling Star-1973



Nora Chandler, a fading movie star is threatened by a forthcoming tell-all book and some of the secrets it will reveal. She attempts to murder Jerry Parks, the author but accidentally kills her P.A. Columbo roots out the connection between the current case and the mysterious disappearance of the actress's husband. The solution to the case involves a Shriner's ring, and an inoperative fountain.

 

A Stitch in Crime-1973

Heart surgeon Barry Manfield turns his talents turn to murder and plans to kill his mentor, who refuses to release their research findings prematurely. When the mentor has a heart attack, Manfield plots the perfect murder, but must kill two people to cover his tracks while he waits for his plan to succeed.

The Most Dangerous Match-1973

When a chess grandmaster realizes that he is unable to defeat his rival at a tournament, he resorts to murder and makes it look like suicide. But Columbo isn't fooled... and the victim isn't quite dead.

 

Double Shock-1973

A wealthy man is murdered; his twin nephews stand to inherit, but which one committed the crime?




Watch more:

Étude in Black

The Greenhouse Jungle

The Most Crucial Game

Dagger of the Mind

Requiem for a Falling Star

A Stitch in Crime

The Most Dangerous Match

Double Shock

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Season Three

Background

Columbo is, undoubtedly, one of the cult series. Peter Falk in the role of the inspector in beige trenchcoat worn in smelly cigar, always moving with his faithful dog and its dilapidated 403 convertible, scored many generations with his legendary phrase " My wife always told me ... ". Broadcast for the first time in France in 1972, the series has 69 episodes, many investigations during which Columbo always knew how to look like a fool to better ambush suspects. A whole technique!

2 times Columbo

Initially, Columbo was a telefilm initiated by two men: Richard Levinson , William Link . Charged with murder , under what became the first episode of the series, released February 20, 1968 on NBC .Given the success of this first release, the U.S. chain plans soon to make a series. But Peter Falk does not feel close to turning twenty episodes per season. In fact, embody the character of Columbo to prevent the then free to pursue his career in theater and cinema. Peter Falk refused this tempting offer. However, it pays to NBC turning occasionally other events while continuing to perform at the theater where he also meets a real success.

From 1971 to 1977 Peter Falk turned 43 episodes of Columbo . At this time no one knows that this is the last episode. In fact, producers are annoyed by the whims of Peter Falk , who wants to concentrate more on his career outside of the small screen. More protracted and shootings are becoming more and more expensive. In May 1978, the actor hangs raincoat Columbo .

His return is not without conditions. To $ 6 million per episode, the actor starts in autumn 1988 in 6 new adventures. In addition, Peter Falk became a producer and therefore directly involved in the choice of actors writers and directors.

The peculiarities of Columbo

The character of Columbo is the specificity of the first series. Policeman Homicide Los Angeles (LAPD), Columbo raincoat worn door and drives a Peugeot 403 cabriolet dilapidated. It is sometimes accompanied by his basset hound he calls the "Dog". He regularly smokes cigars. He frequently refers to my wife, who never appears on the screen, but still has an opinion on the matter. One episode revolves around an even attempt to poison his wife, but never show it.

Another feature of this series is that always show the murder at the beginning of the episode. Thus, the viewer immediately knows who the murderer, which goes against the usual crime fiction. In addition, Lieutenant Columbo mark the culprit (always a person of high society) immediately and invariably confused with a little detail.

For the viewer, the question is not to know who the murderer or Columbo will prove his guilt, but how he will prove it. To investigate, Columbo goes every day to ask new questions. He knows how to get to his suspects for a fool and a rough figure for better sleep vigilance. Another feature Columbo never weapon. Last feature of Columbo , there is no common generic to all the episodes.

Never without his Peugeot 403 Cabriolet

When the producers of the show asked Peter Falk to choose a car for his character, they showed several models to the actor but he refused them all. He wanted something original. Thus he saw a 403 convertible, badly parked in the studio and seemed abandoned. The player chooses this vehicle immediately because it stuck perfectly with the character of Columbo , a cop with low average income which allowed to identify the character as "Mr. Everybody" and make it more humane. 

Another anecdote, in 1989, Peter Falk agreed to resume the service, replaying again Inspector Columbo , provided further drive his French car. The 403 , which had been sold, will be found and bought a retired couple from Ohio.

A shower of awards

Peter Falk has received four Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the role of Columbo and a Golden Globe. He was also nominated twice for an Oscar in 1960 and 1961 for his roles in Pocketful of Miracles and Murder, Inc.



Review

Lovely But Lethal-1973

 Viveca Scott, the founder of Beauty Mark Cosmetics, is being threatened by her rival David Lang. When he finds out that her revolutionary cream formula actually removes wrinkles, he has the formula pirated. 

 

Any Old Port In a Storm-1973



Wine producer Adrian Carsini discovers that his younger brother Enrico plans to sell the family vineyards to pay his playboy-life debts, and sets out to murder him. He locks him in a wine vault and turns off the air and conditioning, then drags the body out to the ocean and makes it look like Enrico died during a scuba-diving accident. Columbo is suspicious of the contradictions that show up in the autopsy, and soon realizes that Adrian is the murderer. The final clue is the wine that was spoiled when the vault's air conditioning was turned off. Only Adrian could tell the difference, so Columbo secretly gets him to sample the wine and declare it unfit. Once Adrian realizes his wines were ruined, he is forced to throw them over a cliff, as Columbo looks on. In the end, Columbo takes in a relieved Adrian, confessing that Carsini is one of the few killers he was reluctant to bring in. 

 

Candidate For Crime-1973

A Senate Candidate running for office kills his campaign manager by making it look like he was the target for the killer's bullet. 

 

    Double Exposure-1973    



A film maker kills one of his clients. in a break, during the screening of a new ad campaign.

Publish or Perish-1974

A publisher hires a Vietnam vet to kill his star author and thus give himself an alibi before the writer can defect to another publisher. 

Mind Over Mayhem-1974



Dr. Marshal Cahill, head of a think tank, is forced to protect his plagarizing son by killing the professor, Nichols, who discovered the plagarized information. Cahill programs a robot to take his place during a war game exercise that he runs from an isolated room, then fakes a hit-and-run accident on Nichols and plants evidence to make it look like a drug theft gone awry. The first thing Columbo notices upon arrival is a match burned down to the base - something Columbo knows well because it's how you light a cigar. And Dr. Cahill is the only other cigar smoker around. There are a lot of other little things that Columbo notices as well, and with the help of a child prodigy he discovers how Cahill used the robot to provide himself with an alibi. But without one major clue, Columbo arrests the son to force Cahill, who was willing to kill for his son, to confess his crime to protect the boy.

         

 

Swan Song-1974

A Country and Western singer kills his overpowering wife in a plane crash while he parachutes to safety.

 

A Friend in Deed-1974



A police commissioner provides an alibi to a friend who has just killed his wife. Later the commissioner kills his own wife and gets the friend to repay the favour. 



Watch More:

Lovely But Lethal	Any Old Port in a Storm	Candidate for Crime
Double Exposure	Publish or Perish	Mind Over Mayhem

Swan Song

A Friend in Deed

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Season Four

Background

Movie cars: Peugeot 403 in Columbo

One of the most famous cars (not just for performance or aesthetic breakthrough) of television was the leading Peugeot 403 Detective Columbo (played by Peter Falk) in the famous television series that began airing in late 60.

The Peugeot 403 is a car produced by the French company Peugeot between 1955 and 1966 in the versions sedan, five-door, convertible and commercial pickup, the latter being the one in the TV series.

This rear wheel drive car was equipped with a 4-cylinder gasoline engine of 1,468 cm3 that developed 58 hp , not bad for a D-segment car at the time, but the features that made ​​this car famous in the course of the series were its unfortunate poor condition and operation.

The purpose of incorporating a small displacement European car in the series was, in a way, add a factor that ridiculed the protagonist and gave some silly character against the giant A ll-American Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler had the bad guys .

The status of this car was a running joke in the series scripts, clueless to what the police officer replied: "and do not make them like that." The truth is that good should have been this car to transport to Colombo (and almost zero maintenance) from the start of the series in 1968 until the last episode produced in 2003.

The same model used in the series "Columbo"

Peugeot 403. Columbo

Columbo's Car - Dilapidated, 1959 Peugeot 403 Grande Luxe Cabriolet (convertible), manufactured in Sochaux, France, by "SA Des Automobiles Peugeot" seen on the police drama. 


COLUMBO a rotating segment of the NBC SUNDAY MYSTERY MOVIE/NBC/1971-77. Owned by LAPD homicide detective Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) this rust-bucket, covered with graying, oxidized paint was his principal transportation to and from the scene of the crime.

If a car reflects the personality of an individual then this junker was the perfect partner for its owner who always wore a dirty, stained raincoat and chomped on half-smoked cigars.

When the COLUMBO series finished its run in 1978, Universal Studios sold the detective's Peugeot.. How did they know that in 1988, the series would be revived and our rumpled detective would be in need of wheels again.

Doing some detective work of their own, officials at Universal Studios tracked down the Peugeot by checking old files and matching the serial number of the car with inquiries from others claiming to have the original.

They discovered the car in the possession of Connie and Jim Delaney of Findlay, Ohio. They had purchased the car sight unseen from an ad in Old Cars Weekly. The Delaneys made a deal to lend out the car for the new series-free of charge-on the stipulation that it be returned to them when the series ended.

Had the car not been found it had already been planned to give Columbo a brand new beat-up vehicle. Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.

Peugeot 403 cabriolet (Columbo)

The car's most famous detective series was accompanied during all investigations. A model that fits perfectly with the character of Columbo is aging with him, full of charm and surprises. 

Transportation Department - Columbo's Peugeot 403 

Although it's not displayed in the Transportation Department, Columbo's Peugeot 403 car can be seen around the backlot sometimes.

Visitors taking the VIP Experience tour, who visit the massive Prop Warehouse, may get a chance for a closer look at the French car from 1959.

Only 504 of the Cabriolet convertible model were produced in 1959, the year of Columbo's car, so his is a rare model. In "Identity Crisis" he tells the murderer his is one of only three in the country.

The photos here show are at Universal Studios!




Review

 

An Exercise in Fatality-1974


A health club owner kills his partner who is about to uncover a fraud and makes it look like an accident 

 

Negative Reaction-1974

Brilliant photographer Paul Galesko plans to murder his domineering wife, Frances, and pin the crime on an ex-convict named Alvin Deschler. His plan is to make it look as if Alvin kidnapped his wife and killed her before picking up the ransom money. 

By Dawn´s Early Light-1974

The head of a military school kills one of the governors by sabotaging the gun which is used on founders day. 

 

Troubled Waters-1975

While holidaying on board a cruise liner, Columbo helps capture the killer of the singer with the ship's band. 

Playback-1975

An inventor video tapes his mother-in-law's death, and then replays it back to the security guard, to give himself an alibi.

A Deadly State of Mind-1975




A doctor kills the husband of the woman,he is having an affair with. but is seen leaving the house by a witness who is happens to be blind.



Watch more:

An Exercise in Fatality	Negative Reaction	By Dawn's Early Light
Troubled Waters	Playback	A Deadly State of Mind

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Season Five

Background

Columbo's Raincoat

"Every once in a while I think about gettin a new coat, but there's no

rush on that.  There's still plenty of wear in this fella!" 
Candidate For Crime

Columbo is almost inseparable from his raincoat. 

We think of the raincoat as a part of Columbo himself. The

raincoat almost seems to lend Columbo a sort of mystical power.

When he is forced to replace it in Now You See Him Columbo finds, to his great

frustration, that without his old raincoat, he cannot even think. Without that coat,

he is like Samson with a bad haircut.

In our mind's eye, the immediate image is that the coat is  tattered, wrinkled and

stained, scarred with the long years of battle and too many bowls of chili.

What we tend to forget, is that when we first meet Columbo, the coat is quite

new (...cheesy-looking, but new).  And that we have watched this remarkable garment   evolve over the years. And so over the decades of episodes,  we  watch Peter Falk grow more comfortable and familiar in the role of Columbo, just as we watch Columbo himself grow more comfortable and familiar in the battered old raincoat. 

Columbo's raincoat is more than clothing.  It is more than a symbol of his humble, eccentric image.

Columbo's raincoat is an old friend.

Origins

Columbo's raincoat was designed and manufactured in Spain, by a company called Cortefiel. (Translated into English, "cortefiel" means "good tailoring".)

Cortefiel has a long-established reputation as a maker of fine garments, and owns a chain of specialty stores in 10 countries, based in Madrid, Spain. Cortefiel scaled back its marketing after the 1970s, and essentially is no longer distributing its designer clothing outside of Europe.

(Thanks to Joaquin Gallardo for this information, which many fans have asked about. Joaquin discovered this bit of history in a Spanish newspaper, then visited a Cortefiel office and obtained written confirmation that Cortefiel indeed was the maker of Columbo's original raincoat.)

So, although Columbo's raincoat now strikes us as frumpy and outdated, in fact it originated from a stylish European label.

According to the official legend, Peter Falk bought the raincoat in New York City, around the time that he was cast for Prescription: Murder.

In an interview with "TeleStar" magazine in February 1998, Falk tells the story:

"In 1966..., I was walking on 57th Street in New York when it started to rain. I entered a shop and bought a raincoat.  When I had to find one for Columbo, I simply took this one."

To this day, Peter Falk swears that the television script for Prescription: Murder

specified a raincoat for the character.  Columbo's creators, Levinson and Link, always maintained that Falk was mistaken, that in fact the script called for Columbo to wear an overcoat.

The truth is forever lost in mythology.

Falk wore the same raincoat throughout the NBC run of "Columbo," but there were two or three "stand-in" coats.  In March, 1974, one of these was auctioned off for one thousand dollars at an Easter Seal dinner in Bridgeport, Connecticut.   (Falk was the Easter Seal national chairman in 1975.)

"Columbo" ended its NBC run in 1978, and Peter Falk lovingly stored  the famous garment in a closet of his Beverly Hills home.

When "Columbo" was revived on ABC in 1989, "TV Guide" magazine ran an article describing how a new raincoat was made, recreating the pattern of the legendary original coat in meticulous  detail.  According to the article, expert tailors rapidly aged the new raincoat by staining it with tea and repeatedly running over the coat with an automobile in the parking lot at Universal.

But the original raincoat still remains enshrined in Peter Falk's home.

"I have a great deal of affection for it," Falk said in 1988.  "I take great care of it. 

I've been known to say I put out a saucer of milk for it every night."

Fashion Details

The name of the exact model of Columbo's raincoat remains a mystery, and of course Cortefiel no longer makes it.

But the details are quite distinctive and unique.

The raincoat is first distinguished by the fact that it is rather too short to afford any real protection in the rain, ending at or above the knees so that Columbo's pants would get pretty well soaked if he ever wore the coat in an actual rain storm.

This causes the coat to flap comically in the wind, so that whenever he runs after somebody for that one last question ("Oh, Sir!  Oh, Sir!..."), Columbo holds the coat down to his thigh with one hand while the runs -- like a woman afraid that her skirt will fly up.

The coat is single-breasted and has four buttons, not including one which generally remains hidden at the very top.

The left lapel has two small loops dangling from the notch.

The sleeves are turned up, and each is held in place by two large buttons, separated by a slit.

And there are two hip-pockets, each guarded by a flap with a button.

These buttons never seem to be used, so the pocket-flaps are usually either bent-up or stuck halfway into the coat in some haphazard manner by Columbo's habit of constantly reaching into all of his pockets while searching for something.  The untidy   pocket-flaps add to Columbo's overall disheveled appearance.

The Case Of The Disappearing Loops

First, the raincoat worn in the 1967 movie appears distinctly longer than Columbo's long-running "classic" coat: it hangs below Falk's knees, and has five visible buttons instead of four.

Perhaps it was shortened later, to lend that comical flapping-in-the-wind effect?   Maybe...

But what about the lapels? The raincoat collar looks different, with longer points. 

And take a close look at the left lapel: no silly little loops. 
Hmmm....

Raincoat Styles

Although the raincoat has become so familiar that it seems like a uniform, in fact Columbo finds new and innovative ways to wear his signature garment with variety, flair and personal touch.

In A Case Of Immunity Columbo pioneers the "Raincoat and Tuxedo Look," which is displayed again through much of No Time To Die.  Dashing.

Confronting Col. Rumford (Patrick McGoohan) in By Dawn's Early Light, Columbo wears the coat in a casual, almost "off the shoulder" fashion, revealing his sleeveless white undershirt  beneath to complete the ensemble.  Stunning.

A bit earlier in the episode, Columbo wears the raincoat into the bathroom to perform his morning ablutions -- essentially using the raincoat as a bathrobe.  Stylish and practical.

When Columbo responds to a murder scene late at night, he sometimes throws on the raincoat in lieu of a shirt, over his bare chest or pajama tops.

Perhaps this display of Columbo's white chest-hair is what drives Faye Dunaway to such a frenzy of seduction.

On the cover of this antique paperback, we see the coat fully buttoned-up. Rarely seen.

What's In The Raincoat?

In one of his "Columbo" novels, author William Harrington has Columbo explaining that he always wears the raincoat because it acts as a sort of portable desk or filing system, allowing Columbo to carry around his daily accumulation of clues and paraphernalia, without having to switch everything from the pockets of one garment to another.

If this is the case, Columbo's filing system is seriously flawed, for he continually

manages to lose things in the coat's various folds and crevices, especially his

ever-elusive pencil.

Here are just a few of the things that Columbo carries in the raincoat

Notebook

Dog Biscuits

Reading Material

Food Columbo sometimes eats on-the-run, pulling snacks out of his pockets, using the raincoat as a wearable portable pantry Hard boiled egg -- sometimes carried with a salt-shaker Gumdrops Coffee Thermos Coat Tales Columbo wears the raincoat with such persistence, that it has invited comment from a number of curious onlookers over the years. He wears the raincoat everywhere, indoors and in sunny weather, and even onto a cruise ship to Mexico, where everyone else is in tropical gear. The ship's captain (Patrick MacNee) is struck by Columbo's odd wardrobe, and he tries to ask Columbo about it -- but Columbo is oblivious to the point of the question: "Tell me, Lef'tenant,... do you expect inclement weather in the Mexican waters?"   "Naw, they tell me the weather's great this time o' year!" In The Bye Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case we see Columbo in one of his few appearances without the raincoat -- and he gets caught in a torrential rainstorm.  Soaked, he says that his wife is using the coat to try out a new spot remover. Maybe Columbo is lucky that his wife only abuses the raincoat by using it to experiment with cleaning fluids.  Columbo says she keeps threatening to "have it cleaned and burned!"  In Negative Reaction, Columbo visits a soup kitchen to interview a witness.  The kindly Sister of Mercy (Joyce Van Patten) takes one look at Columbo's shabby raincoat and she instantly melts with pity, mistaking Columbo for a pathetic vagrant. -"Oh, that coat, tsk-tsk, that-coat-that-coat-that-coat..." [The  nun insists on finding him a better coat from the shelter's used clothing collection]. -Sister: "I found exactly the right thing, look, it's warm, and it's hardly been used at all.  Stand up, we'll try it on.." -Columbo: "Y'know, I appreciate what you're doin, I really do, but..., I've had this coat for seven years --" -Sister: "Oh, you poor man!!!" -Dolan: "Don't be ashamed..." -Columbo: "No, I'm very fond of it!" [Columbo explains that he's a policeman, so the Sister compliments him on his wonderful undercover disguise as a homeless person: "You fooled even me!"] In Death Hits The Jackpot the raincoat creates a similar misunderstanding when Columbo wears it to a Halloween costume party. Columbo is again mistaken as a costumed character, drawing great admiration and applause for his brilliant disguise as "an eccentric millionaire." Possibly the raincoat's lowest moment of indignity comes in Rest In Peace, Mrs Columbo A  woman walks into a murder scene and Columbo instinctively spreads his raincoat over the dead body, in gallant Sir Walter Raleigh fashion, to protect the sensitivities of the lady. This is hardly good protocol for preservation of forensic trace-evidence -- and it was hardly necessary, considering the lady had already seen the corpse when she committed the murder.  But the gesture shows Columbo's natural chivalry. Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous To Your Health features a scene with two different jokes implying that Columbo's raincoat makes him look like a sex pervert. First, Columbo is strolling to a porno shop through a sleazy neighborhood, past bikers and hookers, and a bimbo propositions him: "Hey cutie, wanna tell me what's under the raincoat?". Then when Columbo is in the porn shop, looking at merchandise, he is approached by another customer.  The guy has a weird gleam in his eyes and is wearing THE EXACT SAME RAINCOAT -- in fact, the guy is dressed almost exactly like Columbo. The guy looks at Columbo's outfit then gives him a sly grin and says to Columbo, in a conspiratorial whisper: "Hope we both have fun tonight, pal!". The guy starts to walk away smiling, then turns around and gives Columbo a big wink. This scene cannot be found in the "Family Channel" version. And finally, no discussion of Columbo's raincoat would be complete without mention of Mrs. Columbo's doomed attempt to replace the raincoat. She selects a chocolate-brown monstrosity with wide lapels, which Columbo repeatedly tries to lose or get stolen.  Finally Columbo shows up in the familiar classic raincoat, claiming that the wife took the new one back because it didn't fit. Columbo is back in his familiar, beloved raincoat, and all is right in the world. Review Forgotten Lady-1975 A fading actress kills her husband when he refuses to back her comeback show.    A Case of Immunity-1975  An ambassador from Suari and his code clerk kill the chief of security in an attempt to make it look like the chief was a traitor, who blew up the legation safe and stole £600.000 on behalf of a dissident group. But Columbo gets suspicious. He just have problem crushing the ambassador's alibi. And then, when the code clerk turns up dead, the ambassador has an alibi again. But even if Colombo could rock the two alibis, there is always the immunity problem.    Identity Crisis-1975  A spy is killed on a lonely beach by his contact, but the killer has been photographed beforehand walking with the victim.    A Matter of Honor-1976  The owner of a bull ranch in Mexico gives his workers the day off, and then talks his number one man into fighting the bull who nearly killed his son. But instead he shoots him with a tranquilizer gun, and lets the bull kill him. Colombo, who is on vacation in Mexico, gets dragged into this case by an admiring colleague, but he has trouble convincing the Mexicans that the accident is really homicide. And how do you prove that the bull is a murder weapon?    Now You See Him-1976  Master magician the great Santini is amazing audiences at the Cabaret of Magic. What they don’t know is that Santini hopes to pull of the grandest illusion of his career - making club owner Jesse T. Jerome disappear. The crude Jerome is the only person who knows that Santini was a Nazi death camp guard named Stefan Mueller, He has been blackmailing the magician since learning his dark secret. Last Salute to the Commodore-1976  The family and friends of brilliant naval architect Commodore Otis Swanson have gathered for the company’s annual party. The commodore, however, has become increasingly discontented with the way his son-in-law, Charles Clay, has developed the shipbuilding firm into a vast, impersonal corporation. He is tired of being surrounded by freeloaders like his alcoholic daughter, Joanna, his irresponsible nephew, Swanny, and of course, Charles. The only man he respects is Wayne Taylor, the head of the boatyard. In fact, the Commodore intends to sell the company. That night, Charles is wiping clean the belaying pin used to bash the Commodore’s skull.  Watch more: Forgotten Lady A Case of Immunity Identity Crisis A Matter of Honor Now You See Him Last Salute to the Commodore Menu

 

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