Burning Arrow Film Blog

As Dick Van Dyke turns 100, let’s turn back the clock and look at his sole appearance in my favourite TV show, Columbo! 

Written by Josh Baker

(obviously) spoilers ahead!

This is the first review in a series of Columbo reviews I have written up and, as Van Dyke turns 100, it seemed appropriate to start with his turn as villainous photographer Paul Galesko in Season 4, Episode 2: Negative Reaction. This is an episode that, coincidentally, happens to be one of my favourites in the series. 

I’m ashamed to say that, as of writing, this is the only thing I’ve knowingly seen Dick Van Dyke in.

I mean, I saw bits of Mary Poppins as a kid, but I was never into musicals or any of the other children’s fare he featured in. But, I’ve seen this episode so many friggin’ times I feel it’s starting to compensate for that. 

Even as a young lad I was aware of Van Dyke’s status as a family entertainer, so was perplexed to see him in this. But as I grew older and wiser, I understood that the producers had struck gold in casting him. 

His performance as narcissistic art photographer Paul Galesko is ice cold and unnerving- he’s easily one of my favourite villains in all of Columbo. It’s insane how a natural comedian and lighthearted entertainer like Van Dyke was able to turn off that part of his acting ability for this role and make it look so effortless. 

The speech he makes before he offs his nagging bore of a wife Francis (played wonderfully by Anjonette Bower) during a supposed house viewing, is particularly chilling: 

“I have a dream, Frances, I’m working, and there’s a phone call and he says, “terribly sorry, Mr. Galesko, but your wife’s dead. Unfortunate accident.” Then I wake up…and I want to cry. Because you’re still alive Frances…”

It’s creepy as shit, and he really relishes every word of that dialogue. Even though Frances seems to take being brutalised and tied up by her husband in a strange remote cabin fairly well, she still takes the time to emasculate him: “…is this some new found masculinity?” and that bravado completely disappears, as she is shot at point blank range by her husband with a pistol he concealed in a briefcase. 

Galesko’s wife, Frances (Anjonette Bower) flashing her husband a condescending look, just after he brutalised her and tied her up. She seems to have taken that fairly well…

The question lingers of why Paul didn’t just divorce her. To me, I just write it off to Paul’s narcissism of not wanting to pay any divorce money, or having to explain his extra-marital affair with his photography assistant (played by Joanna Cameron). In his sick mind, it’s just cleaner and easier to get rid of her. 

Galesko with his hot new girlfriend, Lorna (Joanna Cameron) who is coincidentally also his photography assistant.

Paul Galesko is definitely a member of the “pure evil” sub-section of Columbo villains, along with other dickheads such as Commissioner Halperin from A Friend in Deed, or Dr Collier from A Deadly State of Mind. There is no love lost between him and Columbo when the good lieutenant starts to come onto him.

The Lieutenant’s clearly not giving a shit of Galesko’s emotions is wonderfully visualised in one of my favourite moments in the episode, where Columbo very conspicuously starts taking photos of Galesko during his murdered wife’s funeral. It’s even funnier when Columbo goes up to him after the service and starts to poke holes in Galesko’s alibi. 

Peter Falk and Dick Van Dyke in Negative Reaction (1974)

You see, Galesko claims that ex-con Al Gerrard (Don Gordon) held Frances Galesko for ransom at the cabin, and when going to deliver the ransom to Al in a junkyard, he shot Al dead in self-defence (of course, Paul murdered him in cold blood in order to set up the fake alibi.) 

Columbo doesn’t buy any of this, stringing Galesko along until the pivotal scene at the photographer’s new exhibit. This scene is a highlight of how special Peter Falk was as Columbo- you can see him subtly drop the bumbling “I’m just tying up loose ends” and “im sorry for wasting your time” shtick he was doing in earlier scenes, becoming stony in his body language.

Using newfound knowledge that Galesko knew Al, after claiming he’d never met the man, Falk’s terse demeanour makes it clear to the audience and Galesko is now the prime suspect, and is not going to be moved by his prickly demeanour anymore. 

It gives way to one of the most memorable “gotchas” of the entire series, as Columbo ‘invites’ Galesko down to the precinct to demonstrate to him the ‘absolute proof’ that Galesko murdered his wife. 

Unveiling a big blow-up of a photo that Galesko took of his about-to-be-deceased wife (Galesko claims Al took it) Columbo points at the clock on the shelf: it reads ten o’clock in the morning, breaking Galesko’s alibi that his wife was at home with him then. 

A desperate Galesko pulls out his own camera on the evidence shelf to prove that Columbo reversed the photo to try and incrimate him, but the jig is up: Galesko had just incriminated HIMSELF! 

He had no way of knowing that that camera had been used at the crime scene, therefore placing him at the scene of the crime. Moreover, Galesko realises that Columbo had deliberately reversed the photo in order to smoke him out; knowing that Galesko’s arrogant self would be desperate to prove Columbo wrong in the moment. 

To some, it’s a controversial gotcha, as Columbo uses subterfuge to get his man rather than direct evidence, but I don’t care: it’s one of the best moments of the series for me and maybe the best gotcha ever. Falk and Van Dyke play the scene wonderfully, with the jabs directed at Columbo such as “you’re a little flawed and not too bright, but you’re one of a kind!” being utterly wonderful.

There are other moments of humour sprinkled throughout the episode, such as Columbo’s visit to a soup kitchen and interrogating a driving instructor, that fans see as highlights. I’m not necessarily one of those people; they are funny and well acted, but for me they slow the pace of the episode down a bit. This is a ninety minute episode (Columbos tended to be either 75 or 90 minutes long) and it’s obvious to me that these scenes were included to pad out the runtime, when I would’ve liked to have gotten to the information these scenes dish out a bit quicker. 

Aside from other minor quibbles, being that the direction by Alf Kjellin is a little on the workmanlike side (some Columbos are beautifully cinematic in their photography) and the incidental music by Bernardo Segal is slightly more melodramatic and soap opera-y than I am used to for Columbo, this is easily one of my favourite episodes of the series and absolutely top-draw Columbo. Peter S. Fischer, the writer for this episode and some of my other series favourites, worked miracles here and it’s no surprise that Peter Falk favoured him as the golden boy writer in the staff around this time. 

If you haven’t watched Negative Reaction, do yourself a favour and go watch it right now! It’s been beautifully remastered in 4K on YouTube and you can rent it for a low price.