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Reviews
Columbo: Candidate for Crime (1973)
Contains the best scene in the entire series
I watch this series, and have since its inception, for one reason: to watch Columbo toy with the murderer like a cat toys with a mouse. So for me an episode is good or bad judged by how many of these interactions it provides and the quality of those interactions. "Candidate for Crime" includes, among several excellent ones, what is, in my opinion, the best scene of this kind in the entire series.
It is Columbo & Hayward's first one-on-one interaction, taking place in the candidate's office at his headquarters. As the scene begins, Hayward is full of himself, feet up on his desk, cocky as can be as a popular candidate, successful lover, and, as he believes, ingenious murderer. The scene last twelve minutes; and in that time Columbo, besides annoying Hayward with his usual mannerisms, confronts him with seven incongruous points about the case. How satisfying it is, as Columbo finally departs, to see Hayward standing in dejection - deflated, worried, and perspiring.
Thanks to all who gave us "Columbo" and especially this episode.
Columbo: Playback (1975)
the most satisfying finale of any episode
I love "Columbo." It's a cat-and-mouse show and is not about emotions. But something I've always missed is a stronger reaction from the murderer when he realizes that he has been caught in Columbo's net of evidence. Usually it is simply a rueful smile and a bowed head. An exception is provided by Oskar Werner in Playback. Throughout the episode he displays an intense anger and irritation at Columbo's persistence. Then the paroxysm of rage he generates at the end, even to the extent of his face flushed visibly red, while ordering his wife to lie for him, makes this, in my opinion, the most satisfying finale of all.
The Insider (1999)
The Skills that Fine Actors Have
I watched the original 60-Minutes airing of Wigand's interview. The astonishing thing about the movie is that Russell Crowe is more believable as Wigand than Wigand. He is more believable as someone who could be a biochemist, more believable as someone who could win a teacher-of-the-year award, and more believable as a whistleblower!
Why did Michael Mann allow Michael Moore to play himself in 'The Insider'? Even though he is playing himself, he is not believable as the character in the movie. The part is quite small, but this "casting" certainly reveals, by contrast, the skills that fine actors have.
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
A Woman-Driven Plot
FULL OF SPOILERS! SEE THE MOVIE FIRST!
Something I haven't seen mentioned in other reviews is the woman-driven nature of TLV. The central character, the lady who vanishes, and who, by the way, is certainly not young, is a daring secret agent. "In this sort of job, one must take risks." It is a young woman who spearheads the search for the vanished lady, against all opposition, and against all odds. (This character, played by Margaret Lockwood, is exactly how I imagine Nancy Drew to be.) When Gilbert jumps on board to help Iris, he does not become the driving force and she the assistant; they are equals. The chief in command of the villains is a woman. Even the doormat adulteress turns into a heroine when she reproves the cowardly assertions of her lover and struggles to get the gun he is hiding. "I'm not afraid to use it!" And then there is the woman whose conscience impels her to switch allegiances, and without whom the good guys could not have prevailed. She does not carry out the order to drug the young couple. She allows Gilbert to free Miss Froy and tie up Madame Kummer in her place. She warns the English on the train not to trust the approaching Bandrikians. "Don't let them in! They'll murder us! They daren't let us go now!" And finally, she it is who bravely deboards to switch over the points and send the train into neutral territory. What an unforgettable shot by Hitchcock of this "nun," sans wimple, using her strength to push the arm of the switch handle, all the while under fire of the enemy. Upon being shot while pulled back aboard the moving train: "It's all right, it's just my leg."