Just One More Thing: A Matter of Honor

Notes and screenshots for A Matter of Honor: Originally broadcast on February 1, 1976, starring Ricardo Montalban as tortured toreador Luis Montoya, Pedro Armendáriz Jr. as the often-inscrutable Commandante Sanchez, Jorge Rivero as the trampled and tortured Carlos, a broad representation of Mexican character actors and, of course, Peter Falk as Columbo.

"When a famous bullfighter's trusted bookkeeper turns up dead in a bullring, Lt. Columbo, who's spending vacation in Mexico, suspects murder with a bull as the murder weapon."

-IMDB Summary

"In “A Matter of Honor,” Ricardo Montalban plays Luis Montoya, a legendary matador and one of Mexico’s national heroes. When, retirement, he freezes up when trying to save a young man from being gored, he cannot let the potential humiliation stand, opting to instead murder the trusted assistant who witnessed the incident. Wouldn’t you know it, though- Lt. Columbo just happens to be visiting Mexico that very day and is unofficially roped into the investigation by the local police. Laura Coleman is on the program to talk about the episode, bullfighting, the amazing career of Emilio Fernandez and oh, so much more."

-RJ's episode summary

Listen to the original podcast episode here:

Episode 43: Here's To Your Pension with our guest Laura Coleman.

A Matter of Honor

Season 5, Episode #4

Director: Ted Post

Writers: Brad Radnitz

Just as we pondered the question (when discussing the episode Columbo Loves the Nightlife) if Columbo could survive being transported to another decade, this episode comes along to ask a second question. Could Columbo survive being transported to another country, another culture?

Not as an intrinsic character, of course, although that has its own appeal. Would a holistic translation of Columbo to some other culture still work? In Belgium? in Iceland? If you built the same characteristics into a character who otherwise existed within the cultural framework of another culture -- the shabby look, the rambling affability, the circuitous loops of his inevitable reason -- could he work in Korea? Kenya? Cuba?

But no, the question it raises is whether Columbo, as we know him, would work if dropped wholesale into another culture. And the answer is --- somewhat. Mostly, perhaps. He does require a lot of backstory and more than a few crutches to move as near to freely as he can. The language barrier -- which sometimes causes Columbo headaches, in the US, when encountering incidental players who are typically domestic servants of some sort -- is a familiar roadblock, in Mexico or Los Angeles. 

But an essential part of Columbo’s DNA is that he swims the class system of a wealthy West Coast glitterati. A Matter of Honor introduces Columbo to a foreign class system no less rigid and condescending as the one with which he’s familiar, but which he isn’t part of. He’s more free to move outside of the class system in this foreign country, because there’s not much that can be done to punish him (why, with that in mind, Montoya never used his considerable influence to have Columbo brusquely escorted from the country, I couldn’t say).

The class consciousness of Columbo also manifests itself in an interesting fashion in this episode. American society has an aspirational character -- we have a habit of behaving as though we’re owed the courtesies of an upper class (which we are, in many respects, but I’ll save that for my next Socialism Now! rally). In Columbo, this means that even paper-pushers, clerical workers, wait staff and janitors feel free to give Columbo the business at will. There’s something in his manner -- humility combined with his patient delivery and shabby appearance, probably -- which makes every character with whom he interacts treat him like a subordinate slob.

In Mexico, however, Columbo was a popular figure -- he’s called a “hero” although certainly he’s a hot topic of conversation at best. His Commandant pal certainly bows and scrapes before him a little (possibly pulling a Columbo on Columbo, hiding his keen mind behind affable humility), and the crowd couldn’t keep their eyes off of him (Which is more the result of milling crowds noticing the cameras, I know, but the “hero” narrative gives it an excuse). His station in society is completely reversed! 

Even if it’s not an episode some folks like particularly much, I feel you’re depriving yourself if you don’t watch it just for the experiment of the thing.

Next episode: Now You See Him