REVISITING COLUMBO: REQUIEM FOR A FALLING STAR (1973)

In writing on this blog, I've been able to really parse, sort out, and properly articulate what struck me in watching the old movies and shows I had known since I was younger. With the benefit of hindsight, I've come to realize that I really should have possessed some more self-awareness even ten years ago. Case in point, this 1973 episode of the poster series of "howcatchems", Columbo.

Peter Falk as Lt. Philip Frank Lt. Columbo

Anne Baxter as Nora Chandler

Mel Ferrer as Jerry Parks

Pippa Scott as Jean Davis

Frank Converse as Mr. Fallon

Kevin McCarthy as Frank Simmons

For the sake of keeping this post concise, I won't get too into the nitty-gritty of the plot, though spoilers ahead.

In the fall of 2009, I was a nerdy, nose-in-a-book teenager fighting a terrible cold when alongside my internet "digging" into giallo films and Leonard Nimoy's non-Star Trek filmography, I stumbled onto clips from the original 70s run of Columbo on YouTube.

And lo and behold, the reason for my "attachment" to this episode would soon show herself.

"Jean?"

Yes, folks, looking back at it now, it's fair to say that upon hearing that smoky voice for the first time, I developed the biggest crush on Anne Baxter. So much so, that for my Advanced English class's Greek Mythology newspaper projects, I drew her (naturally) as Aphrodite, complete with the backcombed 'do, cat-eye winged liner, and buttonish nose.

Parks' blackmail offer gives Nora, her hair, and winged liner an idea.

And all that time, I genuinely still thought I was straight.

Getting to the episode itself, when I saw it in full the first time in early 2010, it didn't necessarily hit as the "well-rounded" exercise in story, formula, and "cat-and-mouse games" like other episodes did. Thankfully, after a recent rewatch, I can better state why.

THE ROLE OF THE SCRIPT (AND THE ROLE OF FORMULA)

Columbo is a series so dependent on its "howcatchem" formula, that pulling one thread of it away is a serious risk for any writer. But perhaps what many can miss is how said "howcatchem" is not the only element to keep in mind.

Columbo's admiration for Nora is sweet, and

Falk and Baxter have great chemistry.

While "Requiem" handles its story ambiguities, minor twists, and changes of pace much better than the later "Last Salute to the Commodore" (also penned by Jackson Gillis), one can feel they've missed out a bit on elements that made the other Columbo episodes so memorable. Who wouldn't want to see Baxter as a more egotistical killer who's convinced she's smarter than Columbo and is onto his "act"? Who wouldn't want to know more about her and Jean's business relationship, or the relationship between her and Frank Simmons?

And this, folks, is what TVTropes would call "Les Yay".

Because there's more ambiguity than usual for this series, it left me wanting to know more, given how Columbo's rich, nuanced writing raised the bar leading up to it.

The other flaw that keeps "Requiem" from being great for me is, unfortunately, its main victim. Because given what we know about her, and I really hate to say it, but Jean Davis is kind of an idiot.

Having been Nora's faithful assistant for 18 years, Jean has begun a relationship with notorious gossip columnist Jerry Parks, someone who Jean knows Nora dislikes. Nora states later that Parks has three ex-wives and money problems, so taking that with Jean's age, years of experience in the industry, and what we later learn she had witnessed over a decade prior, you'd think Jean would at least be a little more careful.

Had she been portrayed as someone in her early twenties,

this behavior might have worked, but played by 37-year-old Scott,

Jean comes off as stubborn and immature for no discernible reason.

Couple those things with the lack of screentime, character detail, and being alongside the infinitely more interesting and better-written Nora, and you'll see why I have trouble sympathizing with Jean, even if for all intents and purposes, I should. And that's not getting into the fact that Jean witnessed Nora accidentally kill her husband Al thirteen years prior. You sure don't get the feeling Jean witnessed anything that serious when she tries to convince Nora that she would never spill Nora's secrets to Parks.

And one last thing, why didn't Nora just kill Parks in the first place? Sure, there's no guarantee Jean wouldn't go to the police (though given her behavior above, who knows?), but Nora would get many thanks and some extensive protection for it.

THE STUFF OF (STUDIO) DREAMS

As it turned out, "Requiem" was made at exactly the right time in Hollywood history, giving us a snapshot at the very last days of the studio system post-Easy Rider, but before the blockbuster era kicked off with Jaws in 1975. The studio in this episode is in dire financial straits, TV mystery movies are Nora's current bread-and-butter, and Nora is fighting young, "hip" studio head Fallon over her inherited studio property.

Of course, any tensions will be heightened

when R.J. Fletcher buys your studio.

To paraphrase my fellow film reviewer Ken's essay of Mel Brooks' Silent Movie, the joke about Engulf & Devour has lost its punch in the age of every major studio now being owned by a corporation. (Hell, nowadays, even the corporations are owned by bigger corporations.) At least this episode never mentions any parking lot or sugar cane operations, which would have badly dated it even just a decade later.

ALL ABOUT (THE MORE THAN THREE FACES OF) EVE

Biased as I am, it goes without saying that Baxter is the best thing in this episode. Nora is cold, calculating, and ruthless, but also charming, vulnerable, and wickedly funny. Baxter may get guff for often being a ham, but I'll take energy and enthusiasm over bored and lifeless any day.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

"Male chauvinist at heart."

Ah, 1973, the last year you could say that

and absolutely no one would bat an eye.

This photo looks like Al and Nora crashed the photoshoot

for Carol and Company and I love it.

I always thought the two clues to tip Columbo off to

the similar heights of Nora and her husband came

just a little too easily (see above and below).

The trailer for this episode lied and put in this clip 

(in its original color form) as part of the preview.

I love those few moments in Nora's face that

look like she wants to kill Columbo herself.

Nora's tank top says what I think at least once a day.

One YouTube comment: "Anne Baxter...

the most elegant run to cover up a crime... EVER!"

Nora does her best Bela Lugosi impression.

Boom mike! (Dolemite would be proud.)

Subtle.

I wish I were this stylish when committing a major crime.

Awwww...

Edith Head as Herself

Baxter's daughter Melissa Galt said her mother 

had to talk Head into appearing in this episode.

TIDBITS AND SUCH

Columbophile's review of "Requiem" is a deep dive that is definitely worth a read, exploring the ambiguities of the story and script.

Watch Melissa Galt discuss her mother's films and friendship with Edith Head at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio here.

Later on in 1973, Baxter guest-starred in the Mannix episode "The Deadly Madonna", once again as a faded actress with a dead husband and a loyal assistant (this time her character's own sister), but with the concept flipped in more ways than one. (Also, check out that Dora Hall-esque 'do!)

Pippa Scott was married from 1964 to 1983 to Lee Rich, co-founder and former chairman of Lorimar Television, which ended up buying the MGM studio lot in Culver City from Ted Turner in 1986. 

Still with us at age 84, Scott spent the decades after "Requiem" making sporadic T.V. guest appearances, delving into human rights work, and expanding into producing, screenwriting, and directing. And with that photo above, I can imagine her starring in a remake of The Snoop Sisters with Sharon Gless.

Copyright © Chynna Moore