Columbo
Make Me a Perfect Murder
Published on 6. February 2024
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-4780-2067-7 (ISBN)
Description
For decades, generations of television fans have been enraptured by Lt. Columbo, played by Peter Falk, as he unravels clues to catch killers who believe they are above the law. In her investigation of the 1970s series cocreated by Richard Levinson and William Link, Amelie Hastie explores television history through an emphasis on issues of stardom, authorship, and its interconnections with classical and New Hollywood cinema. Through close textual analysis, attentive to issues of class relations and connections to other work by Falk as well as Levinson and Link, Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder sees American television as an intertextual system, from its origins as a commercial broadcast medium to its iterations within contemporary streaming platforms. Ultimately, Hastie argues, in the titular detective's constant state of learning about cultural trends and media forms, Columbo offers viewers the opportunity to learn with him and, through his tutelage, to become detectives of television itself.
Reviews / Votes
"Amelie Hastie makes a compelling case for revisiting a series that had a global footprint in its heyday and continues to be a staple in rerun syndication. Hastie uses Columbo's famous tagline 'Just one more thing' to think about the series-and by extension television as cultural form-in relation to a complex intertextual network of quotation, iteration, and intertexts. Columbo is an exciting book by a wonderful critic, historian, and writer." - Lynn Spigel, author of (TV Snapshots: An Archive of Everyday Life) "In Columbo, Amelie Hastie offers a comprehensive look at this essential popular television show, explaining its iconic status in the landscape of American popular culture along with the iconic status of its lead actor, Peter Falk. Hastie provides extensive information about the production history of the series as well as an analysis of specific motifs and narratives. Columbo will stand as the go-to work for study of the series." - Dana Polan, Martin Scorsese Professor of Cinema Studies, New York UniversityMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
North Carolina
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
68 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4780-2067-7 (9781478020677)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Amelie Hastie is Nancy and Douglas D. Abbey '71 Professor of Film and Media Studies and English at Amherst College and author of Cupboards of Curiosity: Women, Recollection, and Film History, also published by Duke University Press.
Content
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue: Humble Origins and Dogged Returns xv
Introduction: Murder by the Book 1
1. Mapping the Detective: Falk's Early Drives 24
2. Best-Selling Mystery Team: Columbo and Televisual Collaboration 38
3. "I'm Fascinated by Money": Rank, File, and Gumshoe Detection 72
4. Special Guest Stars: Hollywood Icons and Repeat Offenders 95
5. Between Columbo and Cassavetes: A Familial Pack 119
6. "An Obsessive Preoccupation with Gadgetry": Columbo's Investigation of Media Technologies 144
7. Columbo's Reign: Of Life and Death and Detection 172
Epilogue: Loving and Leaving Columbo 197
Notes 201
Bibliography 219
Index 225
Prologue: Humble Origins and Dogged Returns xv
Introduction: Murder by the Book 1
1. Mapping the Detective: Falk's Early Drives 24
2. Best-Selling Mystery Team: Columbo and Televisual Collaboration 38
3. "I'm Fascinated by Money": Rank, File, and Gumshoe Detection 72
4. Special Guest Stars: Hollywood Icons and Repeat Offenders 95
5. Between Columbo and Cassavetes: A Familial Pack 119
6. "An Obsessive Preoccupation with Gadgetry": Columbo's Investigation of Media Technologies 144
7. Columbo's Reign: Of Life and Death and Detection 172
Epilogue: Loving and Leaving Columbo 197
Notes 201
Bibliography 219
Index 225