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Lt. Horatio Bixbee is the protoype for Lt. Columbo

posted 16 years ago by davidemartin
9 replies | jump to latest

Watching PENELOPE again this morning, it is obvious that Falk's genial Sherlock, "Lt Horatio Bixbee", is the rough draft for his more successful character, Lt Columbo. The same mannerisms, the same method of questioning, the same hints that the detective already knows the answer abnd is willing to let the culproit know he's already on to him.....
I think I read somewhere that Columbo's opfficial creator, William Link, admited this as such. Or maybe it was Falk himself..... dunno.....

[–] Eric-62-2 16 years ago

Falk did this movie just after he had finished doing a series called "Trials Of O'Brien" that also established many of the mannerisms he would employ as "Columbo" with the difference being that this was the first time he was doing it playing a police lieutenant (he'd been a disorganized attorney on "O'Brien"). It's ultimately more proper to say that for this part, he was channeling O'Brien, and then when cast as Columbo channeled both roles to come up with his most memorable character.

[–] MystMoonstruck 15 years ago

Actually, I think he was inspired by "Les Diaboliques" aka "Diabolique" (1955). The retired police commissioner has the rumpled coat and speech pattern we are so familiar with. He definitely foreshadows that beloved character.

In fact, when I went to IMDb after viewing the film for the nth time and thinking of the Columbo connection, I found this thread:
Is it just me or did Peter Falk lift his 'Columbo' character from here?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046911/board/nest/161747049

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] bcrumpacker 15 years ago

Agreed. Saw the movie last night; Peter Falk's character in Penelope is virtually the same as Lt. Columbo. Unfortunately for the movie, the lieutenant's part is much better written than the husband.

[–] ecarle 13 years ago

Falk was first cast as Columbo only about two years after "Penelope" came out. I can't help thinking that his role here helped land him Columbo.

Recall that it was a "bumpy road" for Falk to his greatest role:

Columbo was first in a stage play on Broadway, and played by venerable character actor Thomas Mitchell near the end of his life.

The play was reworked for TV and Columbo was played by burly character man Bert Freed, who asked later how he felt about playing Columbo said "I don't remember. Do you realize how many cop roles I played on TV?"

When the Broadway play became a TV movie in 1968 called "Prescription: Murder," Gene Barry was the elegant killer; Falk got the Columbo role...but Columbo was a tougher, meaner and better-groomed cop than he would become later.

"Prescription: Murder" was a one-shot TV movie, but three whole years later, they decided to make a SECOND "Columbo" movie("Requium for a Dead Man"), with Lee Grant as the killer.

When they thought about moving "Columbo" to a full series, the part was offered to...Bing Crosby. He declined. Then they went back to Falk. He accepted contingent on not doing it every week.

Still, I'd daresay that Lt.(Lieutenant!) Horatio Bixbee gave everybody a sense of who Columbo would be. Yes, he had certain Falk/O'Brien mannerisms, but the CHARACTER was close...sharper than he looked, seeign details early, letting on that he knows, etc..

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] burgephoto 9 years ago

Actually, Bert Freed played the part of Columbo BEFORE Thomas Mitchell played the part. Freed was Columbo in the first TV version of the story, called "Enough Rope", a segment of the series The Chevy Mystery Show in 1960. It was based on the story called "May I Come In?" published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Then the story was adapted for a second time for the stage and Mitchell played the part from 1961-1962 (he passed away before the play made it to Broadway), but was retitled "Prescription: Murder". Columbo was his last role. Then the story was again adapted for TV as a movie, again called "Prescription: Murder", and offered to Bing Crosby and Lee J. Cobb. After both turned it down, Peter Falk called up Levinson and Link, Columbo's creators, and told them he "would kill to play that part!" Although they thought him too young at the age of 40, they gave it a shot, and the TV movie was highly successful. There were no plans at the time to produce a series, so 3 years lapsed between "Prescription: Murder" and the actual pilot for the series, "Ransom For A Dead Man".

Being a great fan of Peter Falk, I have seen Penelope (and anything else he was in that I could get my hands on), and personally, I see little resemblance between Lt. Horatio Bixbee and Lt. Columbo other than the fact that the same actor played both roles and they both were police lieutenants. Also I watched the 1965-1966 CBS series The Trials of O'Brien, and again, I see little to no resemblance in the characters of defense lawyer Daniel O'Brien and Lt. Columbo. Methinks there may be some fanciful imaginations at play here?

"Think slow, act fast." -- Buster Keaton

[–] elisedfr 12 years ago

The play that first introduced Lt Columbo had been written several years before Penelope. Still I do agree the two detectives are similar in more ways than one ! We probably owe it a lot to Falk himself, who had the reputation of ad-libbing and adding personal touches to his parts all through his movie career.
" You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is!" Sgt Harris

[–] liscarkat-2 11 years ago

Wow, those stupid blue things jumping up and down are really annoying.