Singin’ in the Rain 1952

"Singin' in the Rain." Hollywood's greatest musical?

I've been watching classic movies since I was about12, over 50 years now. But I never saw Singin' in the Rain until my mid-40s. I thought the MGM classic was just another cute and corny musical. Mom had told me to watch, who said it was clever and funny—and she was right!

When you look at the passé musicals that other studios were putting out in the early ‘50s, Metro’s Singin’ in the Rain is far more imaginative, funny, smart, vivid, and exuberant, by far.

Debbie Reynolds became a star upon her 20th birthday with "Singin' in the Rain."

With Debbie Reynolds, a star was born in Singin’ in the Rain. Considering that she was then not a singer or dancer per se, Reynolds worked very hard to get up to speed. Co-director Stanley Donen had her two solos dubbed because Debbie sounded too Midwestern—typical MGM, home of the “mid-Atlantic” accent. You can find one of her solos on YouTube with her own vocals and she sounds just fine. While Reynolds wasn't a born dancer like those dervishes Gene Kelly and Donald O' Connor, Debbie keeps up with them in their group numbers. 

Debbie Reynolds shines as Kathy Selden in 1952's "Singin' in the Rain."

Debbie Reynolds was just 19 when Singin’ in the Rain filmed and the release was just days before her 20th birthday. Debbie was obviously working with superior talent and material in Rain. In lesser vehicles, Reynolds could come off as saccharine, like Doris Day; here Debbie is genuinely sweet and girlish. As Kathy Selden, her energy and natural clown personality are well-utilized. This film officially made her America's sweetheart, which came in handy during the downtimes of her career. I prefer Reynolds in her early stardom, when she was a honey blonde sweetie rather than the later bleached blonde dead set on wowing her audience. Debbie’s the girl next door and quite endearing. I won't dwell on co-director Gene Kelly's taskmaster reputation. If Gene had treated prior co-star and neophyte dancer Frank Sinatra the way he treated Debbie, Frankie probably would have knocked his teeth out. But Debbie was from a tough working class Texas family, and she survived.

Donald O' Connor, Debbie Reynolds, & Gene Kelly are triple threats in "Singin' in the Rain."

Debbie, Donald O' Connor, and Gene Kelly were a trio who were triple threats at singing, dancing, and comedy. “Good Morning” is still an instant high, with its upbeat lyrics and joyful dancing. Kelly worked hard with them on the musical numbers and Stanley Donen's sophisticated touch shined on the rest.

Donald O' Connor's famed acrobatic number, "Make 'Em Laugh," from "Singin' in the Rain."

Everyone's on their game here. As Cosmo Brown, Donald O' Connor's impish and energetic, and his dancing is just as brilliant as Gene's. Donald was also a great clown, showcased in “Make 'Em Laugh,” though the song is a total rip off of Cole Porter’s “Be a Clown.” When Donald and Gene sing and dance to the imaginative “Moses Supposes,” the song is a tongue-twisting delight and their dancing is like watching an Olympic event. Gene as matinee idol Don Lockwood is pretty dang perfect. Kelly is at his most handsome and charismatic, and his dancing is superb. There's a great versatility in his showcased numbers, capped by his rain dance of the title tune. And I'm supposing that Stanley Donen, one of Hollywood's smartest directors, helped reign in the three stars tendency to mug. While they all get to clown, there's very little ham here.

Aside from his many talents, Gene Kelly is well-cast as a matinee idol in "Singin' in the Rain."

Singin' in the Rain has that favorite movie myth attached that it wasn't a huge hit upon release, just a modest hit. Those who tell it usually compare Rain to Kelly's previous An American in Paris. Well, if you're talking about Oscars, yes. Paris got 8 Oscar noms and won 6; Rain got 2 noms, and won 0, which I find ridiculous. The only ones nominated were Jean Hagen for Best Supporting Actress and Lennie Hayton for Best Musical Score. Again, proof that Oscars are not a part of what ultimately makes movies memorable. As for the box office, both films cost about the same to produce and Paris made slightly more money. But which film is better remembered today? For my money, it's Singin’ in the Rain.

Cyd Charisse makes a guest appearance for "Singin' in the Rain's" "Broadway Melody."

One quibble: though the 13 minute “Broadway Melody” is presented as a "pitch" to the studio head in the movie, it feels very tacked-on. Superbly done in every respect, it also has zero to do with Singin' in the Rain or especially, the movie within a movie, The Dancing Caballero. It’s certainly superior to a similar showstopper, Judy Garland’s “Born in a Trunk” from ‘54’s A Star is Born. And Judy’s saga is twice as long! While I’ve read some smart comments in defense of “Broadway Melody,” it just feels like a Kelly showstopper, “All About Gene.”

Gene Kelly was never shy about seeking audiences' adulation.

I'm also puzzled as to why Jean Hagen's hilarious Lina Lamont lost to Gloria Grahame that year. Was it because Hagen's shrill star sounded too much like Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday, for which Hagen was her understudy on Broadway? To me, Jean’s shtick is much easier to enjoy in small doses than Judy's shrieking at bellowing Broderick Crawford throughout the movie version of Born Yesterday. As for Grahame, she was the “It” bad girl of the early '50s, but her role as a flirty southern wife in MGM’s The Bad and the Beautiful was a mere nine minutes... and she even dies off-camera!

Jean Hagen, right, gives a hilarious performance as silent star Lina Lamont.
With an equally funny Kathleen Freeman, as Lina's poor diction coach!

With a couple of exceptions, the songs are all from MGM’s early decades, tied to the story of Hollywood's silent era ending and sound beginning. The satire is snappy, with some real life nods to casualties of the silent era. Funny bits abound, with a great cast down to the smallest parts, like hilarious Kathleen Freeman as Lina’s voice coach. Cyd Charisse is spectacular in the “Broadway Melody” number. Watch fast for Rita Moreno as starlet Zelda Zanders.

Perhaps the most famous song and dance number in movie history?
Gene Kelly is "Singin' in the Rain!"

Singin’ in the Rain is such a treat, with memorable song and dance numbers, gorgeous sets and costumes, great humor and performances. It all adds up to be MGM’s greatest musical. 

Here’s my tribute to Debbie Reynolds, when she passed away, on her life and very readable memoirs: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2017/01/debbie-reynolds-double-dose-of-memoirs.html

Debbie Reynolds was no longer in the movie background after "Singin' in the Rain!"

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. 

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Story Salvages Musical ‘Lost Horizon’ 1973

The cast of 1973's "Lost Horizon" enters Shangri-La in awe.

 

While most moviegoers forgotten the musical version of Lost Horizon, some film fans have not. They feel the ’73 Lost Horizon is a maligned masterpiece; I would not go that far, but in some respects, Horizon is still watchable.

The reason that Lost Horizon still intrigues is the story: world-weary westerners are kidnapped to an isolated paradise in the Himalayas. In temperate Shangri-La, inhabitants co-exist peacefully and enjoy extraordinarily youthful and long lives. Doesn’t that sound wonderful these days? There are a few catches…

The "Lost Horizon" cast, often posed as a group, gaze in wonder at Shangri-La!

Peter Finch is a UN peacemaker who is spirited to Shangri-La by plane. Along for the ride: Michael York as his reporter “kid” brother; Sally Kellerman is a suicidal news photographer; Bobby Van is a USO entertainer; and George Kennedy is an engineer—not a pilot, for once! Noted non-Asians John Gielgud, Olivia Hussey, and Charles Boyer are Shangri-La citizens. Norwegian Liv Ullmann’s teacher migrated there as a baby; Japanese actor James Shigeta is Gielgud’s wingman.

Some critics complained about the social standing order in Shangri-La. Yes, the book was written in the ‘30s by a white British male, so naturally the lead characters are white, living in luxury. And “natives” are content worker bees.

"Lost Horizon's" Shangri-La or Norma Desmond's manse in "Sunset Blvd.?"

James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon never made an easy journey from the page to the screen or stage. The 1937 Frank Capra version has long been considered a classic. But when it was made and released, the film went far over budget and was initially just a modest hit, which caused a huge strain on then-small Columbia Studios. A 1956 Broadway musical was an expensive bomb. And this panned 1973 musical version cost a fortune, and made very little money.

Both film versions caused greater divisions than just cost versus profits. The making of the ’37 version was so fraught that it was the first crack in director Capra and screenwriter Robert Riskin’s friendship. And studio head Harry Cohn was so unhappy with Frank Capra’s handling of the runaway production that they got in a financial dispute that soon ended their famed association.

The Bacharach/David score and the dance numbers bring "Lost Horizon" to a halt.

The ’73 version created just as many rifts. Producer Ross Hunter chose Burt Bacharach and Hal David, fresh off the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, to write the songs for the movie musical Lost Horizon. Bacharach blamed the studio and Hunter for the weak versions of the subsequent tunes; Hunter later said that the musical duo were in the process of breaking up and gave him a “bum” score. Considering that Bacharach didn’t do all that much after Lost Horizon, until he met Carole Bayer Sager in the ‘80s, I’m thinking Hunter was closer to the truth.

As for Hunter, the self-publicizing producer sailed through over a decade of far more hits than misses, starting with ‘59’s blockbusters Pillow Talk and Imitation of Life. His run was bookended with 1970’s mega hit Airport. Feeling his oats, Hunter left long-time studio Universal and signed with Columbia. Hitchcock did this in 1960, when he signed with Universal and got carte blanche, after a string of huge hits in the ‘50s. After the costly but profitable The Birds, Hitch then started laying eggs with Marnie.

Ross Hunter gets in the spirit of Shangri-La.

Hunter didn’t even get that far. Like Lucille Ball the following year with Mame, Hunter went heavy on personal promotion, intoning to all that Lost Horizon was an uplifting film, a positive alternative to all those ‘70s sex and violence laden movies. Talk like this just put a big target on Ross’ rear. And like Lucy, when critics and audiences saw the old-fashioned, overblown results, everyone had a field day. Ross Hunter’s most personal project killed his film career faster than trying to flee Shangri-La. Hunter never produced another feature film.

Why does this cast photo look like the SS Poseidon should be behind them?!

I won’t parade the bad reviews, but my favorite quote was by Bette Midler: “I never miss a Liv Ullmann musical!” What’s fascinating is how the movie musical, a dying genre after the ‘50s, didn’t go down without a fight. In the early ‘60s, the film musicals made were usually Broadway adaptations. And post-studio system era, a box office name was deemed a must, whether they could sing or not. So, Natalie Wood was cast in West Side Story and Gypsy and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. The standard then was to have a strong ghost singer providing vocals—always so phony. Luckily, Julie Andrews came along and did her own singing, in hits like Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Her hits kept studios hoping there was more box-office gold to be mined, until Julie started making stinkers like Star! Then came Streisand with Funny Girl. Unfortunately, Babs followed up with expensive snoozers Hello, Dolly! and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

You can tell Michael York's reporter want's to split from Shangri-La because
he's back to his Lloyd Bochner "Dynasty" ensembles again!

Studios still cast with box office in mind, but now let non-singing actors start doing their own vocals. Audiences were then treated to Richard Harris, Peter O’ Toole, Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor and more, warbling in movie musicals in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. You would think that mega-bombs like Doctor Dolittle, Sweet Charity, and Darling Lili killed off the genre. Oh, no! Perhaps musical dramas like Lady Sings the Blues and Cabaret kept movie moguls hopes alive.

"Have you ever seen my Julie Andrews impression?"

This brings us to the worst part of the ’73 edition of Lost Horizon: the singing and dancing. The only actors who sang were Sally Kellerman, Bobby Van, and James Shigeta! Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, and Olivia Hussey were mostly or totally dubbed. But all the songs are all snooze-worthy elevator music. A couple of the musical numbers are such doozies that audiences and critics hooted them right off the screen.

Liv Ullmann and Peter Finch are the subdued romantic leads of "Lost Horizon."

Though Charles Jarrott had directed Anne of a Thousand Days and Mary, Queen of Scots, this was Ross Hunter’s show all the way. Hunter put his passé philosophy forth in this early ‘70s movie, set in a fictional Asian land. Modern audiences were not wowed by Tibetan-type characters carrying on in Broadway via Hollywood showstopper style. This was all mixed with Bacharach/David numbers that sounded like they had just overdosed on Jonathan Livingston Seagull! While Hunter was a square, he was only 8 years younger than supposedly hip Bacharach, who was 45 when Lost Horizon was released. Their generational sensibilities clashed and showed on the resulting film.

Burt Bacharach gets a police escort to an event for "Lost Horizon." W/ wife Angie D!

A lot of talent is involved in Lost Horizon that either gets wasted or was on the wane. The Bacharach/David team seemed tapped out of tunes. Famed choreographer Hermes Pan created the dances, but aside from some energetic native performing, the rest of the dancing is dramatic actors and children twirling in circles and flapping their arms. As someone who worked at public elementary schools, I’ve seen more enthusiastic dancing at recess!

Bobby Van dazzles the kids with tap and baffles them with American history!

As for the stars’ singing and dancing, let’s just say it’s all bad. Sadly, the worst numbers are by two stars that could sing, Van and Kellerman. Their two solos are so inanely staged you can’t believe what you’re seeing. Bobby’s ditty is “Question Me an Answer,” with kids in an outdoor classroom, as they express hilarity at his every move. Van also power clashes with a Nehru top and white bell bottoms and dance shoes. All while he’s teaching the native kiddies a ditty about American history! 

Sally Kellerman wows George Kennedy with "rock" dance moves in "Lost Horizon."

Sally sings the upbeat tune “Reflections” to Kennedy while standing on a rock, waving her arms and offering a preview to Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes. Dishonorable mention: “The Things I Will Not Miss,” with Shangri-La’s own Hussey and woman of the world Kellerman, as they compare their lives, while climbing stairs, ladders, and seat spinning on countertops! What makes it even more hilarious is petite Olivia was pregnant and looked buxom and willowy Sally is 5’10”, so they make an incongruous pair in this aerobic song and dance routine.

The "Living Together, Growing Together" starts off like a live Disney spectacle...

One number that was cut for decades was the infamous fertility dance toward the end of “Living Together, Growing Together.” The scantily clad males look like Chippendales in Shangri-la, but they provide the only really professional dancing in the entire film. Remember the “Hot Tongan” from the Olympics? Like that, times a dozen or two! Though we now live in an era where exploiting flesh is equal opportunity, audiences back then had been raised on Debra Paget leading a dance troupe in scantily clad routines. Shangri-la’s Solid Gold Dancers got laughed at so much in previews, the number was cut. But it’s back, baby, so enjoy! In this movie centerpiece, the young married couple and swaddled baby look like a live Disney show, when suddenly a bunch of buff, nearly in the buff dancers come running out of a cave to strut their stuff. Hey, it takes a village, people, to make Shangri-la a paradise!

...and finishes with the Shangri-La Solid Gold Dancers finale! 

How times have changed. When the buff dancing boys came out in "Lost Horizon,"
 they were laughed off the screen. In 2018, "Tongan Guy" was the hit of the Olympics!

"It twirled!" Shangri-La meets Las Vegas in 1973's "Lost Horizon!"

Robert Surtees does the best he can with the cinematography, but what can you do when paradise obviously looks like studio sets or matte murals? Critics commented that Shangri-La looked like a swanky spa. Some of Bob’s zoom shots, as when Liv Ullman runs into the camera boobs first, makes one relieved that Lost Horizon wasn’t filmed in 3-D. Jean Louis provides lavish costumes, while not innovative, are pleasing to the eye. I haven’t seen so many caftans since Elizabeth Taylor’s estate auction!

Who wore it best? York's caftan: Jean Louis.

ET's caftan: Empress of Iran Farah Diba.

In movie mega-bombs like these, the cast is always the one at the front lines for the grenades lobbed by critics and movie goers. Yet, with a few exceptions, the cast performs their dramatic scenes as well as the pedestrian script allows—written by firebrand gay activist/author Larry Kramer! Peter Finch, John Gielgud, and Charles Boyer are solid as the U.N. diplomat, the host Chang, and the High Lama. Liv Ullmann was obviously brought in for her creamy, blue-eyed blonde looks, hoping to recall Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. A schoolteacher who was brought to Shangri-La as an orphaned infant, Liv’s sincere if somewhat ill at ease, like most of her American movies. Michael York is alright as Peter Finch’s impetuous younger brother—the quarter century age difference is right up there with Bradley Cooper and Sam Elliot in the recent A Star is Born. Olivia Hussey is lovely and enigmatic as the local lass. Sally Kellerman is the one star with a real ‘70s vibe and she’s quite empathetic as the jaded photographer.

George Kennedy gives me a "Shrek" vibe here! Sally Kellerman's acting is appealing.

The two actors I found unbearable were George Kennedy and Bobby Van. Kennedy, who was the same in every movie, always struck me as a backup for any part that Ernest Borgnine turned down. It's amusing that Lost Horizon begins with a plane crash, and here’s Airport’s Georgie boy, once again. He also has the hots for Sally Kellerman from the get-go. Can you imagine a more unlikely couple? As for Bobby Van, he’s sort of the Red Buttons of this movie. I’m highly allergic to the type of “look at me” comic/hoofer who seeks audience adoration, like Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly, or Donald O’ Connor, at their worst. Like “adorable” Red Buttons in The Poseidon Adventure, I wished that Bobby Van would vanish every time he started mugging whenever the camera pointed at him.

Shangri-La would be nirvana if it wasn't for these two knuckleheads!

I don’t think any of the cast member’s careers were seriously harmed by appearing in Lost Horizon, though this was one more nail in Liv’s American film career coffin. The rest of the film actors kept working, George Kennedy kept making Airport movies, and Bobby Van went back to TV game shows.

Michael York & Olivia Hussy's characters about to leave their fairy tale world.

Since we live in the age of fast forward options, Lost Horizon can be best viewed as an old-fashioned early ‘60s movie that was unfortunately made a decade later. The 2 hour and 30 minute running time can be cut down to two hours by fast forwarding through all those uplifting musical numbers!

Love when Peter Finch returns to Shangri-La, he not only has grown a beard,
but apparently stopped for some 'Just For Men' along the way!

Here’s another Liv’s ill fated American movies, 40 Carats: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2021/09/40-carats-1973.html

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. 

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Farewell to one of the most distinctive actresses of the '70s, Sally Kellerman.

 

Jack Cassidy’s Killer Trio From ‘Columbo’

Peter Falk & Jack Cassidy went head to head in three episodes of "Columbo."

I’ve always been fond of Columbo and the “mystery movie” series was one of my first go-to nostalgia binges during the Covid era. Funny thing, as much as I loved Peter Falk as an actor, I was never crazy about Columbo as a character. The reason I still find Columbo so watchable decades later is for the great plots and guest villains. Columbo’s killers came in two categories: those who found the detective’s persistence irritating, and the others who were charmed by his dogged ways. I’m with the first category, but still love the show!

When Jack Cassidy's "Columbo" villain offers victims champagne, real pain follows!

Columbo often invited favorite guest villains back for encore performances. One frequent flier star was Jack Cassidy. With three guest shots, Jack Cassidy was a classic Columbo killer. Jack’s villains were smart, supercilious, and elegantly sinister. And yes, all three of Cassidy’s killers found Lt. Columbo nerve-grating!

The first aired "Columbo"episode is one of the best, directed by Steven Spielberg.

Steven Spielberg, then 24, got on well with "Columbo" star Peter Falk.

Jack Cassidy's first appearance as a guest villain on Columbo aired Sept. 15, 1971. This was Columbo’s debut as a NBC series, though “Murder by the Book” wasn’t filmed first. The episode was considered so smart that it should kick off the show. Young Steven Spielberg and Steve Bochno directed and wrote the episode, which had much to do with the fresh take on the familiar detective trope.

Martin Milner of "Adam 12" is guest victim to Jack Cassidy's villain in "Columbo."

Martin Milner, in the midst of his successful Adam 12 series at NBC, plays the guest victim. These stars seemed to get the short end of the stick, but Columbo was a very popular series, so it was probably an easy gig for great exposure.

Cassidy and Milner’s characters are a money-making mystery writing team. As Jim Ferris, Milner’s writer does most of the actual work, and wants to strike off on his own; Cassidy's Ken Franklin is the smoothie who does most of the media promotion. Franklin lives high on the hog and does not take kindly to the professional divorce. Ken also has a big insurance policy on Jim, and decides to cash in, by killing his former cash cow.

Jack Cassidy's stylish killer works the media & bell bottoms with buttons up the calves' sides!

Ken lures Jim to his rustic getaway for one last hurrah together. He previously trashed their LA office to make it look like violence had occurred. Ken shoots Jim and dumps the body on Franklin’s own lawn, to appear like a hit job.

One problem: the gal who runs the local store by his "cabin" saw Jim in Ken's car. But the real problem for Ken is that Columbo is on this case and that means constantly on his ass!

Jack Cassidy, stylishly directed by Steven Spielberg, in his first "Columbo" guest shot.

This episode was one of Steven Spielberg's last TV series gigs and it's terrific: tightly wound, with subtle notes of style. I love the opening shot of the writers' office windows and their great view, as Cassidy pulls up outside, accompanied by the sound of a typewriter—remember those? How about smarmy Cassidy's car, with its "Have a nice day" bumper sticker? Spielberg’s camera angles for Cassidy’s duplicitous murderer make the audience feel they are seeing his hidden side.

With two previous pilots behind him, Peter Falk eases into his Lt. Columbo role and would continue refine the character as the show went on. Falk especially shines opposite smooth criminal Jack Cassidy, with his bumbling demeanor, and theirs becomes a sly duel of wits. 

Barbara Colby, memorable as a storekeeper with a crush on Jack Cassidy & his cash!

Barbara Colby is a standout as Lilly La Sanka, the blackmailing storekeeper who's in way over her head. Colby was an actress who was a quirky standout in the '70s, an era when performers could look like real people. Despite her questionable actions, Colby makes her Lilly sympathetic, funny, and sexy. Sadly, Barbara Colby was a real-life murder victim four years later, when she and actor/boyfriend James Kiernan were randomly shot in a parking garage July 24, 1975. Colby was a regular on Cloris Leachman’s Phyllis and had just turned 36.

Jack Cassidy's real life personality and persona parallels his portrayals as suave criminals. Money always was a motive. The murders were meticulously plotted. As Ken Franklin, he's coasting, not contributing, but seeks revenge when the real talent decides to break away. With Cassidy’s piercing pale blue eyes, aristocratic profile, flashy smile, and cultured voice, Jack reminds me of WB star Zachary Scott and all the cultured cads he used to play.

Jack Cassidy, turning on the charm as "Columbo" guest killer Ken Franklin.

In real life, Jack was hard living, a heavy drinker and smoker, and a party animal. As Ken, he's constantly got a smoke going, and it's a bit of a surprise that Jack was only 44. Or to put it in context, Jack was just two years younger than Paul Newman. Still, Cassidy's handsome and on his acting game here. He gives subtle variations of the elegant villain he plays on Columbo. Here, Ken Franklin’s phony plays the press like a violin and he is also a ladies’ man.

Jack Cassidy's second "Columbo" guest star role finds him again in the book business.

For Jack Cassidy's second Columbo outing, 1974’s “Publish or Perish,” he is a publisher rather than a writer. Yet, it's again the case of a writer wanting to part ways with him that incurs Cassidy’s character's greedy wrath.

Riley Greenleaf, homage to The Talented Mr. Ripley's Dickie Greenleaf, is a publisher about to lose a successful writer that he discovered. Like the previous episode, Cassidy's character has taken out a massive insurance policy on his golden goose. Greenleaf hires a creepy Vietnam vet with a passion for explosives to take writer Alan Mallory out... and not for dinner. Wily Riley creates an excellent alibi for himself by going on bender, creating public scenes, getting into a fender bender, and finally getting arrested as drunk and disorderly. The overly-planned murder takes place, but a few tell-tale twists of fate screw up the scenario. This raises Columbo's suspicions and the match between criminal and cop is on.

Jack Cassidy's Riley Greenleaf consorts with a killer in "Columbo's" "Publish or Perish."

Columbo was filled with in-jokes, and one is when Columbo meets Greenleaf’s rival publisher at the famed Chasen’s eatery. Columbo is chagrined at a menu with no prices, and asks for a bowl of chili. The snooty old waiter is horrified, natch, but rustles some up. This is funny because Chasen’s chili was renowned, a favorite of Elizabeth Taylor, who had it flown in to the set of Cleopatra in Italy. Columbo is in disbelief when a bowl of chili and glass of ice tea sets him back $6.75. He points out during the series, as a detective, Columbo makes $11,000 a year. We're talking nearly 50 years ago, folks!

While Columbo is at the crime scene, he rambles on about topics with no relation to the crime scene, often relating to his wife. Here, he talks about how Mrs. Columbo kept him up to watch a Bette Davis movie on the late show. He goes on about what a great actress Davis was—Falk got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, co-starring with Bette in '61's A Pocket Full of Miracles. 

Mickey Spillane, killed in a chocolate brown leisure suit, as "Columbo" guest victim!

Some fun '70s visual style goes on in “Publish or Perish.” The first murder is depicted with three split screens: the killer-for-hire; the victim at work; and mastermind Riley enacting his alcohol-fueled alibi. The fashion style finds Cassidy’s villain sporting lots of turtle necks, while the writer, played by Mickey Spillane, sports a chocolate brown leisure suit! Mariette Hartley is a total '70s babe with flowing Cher hair, a slinky braless jersey gown, and a red California western girl look at Chasen’s, complete with a red cowboy hat.

Mariette Hartley looking '70s sexy in the "Columbo" episode "Publish or Perish."

John Chandler always played psychos that creeped me out as a kid, who is killer Eddie Kane here. Apparently in real life, Chandler came from a wealthy family, studied acting, and was a yoga enthusiast! All this, despite the fact he looks like Steve Buscemi, Sr. His character Eddie reminds me of the gruff vet that Seinfeld’s Elaine hires to write the Peterman catalogue. Side note: In his first two appearances, Cassidy's characters ply with fine champagne, before inflicting fatal pain on their secondary victims.

John Chandler, TV boomer villain, looks like Steve Buscemi, Sr. in "Publish or "Perish."

Chandler's "Columbo" killer/victim reminds me of this "Seinfeld" weirdo!

Paul Shenar is very handsome and no-nonsense as Sgt. Young, who works with Columbo. Fans will remember him as the evil drug lord in Scarface. Mickey Spillane is surprisingly relaxed and engaging as the pulp author who wants to take his writing to the next level, and with a new publisher.

Handsome Paul Shenar played a fellow detective in "Columbo's" "Publish or Perish."

That '70s guy Jack Bender looks like a cuter Stuart from "The Big Bang Theory!"

Sad sack Stuart from "The Big Bang Theory."

Jack Bender as Wolpert, the guy who delivers the writing is a total ‘70s guy, with his curly fro, big brown eyes, and stylish '70s shirts. He reminds me of a better-looking Stuart from The Big Bang Theory. Ironically, he went on to become a prolific TV director, including a TV bio of The David Cassidy Story!

Jack Cassidy's Riley Greenleaf sets up his "drunk" alibi & insults a few strangers, too.

Ironically, Jack Cassidy later repeated Riley Greenleaf's fake bender later for real, on December 12, 1976. Cassidy tried to get friends to join him for a night out, but settled for barhopping through West Hollywood. When Jack returned home, he passed out with a lit cigarette, and died in the subsequent fire.

Jack Cassidy's finale as a "Columbo" guest killer cast him as a magician.

Jack Cassidy’s final Columbo appearance was in “Now You See Him.” Cassidy plays “The Great Santini,” a magician who wants to make his blackmailer boss disappear. This episode aired February of 1976, the year Cassidy died.

"The Great Santini" VS "The Great Columbo" in "Now You See Him."

This episode was directed by Harvey Hart, a prolific TV director who was good with actors. Nehemiah Persoff is the sweaty and surly restaurant club owner who blackmails his star attraction when he discovers his Nazi past. Persoff projects such an animalistic antagonism that you actually feel bad for the magician was an SS prison guard as a young man. Robert Loggia is the tough head waiter, who seems more suited as a bouncer. Bob Dishy is rather grating than ingratiating as the dogged younger detective who’s always at Columbo’s heels. Except for old-school Cassidy, Loggia and the rest of the middle-aged males all sport that shaggy hair to try and look like the young ‘70s dudes.

Nehemiah Persoff is a great "Columbo"guest villain/victim as the blackmailer boss.

It was an era of less viewer repeat options, but I’m still puzzled as to why Columbo had the same actors as guest stars multiple times. As memorable as they are, stars like Jack Cassidy and Robert Culp played the same superior, snide, and impatient characters. And while Columbo had some golden era guests like Janet Leigh and Anne Baxter, I’d love to have seen some greats like Crawford, Davis, Natalie Wood, Edward G. Robinson, Tony Curtis, or Henry Fonda, to name a few that were doing television at this point.

Jack Cassidy is "The Great Santini" in disguise; this "Columbo" is "Now You See Him."

As The Great Santini, Jack Cassidy’s character is a bit more empathetic, since he is the victim of blackmail. When it’s apparent that his boss wants more than a pound of flesh, Cassidy’s illusionist feels he has no other option than to kill. The magician conjures up an incredibly convoluted plot to off the boss during his act, and also provide himself an alibi. While ingenious, it’s also a bit of an eye roll. When Columbo comes to investigate, the alibi makes it even more of a challenge for the detective. By this point, Falk is well into his run as Columbo, and his dumb like a fox routine is fully polished, especially against Cassidy’s master illusionist.

A Jack Cassidy villain with an ascot, natch. In his final "Columbo" ep., Jack was 49.

Cassidy’s grace and style make him quite believable as the magic man. While The Great Santini is just as impatient and perturbed by the persistent Lt. Columbo, he’s also a bit melancholy, which Cassidy conveys effortlessly.

Jack Cassidy’s style suggested a different era, with his dapper looks and style, in the laid-back ‘70s. In fact, his style was so studio era classic that Cassidy was called upon to play John Barrymore in 1976’s W.C. Fields and Me. Even Jack’s appearances on Columbo found the actor elegant in an array of turtlenecks and ascots, leather, hound tooth, or corduroy jackets, and even his bell bottoms were creased and in one case, adorned with buttons.

Jack Cassidy’s villains were all smiling charm and confidence on the outside, but threatened with having it all taken away. While similar, Jack’s killers were given Cassidy’s considerable charisma and talent as an actor.

If there had been a "Mildred Pierce" remake in the '70s, Jack Cassidy would have been perfect
as Mildred's playboy Monty!

Here’s my look at Faye Dunaway’s Emmy-winning turn on Columbo: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/07/faye-falk-are-flirtatious-fun-in.html

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