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"Actor's Watch" focuses on watches worn by actors in movies, television, etc.
For our 107th installment, we will be introducing " Watches that appeared in 'Columbo.' "
*Source: https://www.slashfilm.com/
The suspense drama " Columbo " was produced in a total of 69 episodes from 1968 to 2003 and was popular around the world for a long time. Many people in Japan looked forward to its broadcast on NHK and "Friday Road Show".
Detective Columbo ( Peter Falk ) always appears at the scene of a crime wearing a tattered coat, messy hair, and complaining in a muffled voice, "My wife..." (CV: Asao Koike / Taro Ishida ). Unlike the sharp-witted Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, Columbo may seem unreliable at first glance, but he does not overlook the slightest evidence or contradiction in testimony and pursues the culprit with a smile. This character of Columbo has had a major influence on mystery works in later years, and many follow-up works, such as the " Furuhata Ninzaburo " series, have been produced all over the world.
In this issue of "Actor's Watch," we will be focusing on the watches that appeared in the popular TV series " Columbo ."
Ring Claw Marks (Episode 4)
*Source: https://aurorasginjoint.com/
DEATH LENDS A HAND (1971)
Arthur, a big business man, hires private investigator Brimmer ( Robert Culp ) to investigate the affair of his much younger wife. Brimmer successfully obtains evidence of his wife's affair, but hides the truth from his client and plans to blackmail her using the affair as a pretext.
However, the wife refuses to comply with Brimmer's threats and an argument ensues, during which Brimmer, in a fit of rage, punches her, knocks her down, and slams her head on a glass table, causing her to die. After that, Brimmer comes to his senses and takes the body to a junkyard, trying to make it look like a burglary, but...
*Source: https://www.imdb.com/
The memorable watch worn in the fourth episode, " The Ring's Mark ," aired in 1971, is played by Robert Culp, who played Brimmer, the successful president of a detective agency. He is famous for playing urbane, smart, successful people and intellectual criminals three times in the "Columbo" series, but this was his first memorable appearance in "The Ring's Mark."
Brimmer, the sharp-witted president of the detective agency, looks down on the absent-minded Columbo and cooperates with the investigation even after the crime is committed to see how things progress. He wears a Rolex GMT Master (Ref. 1675/8) . Just like any other successful man, he wears a gold Rolex watch.
Alibi Dial (Episode 12)
*Source: https://twitter.com/
THE MOST CRUCIAL GAME (1972)
General manager of the football team, Hanlon ( Robert Culp ), has ambitions of becoming the top of the sports business world. However, Eric, the second-generation president of the owner company, is a man who lacks both ability and motivation. Hanlon kills Eric, takes over the company, and tries to expand the business.
Hanlon creates an alibi by claiming to be at a football game, then sneaks out of the box and disguises himself to Eric's house, where he bludgeons him to death with an ice block, then throws the body and the ice block into the swimming pool to make it look like a drowning.
*Source: https://mubi.com/
Robert Culp once again plays the criminal in the 12th episode, " Dial the Alibi ," broadcast in 1972. In "The Ring," Culp plays a successful man, but in this episode, he plays an ambitious man who seeks to become successful and eliminate those who get in his way.
The highlight of this film is how Columbo destroys the alibi created by the team's sneak-out to watch the game. Culp, who plays the team's general manager, is wearing a Rolex GMT Master (Ref. 1675/8) . It may be his favorite watch.
The End of Ambition (Episode 20)
*Source: https://columbophile.com/
CANDIDATE FOR CRIME (1973)
Hayward ( Jackie Cooper ), a senatorial candidate running on a platform of eradicating organized crime, receives a threatening letter from a criminal organization. However, it is a hoax orchestrated by his campaign strategist Harry to attract public attention.
Meanwhile, when Harry scolds Hayward for his relationship with his mistress, he becomes annoyed and decides to kill him. Harry asks him to disguise himself as Hayward so that he can attract the attention of the police guarding him, since he is going to settle things with his mistress. As he puts on Hayward's hat and jacket, he is shot to death. Hayward tries to deceive the police by telling them that Harry was shot by a criminal gang because they mistook him for him.
*Source: https://www.reddit.com/
The 20th episode, " The End of Ambition ," produced in 1973, is about a senatorial candidate who is disgusted by his campaign advisor who treats him like a puppet, and is ordered to end an affair, leading to a crime. The watch that appears in this episode is a Seiko 5 Speed Timer (Ref. 6139-6000) that Columbo brought with him, saying that it was "the same one the victim was wearing . "
When Hayward tries to tamper with the watch to make the time when the watch stops the time of the crime an alibi trick, Columbo corners him in the same way he would a Seiko employee complaining, saying, "This Seiko watch is not something that will break or stop easily," which is a very impressive scene.
Images beneath the Consciousness (Episode 21)
*Source: https://mubi.com/
DOUBLE EXPOSURE (1973)
Kepple ( Robert Culp ), the director of a psychology research institute, used his mistress to set up honey traps for the executives of major companies and used them to blackmail them. However, when the company president tried to expose the blackmail, Kepple came up with a plan to shut him up. During a preview of a psychology advertising film, Kepple used subliminal effects to make the executives get up from their seats because they were thirsty, and then shot him dead at the water fountain.
As planned, Kepple fakes the scene to make it look like the cheating wife of a company president shot her husband, but an unexpected second murder occurs when the crime is witnessed by a projectionist.
*Source: https://www.rolexforums.com/
The 21st episode, " Subliminal Images ," aired in 1973, was the third time Robert Culp played the role of the criminal. The use of subliminal images for tricks and solving cases was quite innovative at the time. Robert Culp's performance as an annoying intellectual is outstanding.
You can probably guess the watch that appears in this film. It's a Rolex GMT Master (Ref. 1675/8) . The criminals played by Robert Culp in "The Ring," "The Alibi Dial," and "Images on the Wall" are all completely different people with no relation to each other, but for some reason, they all coordinate their outfits in green jackets and brown pants, and he may have deliberately worn the same watch to match (although the costumes and watches may just be his personal belongings).
Magician's Fantasy (Episode 36)
*Source: https://slate.com/
NOW YOU SEE HIM (1976)
Popular magician Santini ( Jack Cassidy ) is aware of his secret past as a former Nazi SS soldier, which is known to the owner of the club where he performs his magic shows. Santini, who has been skimming off a large amount of his performance fees by using his hidden past as a pretext, decides to kill the owner after he threatens to make his past public if he defies him.
Santini sneaks out of the room during a spectacular escape, shoots the owner dead in his room, and then returns to the stage. Can Columbo destroy his alibi that he was onstage at the time of the murder?
*Source: https://www.spotern.com/
Jack Cassidy, a famous actor who starred alongside Clint Eastwood in the film "The Eiger Sanction" (1975), plays a magician who uses magic tricks to commit crimes in the 1976 film " The Magician's Fantasy ." As he keeps time, he is wearing a 1950s LeCoultre Memovox Caliber 814 (Ref. unknown) on his wrist.
The reason why the logo on the dial does not say "Jaeger" is because Jaguar had already registered a trademark in the United States, and they wanted to avoid using the very similar "Jaeger" trademark. In other words, this Memovox is an "American distribution model." The Memovox, which is an alarm watch, may be ideal for magicians who need to keep a close eye on time on stage, such as "escape within XX minutes." Although I do feel that the alarm sound might give away the trick.
The Crimes of Inspector Rusan (Episode 38)
*Source: https://streamondemandathome.com/
FADE IN TO MURDER (1976)
Fowler ( William Shatner ), a popular actor who plays the lead role in the detective drama "Inspector Rusan," a favorite of Columbo and his wife, is blackmailed by the show's female producer after she finds out that he was a deserter during the Korean War.
Fowler plans to kill her to keep her quiet, and creates an alibi for her by giving her sleeping pills so that her assistant will fall asleep and think that he only fell asleep for a moment.He then uses costumes and props from the studio to pose as a robber and shoots her dead while she is shopping.
*Source: https://www.spotern.com/
The lead actor in "Inspector Ruusan," a play within the drama "Columbo," is played by William Shatner, who also played Captain Kirk in the hugely popular sci-fi drama "Star Trek." " Inspector Ruusan, " which aired in 1976, is a unique work that has a meta element, with a scene in which Shatner, as Inspector Ruusan, suspects Fowler.
The watch that appears in the film is the Movado Daytron (Ref. HS360) , which can be clearly seen in the scene where Fowler drugs his assistant with sleeping pills. It is a model equipped with the "first generation El Primero (Cal. 3019 PHC)" jointly developed by Movado and Zenith.
Jigsaw of Death (Episode 64)
*Source: https://www.superdramatv.com/
UNDERCOVER (1994)
One day, the bodies of two people who had been shot to death were discovered in an apartment room, and one of them was holding a part of a photograph cut out like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. The next day, Columbo, who is investigating the case, is visited by a man named Irving ( Ed Begley Jr. ) who claims to be an insurance company investigator and begins to talk about the connection between this case and a bank robbery seven years ago in which $4 million was stolen.
During an insurance investigation, Irving is handed a list of names and explains to Columbo that it is a list of people who hold pieces of the photograph, and that if all the pieces are put together, the location of the missing $4 million should be revealed.
Columbo decides to contact the people on the list to solve the robbery, but disturbing events begin to occur around him.
*Source: https://www.columbo-site.freeuk.com/
After a hiatus from 1979 to 1988, the "New Columbo" series resumed in 1989. Ten years had passed since the old series, and Columbo had become more dignified, with the Japanese voice-over being handed over from Asao Koike to Taro Ishida, and the content was more flashy and dramatic than the old series, which sparked mixed reviews.
In one of the episodes of "New Detective Columbo," " The Deadly Jigsaw ," broadcast in 1994, it was revealed that Columbo was wearing a watch! It was a Victorinox Swiss Army Watch (Ref. V.25221) . It is a quartz watch with a striking red bezel made by Victorinox, a Swiss multi-tool manufacturer. If Columbo were to wear a luxury watch such as a Rolex, there is no doubt that he would be viewed with caution by suspects as a "smart" police inspector. I think that an outdoor watch that is not cheap and costs around 20,000 yen would be a perfect choice for Columbo to wear.
Sleep with Vengeance (Episode 67)
*Source: https://columbophile.com/
ASHES TO ASHES (1998)
Prince ( Patrick McGoohan ), the president of a major funeral home, is told by his former lover, Verity, who is now a gossip reporter, that she will expose his past wrongdoings on her TV show. Fearing that his wrongdoings will be exposed, Prince kills her in the funeral home's body disposal room.
Prince swapped her body for another and cremated her, completing his "murder without a body." He then broke into her house, deleted the articles about him, and created new articles about drugs, making it look like she had been kidnapped by a drug cartel and gone missing, in order to commit the perfect crime.
*Source: https://www.spotern.com/
The 67th episode, " Sleep with Vengeance, " aired in 1998, depicts the crime of a funeral parlor president who erases the bodies of his victims. The criminal in this episode is played by Patrick McGoohan, who starred in, planned, and executive produced the cult sci-fi drama "Prisoner No. 6," whose screenplay is still debated by enthusiastic fans. This is his fourth time playing the criminal in the "Columbo" series.
The watch he wears in the film is the Casio Standard (Ref. MQ-24-7B2) . The 1990s was a time when even James Bond wore a quartz watch, which could be called the "eve of the revival of mechanical watches." This cheap Casio is a watch that symbolizes that era.
summary
What did you think.
As a detective drama that was produced continuously for 35 years, despite a 10-year hiatus, the lineup is incredibly diverse, ranging from masterpieces of mechanical watches to inexpensive quartz watches.
*Source: https://www.theguardian.com/
There were also many scenes in which watches were used to trick people into seeing the time or to create alibis , and a major learning experience was that a serious mystery drama like this one actually has a surprising amount of appeal for watch enthusiasts.
We will continue to search for " situations in which watches could be on screen " and continue to unearth as many watches as possible from movies and TV dramas, so we appreciate your continued support!
see you!