Home → Episodes → A Friend in Deed
A Friend in Deed
Russian title: Настоящий друг · Russian version
A deputy police commissioner kills his own wife and then covers for the neighbour who killed his. The only Columbo where the murderer is the lieutenant's superior officer, and the only one where the ending is an act of pure insubordination.
Editor’s rating — 9.5 out of 10.
- Number
- 25 of 69
- Aired
- May 5, 1974
- Running time
- 94 min
- Director
- Ben Gazzara
- Writer
- Peter S. Fischer
- Music
- Billy Goldenberg and Dick DeBenedictis
The case
- The killer
- Richard Kiley as Mark Halperin and Michael McGuire as Hugh Caldwell
- The victim
- Rosemary Murphy as Margaret Halperin and an uncredited actress as Janice Caldwell
- Guest cast
- Richard Kiley, Rosemary Murphy, Eric Christmas, Michael McGuire, Val Avery, Eleanor Zee
Columbo is an inverted mystery: the murder opens the film and the killer is known from the first minutes. What you are watching for is how he proves it — see how the character works.
The murder
Mark Halperin is a deputy commissioner of the Los Angeles police, which means he is Columbo's boss several times over. His neighbour, Hugh Caldwell, kills his own wife during an argument and comes to Halperin in a panic. Halperin does not turn him in. He improves the crime.
He restages Caldwell's killing as a burglary, using a real cat burglar operating in the area as a ready-made suspect. Then, with the machinery already running, he murders his own wife the same way — a second identical burglary, a second dead woman, and a pattern that points firmly at someone else.
It is the most institutionally corrupt murder in the series. Halperin does not have to hide evidence; he can direct the investigation that would find it.
Hugh Caldwell kills his wife during an argument and goes next door in a panic. His neighbour is Mark Halperin, a deputy police commissioner, and instead of arresting him Halperin restages the scene as a burglary — using a real cat burglar working the area as a ready-made suspect.
Having built the machinery once, Halperin uses it for himself. His own wife dies the same way, in a second identical burglary, and the pattern points firmly away from both husbands.
It is the most institutionally corrupt crime in the series. Halperin does not need to hide evidence; he can direct the investigation that would find it.
How Columbo gets him
This episode is unusual because Columbo is not a nuisance to be tolerated — he is a subordinate who can be ordered off the case, and Halperin does exactly that whenever the questions get close. The power imbalance is real and the film takes it seriously.
The two burglaries are too alike. Real crime is untidy; these are matching, and both benefit men who knew each other. Columbo works the burglar angle honestly, finds him, and finds that the man's actual methods do not match either scene.
What follows is the boldest thing the character ever does. Unable to move against a commissioner through channels, Columbo plants stolen goods from the real burglaries in Halperin's own home and then arranges for the house to be searched — a chain of events he sets in motion knowing precisely what it means for his career if he is wrong.
The power imbalance is real and the film takes it seriously. Columbo is not a nuisance to be tolerated but a subordinate who can be ordered off the case — and is, repeatedly, whenever the questions get close.
The two burglaries are too alike. Real crime is untidy; these match, and both benefit men who know each other. Columbo finds the actual burglar and establishes that his methods fit neither scene.
What follows is the boldest thing the character ever does. Unable to move against a commissioner through channels, he plants goods from the real burglaries in Halperin's house and arranges for it to be searched — knowing precisely what happens to him if he is wrong.
Worth knowing
- Richard Kiley plays Halperin with the weary authority of a man who has never once been questioned by anyone below him.
- The ending is the most legally dubious act Columbo commits in seventy films, and the script does not pretend otherwise.
- Directed by Ben Gazzara, an actor from the Cassavetes circle and a close friend of Falk's.
- Richard Kiley plays Halperin with the weary authority of a man who has never been questioned by anyone below him.
- The ending is the most legally dubious act Columbo commits in seventy films, and the script does not pretend otherwise.
- Directed by Ben Gazzara, an actor from the Cassavetes circle and a close friend of Falk's; broadcast May 1974.
Verdict
One of the strongest of the fourth season and thematically the sharpest. Every other episode is about a policeman outclassing the rich; this one is about a policeman going after the institution he belongs to.
Falk plays the final scene without any of the usual warmth. There is no admiration here and no shared drink — just a man who has decided that rank is not a defence.
One of the strongest of the fourth season and the sharpest thematically. Every other film is about a policeman outclassing the rich; this one is about a policeman going after his own institution.
Falk plays the last scene without any of the usual warmth. No admiration, no shared drink — just a man who has decided that rank is not a defence.
What the people who made it said
Of all the episodes Fischer worked on, this remained his favourite. The idea came from the producers, and it is simple: what if the killer is the lieutenant’s own boss?
“The premise came from Hargrove and Kibbee: what would happen if Columbo had to go after the guy who was his boss? That one was done under tremendous pressure, but if I had to pick out one that I particularly like, it would be 'A Friend in Deed.'”
The funniest story from the shoot concerns the scene where Kiley’s character pulls his wife out of the pool. He had never met his co-star before that day.
“I'm doing the mouth-to-mouth when I suddenly realize that I have never met Rosemary before. So, while the cameras are still rolling, I looked down and said, 'How do you do, Rosemary? We've never met before. I'm Richard Kiley.'”
Quotes are in the speaker’s own words — from a transcript of the recording, or from the printed source. Players open at the right minute. Everything is shortened; the full version is in the source.
Familiar faces
Actors who turn up in the series more than once — sometimes in very different parts.
- John Finnegan as Lieutenant Dreyer 12 episodes also in Blueprint for Murder, The Most Dangerous Match, Lovely But Lethal, Last Salute to the Commodore, Fade in to Murder and 6 more
- Mike Lally as Bartender #2 8 episodes also in Requiem for a Falling Star, Double Exposure, Mind Over Mayhem, Swan Song, Troubled Waters and 2 more
- Val Avery as Artie Jessup 4 episodes also in Dead Weight, The Most Crucial Game, Identity Crisis
- Dianne Turley Travis as Club Member 4 episodes also in Double Exposure, Mind Over Mayhem, Death Hits the Jackpot
- Arlene Martel as Salesgirl 3 episodes also in The Greenhouse Jungle, Double Exposure
- Cosmo Sardo as Club Member 3 episodes also in Double Exposure, A Case of Immunity
- Joshua Bryant as Dr. MacMurray 2 episodes also in Last Salute to the Commodore
- Alma Beltran as Mrs. Fernandez 2 episodes also in Double Exposure
- Judson Morgan as Charles 2 episodes also in Ransom for a Dead Man
- Bernie Kuby as Nathan Flowers 2 episodes also in Murder by the Book
Cast data from TMDB, including uncredited bit parts. All the familiar faces →