Ransom for a Dead Man

Three years after Peter Falk's debut as Columbo in Prescription: Murder (1968), this second pilot was created with Lieutenant Columbo assigned to assist with the kidnapping case of a high profile lawyer (Harlan Warde), but when he turns up dead, Columbo suspects that the wife has something to do with it. Leslie Williams (Lee Grant) does a superb job at portraying a villain who's able to hold her own with Columbo, and their interactions are very entertaining. Falk revamps the Columbo character as a clever, amiable, bumbling and unassuming detective who never shows all his cards but has some curious idiosyncrasies. Newcomer Patricia Mattick delivers a strong performance as the avenging stepdaughter, Margaret Williams.