Columbo (TV Series) Publish or Perish (1974) User Reviews

One of the better directed Columbo movies.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 18 May 2008]

Of course basically all of the Columbo movies are more or less the same and they mostly can distinct itself mainly through its directing. This is one of the better directed Columbo movies and its made with lots of pace and style.

It's a Columbo movie that got made with a lot of class. It features cinematic tricks such as split-screens and also the cinematography is not just only static.

But director Robert Butler also knows how to handle its actors. Peter Falk is in good form in his Columbo role, who acts more in a police role this time than perhaps is the case in any other Columbo movie. Jack Cassidy also plays a good role as the movie its main suspect. Columbo movies almost always featured famous actors in the role of the key suspect. Jack Cassidy is not the best known actors of this bunch but he has played some good roles throughout his career, including a role in the previous Columbo movie "Columbo: Murder by the Book", directed by Steven Spielberg.

The main suspect in this movie uses a very original tactic. He tries to make himself look as suspicious as possible at first, by leaving clues and leaving suspicious statements, even though he himself did not commit the murder but hired someone for it to do it.

The approach and its actual story and the way it progresses also makes this a good and special Columbo movie to watch, that provides plenty of entertainment value. It also has plenty of twists and turns in it, although it of course also all remains rather predictable for most part till some extend.

One that's among the better ones of the Columbo movies.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Once again, the villain worked too hard to tie up all the loose ends.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 August 2019]

"Publish or Perish" marks the second time Jack Cassidy starred as a villain on "Columbo". It also is interesting because the famous pulp writer, Mickey Spillane, stars as the murder victim!

Riley Greenleaf (Cassidy) is a publisher who apparently holds grudges. When he learns that a best-selling author is about to leave his company, he plots to murder him using a very elaborate plan and a seriously disturbed young man who enjoys blowing up things! The plan works great...until Greenleaf tries too hard to tidy up every loose end. As is typical of most "Columbo" episodes, this results in his brilliant plan unraveling.

This is an enjoyable episode...one worth seeing. My only worry is that my wife is also a best-selling author and I think I'd better warn her against changing publishers!

The Publisher

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 22 February 2016]

Jack Cassidy returns as another killer, this time a publisher called Riley Greenleaf who is about to lose one of his top authors to a rival firm, so concocts an elaborate scheme to give himself a drunken alibi, ending in jail after a forced auto accident, that brings in Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) who first believes it to be a frame-up, but the later murder of the actual, bomb-making assassin(and would-be author) puts the case in a whole new direction. Mariette Hartley guest stars. Exciting episode with Cassidy playing a character not unlike the one he played before('Murder By The Book') A shame some plot connection couldn't have been made from that...

Compelling Columbo adventure

[The Welsh Raging Bull · 11 August 2004]

Jack Cassidy gives an unquestionably energetic and gritty performance in his second Columbo adventure as a murderer, which oddly mirrors the theme of fictional writing that marked his previous appearance in "Murder By the Book."

Cassidy plays Riley Greenleaf, a revengeful publisher who sees his best writer (ironically played by real-life author Mickey Spillane) poached from under his nose. So he hires an unstable bomb specialist, Eddie Kane, to murder him and leave evidence at the scene to give the impression that somebody is trying to frame Greenleaf, whilst the latter goes on a drinking spree to give himself a cast-iron alibi when the murder is committed. Greenleaf then tries to pin the murder on Edddie Kane...

A really clever, expertly written and holding mystery, which slips in some very key evidence (literally) at the end. The script is tightly structured and put together in a very professional fashion, typified by the strength of Greenleaf's alibi which makes things very difficult for Columbo all the way through, coupled with the undoubted composure of Cassidy's character, who is continually plotting in a distinctly unruffled fashion, long after the first murder has been committed.

To my mind, a very high calibre Columbo story; stylish, well-handled and not telegraphed with the predictability that has weakened some potentially top-notch Columbo adventures.

It's Really About Jack Cassidy

[fadba · 10/10 · 19 March 2006]

There are Columbo episodes, and there are Columbo episodes. For the most part, Peter Falk is consistent as the consummate Lt. Columbo, so what makes certain episodes shine are those who play in the role of his adversary. Robert Culp and Patrick McGoohan readily come to mind, as does Jack Cassidy, in his several (I believe three) appearances in various episodes, including this one. Cassidy never disappoints. He is cool and sly, often paying "left-handed" compliments to the good Lieutenant as the cat and mouse game ensues. Add to Cassidy's performance this great story and script, and you've got one of the classic episodes.

Another Columbo great

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 31 March 2012]

Columbo is one of my all-time favourites, and Publish and Perish epitomises everything about why I love the series so much in the first place. It is slickly filmed and very well made, and the electronic score adds much to the atmosphere. The script is tightly written with enough to tense and humorous moments to delight even the fussiest of all Columbo fans, and never lets go even at the conclusion, which is wholly satisfying and tense, and the story is clever and compelling. Peter Falk is the embodiment of the iconic detective, and Jack Cassidy in a suitably gritty proves to be one of the series' most memorable guest stars. John Chandler is also great as Kane, and Mickey Spillane's appearance is interesting(if not necessarily for the quality of his acting) Overall, Pulish and Perish is wonderful, a Columbo great. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Regular mystery, but not without charm

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 7 July 2015]

PUBLISH OR PERISH is a short and straightforward mystery for the ever-dedicated Lieutenant Columbo. The villain of the piece in this one is series regular Jack Cassidy, playing a snotty publisher who finds himself peeved when a bestselling author cuts him off, planning to go with a rival house. He's not about to let this stand, however...

The scant running time means that PUBLISH OR PERISH is a fast-paced movie. The murder is already over and Columbo already investigating in the first twenty minutes. The twists and turns and uncovering of plot points is cleverly done, including a few things that I missed myself, and the cast is very good. Cassidy makes for a delightfully unpleasant bad guy, and real-life bestselling author Mickey Spillane has a pivotal cameo. And John David Chandler is up there with Reggie Nalder in terms of evil-looking actors.

As usual, this production belongs to the ever-great Peter Falk, who's on top form as the apparently befuddled detective. His interlude in a posh restaurant is a comic highlight , but overall the detective's force of personality has never been, well, so insistent. PUBLISH OR PERISH marks Columbo at his most dedicated.

Interesting, well-crafted plot and script

[pssc6 · 9/10 · 6 February 2011]

On the whole, an entertaining and well-written episode with clever ideas (a murderer who makes it look as though he has been framed, and the lock-changing) and another classy performance by Jack Cassidy.

Some of this episode's notable features include the freeze-frame shots in the opening sequence and, later, the triple-screen sequence showing what Greenleaf and Kane are doing in the minutes leading up to the murder. Greenleaf's barely-concealed distaste for Kane, with his obsession with explosives and the army, is highly amusing, as is the completely unconcerned expression on Greenleaf's face as he watches Kane collapse after the latter imbibes poisoned champagne.

What lets the episode down a little is Greenleaf's carelessness just before the murder takes place, and a contradiction between two scenes. The idea of making it look as though he was framed is a clever one, but having gone to the trouble of planning the "frame-up" meticulously, he then makes an open threat against Mallory's life in front of witnesses at Geoffrey Neal's party ("My dear friend, if you do you will die"). When Columbo visits the writer's agent (Eileen McRae), she tells him that Greenleaf didn't know about Mallory's new book (Columbo: "But still, the book would still belong to Mr Greenleaf, wouldn't it?" Eileen: "You've got a lot to learn about the publishing business, Lieutenant. Riley Greenleaf didn't know anything about the book, Alan never talked to him about it and never would.") This contradicts what Greenleaf had said in front of her the night before ("His new book belongs to me and I've got him on the contract"), so what McRae tells Columbo isn't true, and she should have known that. Why on earth doesn't she give Columbo this crucial piece of information? Greenleaf makes another curious slip when Columbo visits him at his home. Realising that he has been "framed", Greenleaf - who supposedly doesn't know about Mallory's new book - hands Columbo a motive: "Alan walked out on me, took his book to another publisher, and I suppose in anger, I killed him." If he wanted it to look as though Kane had framed him, he didn't need to give himself a strong motive for killing Mallory, especially since Kane wouldn't have known that Mallory was planning to go to a new publisher. Again, it's hard to reconcile this careless error with the thorough planning that goes into the first murder. The fact that Greenleaf's car "accident" coincides to the minute with the murder is also a little obvious.

A couple of other oddities: no autopsy is performed on Kane after his death, yet Columbo frequently orders them in other episodes even where the cause of death seems to be obvious. This means that the poison, which would have been an important clue, goes undetected. Also, Greenleaf phones Kane from his office to set up their final meeting - another unwise move given that the phone company records could have been checked, but mysteriously, this too goes undetected. One also has to wonder how Greenleaf had initially planned to kill Kane, as he only spots "How to Blow Anything up in 10 Easy Lessons" by chance. He takes a huge risk in relying on the spaced-out war veteran's guidance. A terrible, very obvious edit mars the brief scene where Columbo talks to the locksmith outside the latter's shop.

There are several reminders of other episodes. In the opening scene, Greenleaf uses the phrase "tribute to American ingenuity", which is repeated verbatim in Double Exposure. The two piano pieces played at Neal's party also feature in several other episodes including A Stitch in Crime, Lady in Waiting and Ransom for a Dead Man, and the music played while Greenleaf watches a film likewise features in other episodes, including The Most Crucial Game (scene where Columbo visits Eve Babcock, aka Regoczy, at her apartment). This scene reminds me of the scene in Double Exposure where Columbo comes to tell Bart Keppel about the murder of Roger White, as once again, the murder is watching a film while being told about the second murder in an episode. Michael Lally puts in just the briefest of appearances, at the end of the scene where Greenleaf leaves the car park where he had his car accident. One final little coincidence is the fact that typewriters and champagne feature in all three of Jack Cassidy's episodes.

"Publish or Perish" (1974)

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 6 April 2019]

PLOT: A publisher of popular pap novels (Jack Cassidy) indirectly murders an author who is fleeing his corral (Mickey Spillane) via a hireling killer, a Vietnam vet and bomb expert (John Davis Chandler). The slaying is set-up as a frame of the publisher, but he has an airtight alibi, which is too good to be true for Columbo.

COMMENTARY: This is a decent episode and the second of three featuring Cassidy as the antagonist, but it's the least of these. The problem is that the murder plot is a little too puzzling and the denouement is weak. No matter how you slice it, the publisher (Cassidy) didn't need to get a new key for the victim's office. But it's nice to see Mariette Hartley; she'll return for "Try and Catch me" (1977).

GRADE: B-/C+

One of the best Columbo episodes ever

[Vassago_F1 · 10/10 · 10 January 2009]

A true Columbo classic with very intelligent and well-organized plot although it differs somewhat from the traditional one-on-one match-up.

Jack Cassidy is making a mark for himself again - similar to the other two episodes where he's co-starring - to complete the perfect cast.

Of course one must give a special call for pulp-writing legend Mickey Spillane and the gorgeous blonde Mariette Hartley both whom also appear in this episode.

Finally, the humorous restaurant scene with chili & frozen tea. Most of Columbo's personal gags involve the car, but not this time which makes it even better.

You don't kill off Rock Hudson for $100,000.00!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 1 August 2006]

(There are Spoilers) With his meal-ticket mystery/crime writer Alan Mallory, Mickey Spillane, leaving for a rival book publisher Jerffrey Neal (Jacques Anbuchon) Riley Greenleaf, Jack Cassidy,concocts a plan to do in both what he feels is the back-stabbing, for leaving him, Mallory and Neal for taking Mallory away. Getting in touch with this disgruntled Vietnam Vet Eddie Kane, John Davis Chandler,by promising to publish his book Greenleaf has the perfect plan, and pasty, to do in both Mallory, by him being murdered, and Neal, by him losing Mollay as a writer for his book publishing company.

Getting to have Eddie do all the dirty work Greenleaf leaves a number clues for the police to find that would suggest that he, Greenleaf, was framed for Mallory's murder. At the same time make sure that he'll be seen and remembered in public at the time that the murder of Malloy take's place to give him an air-tight alibi. Eddie sneaking into Mallory's office at night shoot's him dead with a gun that belongs to Greenleaf that even has his fingerprints on it then leaves, as he was instructed by Greenleaf, a key to Mallory's office belonging to Greenleaf on the floor of the murder scene.

Lt. Columbo being assigned to Mallory's murder finds these clues and has Greenleaf taken in for questioning with Greenleaf playing the innocent victim of a frame up that was obviously meant to implicate his rival book publisher Jeffrey Neal. With Greenleaf's alibi checking out Lt. Columbo come to the conclusion, like Greenleaf planned, that he was framed. As Columbo checks out the key to Mallory's office he suddenly finds that there was no way that it could have opened his office door! Mallory changed locks just days before he was murdered and the key could only open up the lock that was changed!

Grenleaf seeing that his master plan had a big hole in it then back-tracks by getting the new key made. Grenleaf goes to Eddie's place telling him that he's going to publish his book and to celebrate gives the elated Eddie a bottle of champaign spiked with cyanide, that he gulps down killing him. Putting the new key on the now dead Eddie's key-chain and then blowing up his body to make it look like Eddie was killed in an accident has the now smug and arrogant Greenleaf feel that he finally committed the perfect crime. As you would expect Grenleaf overlooked two very important facts, that Lt. Columbo didn't, that in the end would land him behind bars. Not just for the murder of Alan Mallroy but that of his accomplish in that murder, the actual hit-man, Eddie Kane.

This was actually an easy case for the dogged and determined Lt. Columbo to crack even though at first he was completely fooled by the well though out plan of the killer Riley Greenleaf. Every step of Greeleaf's plan was foiled by circumstances beyond his control. Greenleaf didn't know that the new key that he planted on Eddie was also one, like the old, that was replaced by Lt. Columbo. The key Greenleaf had made to cover up his first mistake with the original key.

Ignorant of that fact Greenleaf had the replaced key, by Lt. Columbo, put on Eddie's key-chain which would have been impossible for Eddie to open the door and get into Mallory's office and murder him. In fact Eddie didn't even use a key at all to open the office since Mallory had the door opened to gives his heated office a cross-wind in order to cool himself off!

But by far the biggest mistake that the overconfident Greenleaf made was to try to again implicate his hated and rival book publisher Neal and writer Alan Mallory, in this case with plagiarizing someone else's work, by connecting Eddie to the story that Mallory was writing in trying to discredit the murdered writer and give Eddie a reason for murdering him. It was that boner on Greenleaf's part that convinced Lt. Columbo more then anything else that he was the murderer.

Slick and nasty

[edgeofreality · 9/10 · 8 January 2021]

What a villain Jack Cassidy is! Watch him as he snickers over a film in his private cinema - almost certainly a porno - or in virtually every scene. He makes sleaziness attractive. No wonder Falk got fed up with his good guy Columbo persona later and added some seedy touches to the role.

Solid Entry.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 19 August 2007]

If you enjoy the Columbo series at all, you ought to like this one. There's a bit less comedy built around the central character -- really only one incident that takes place in Chasen's, a fashionable and expensive restaurant in L.A. But the plot is pretty good, though full of the usual lacunae.

Jack Cassidy is the supercilious heavy this time and he's real snotty too, as Riley Greenleaf of Greenleaf Press. I wonder if this was intended as a kind of joke. At the moment, there is a Greenleaf Press, evidently a Catholic publishing house that brings out titles like, "Ancient Rome for Children." But in the 1970s, when this was filmed, there was another real Greenleaf Press that was probably the most prominent publisher of pornographic novels in the decade. I know this because I once was thinking of dashing off a book for them. It was only the kernel of an idea at the time. I hadn't got past the title, "Peggy's Sexcess," but then I found that they paid only two cents a word -- not enough to cover the cost of the typing paper. Well, they were infra dig anyhow.

The story is a little complicated, with a secondary villain (Chandler) the repugnance of whose reptilian sneer exceeds even that of Cassidy. A genuine factory reject whose greatest thrill comes from blowing things up. I imagine there are times when all of us know how he feels, but still -- The recently deceased Mickey Spillane has a small part as a murder victim who is the author of what someone calls "tripe". Spillane was a beefy sort of guy. I think he played a lead in a movie based on one of his own novels. Unfortunately, though he looks fine, kind of Hemingwayesque, he can't act. Compared to him, Norman Mailer is Richard Burbage.

The episode isn't outstanding in any way but that's okay, because it embodies all the things that made Columbo so popular a show on TV. It's pretty good.

Well Alibied

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 12 May 2013]

In his second of three appearances as a guest murderer on Columbo, Jack Cassidy plays a publisher who's about to lose his best money maker, writer of steamy trash Mickey Spillane. Good thing he's insured so that when he does arrange Spillane's demise, he's well insured.

He's also well alibied for Cassidy doesn't do it himself, he hires explosives expert John Davis Chandler to do it, saying he will publish his how to make a bomb book if he does the deed. He even has evidence planted that could link him to the crime, but then Cassidy deliberately gets himself into a minor vehicular accident to give himself a great alibi. Almost anyone else, but Peter Falk might have bought it on face value.

Cassidy's scheme was a little too well planned for someone who is informed finally that Spillane was leaving. Someone as volatile as Chandler could not be kept on a leash for any length of time. That makes this one of the lesser Columbo stories.

Even with that John Davis Chandler steals this one as the explosives man who isn't wrapped too tight.

Mickey Spillane is in for it in this amusing rehash of "Murder by the Book"

[J. Spurlin · 22 December 2006]

Riley Greenleaf (Jack Cassidy) publishes the bestselling sex novels of Alan Mallory (Mickey Spillane), who is about to leave Greenleaf and sign with a rival firm eager to publish his new novel set during the Vietnam War. But Greenleaf's firm has a life insurance policy on Mallory. Enter Eddie Kane (John Chandler), a bomb enthusiast and Vietnam veteran, who has written a manuscript called "How to Blow Anything Up in Ten Easy Lessons." Greenleaf thrills him with the promise of getting it published; Kane in turn considers doing a hit job on Mallory a trivial favor. Little does Kane guess what Greenleaf has planned for him after filling that part of the bargain.

"Publish or Perish" is a rehash of a great early "Columbo" episode, "Murder by the Book," which also starred Jack Cassidy. This time Cassidy has a far more complex murder plot—too complex for his own good. There are too many ways it could go wrong, as it inevitably does. Still, he seems to have our rumpled Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk) going for awhile. Although Greenleaf makes some tiny Freudian slips, which Columbo immediately seizes upon, he actually seems to convince our brilliant detective that someone is trying to frame him. Then again, we can never quite read Columbo. Is he—as is almost always the case—only pretending to buy the murderer's line of bull?

This is no "Murder by the Book," but it's an entertaining episode with a good cast. Cassidy is fine doing pretty much what he did in "Book." Chandler is perfectly cast as the hit-man and gives a memorably creepy performance. Mariette Hartley appears as a rival publisher, beautifully freckled and free of makeup. Spillane is no actor, but it's fun seeing the real-life pulp novelist in this role. Robert Butler directs Peter S. Fischer's script in a show-offy, but mainly effective manner: the murder scene, at one point, shows us Cassidy, Chandler and Spillane in a thrice-split screen. Billy Goldenberg provides a weird electronic score that I enjoyed. "Columbo" fans will be happy with this one.

And Shirley Jones married that Thing.

[toyguy-31519 · 8/10 · 19 September 2021]

All in all a good episode except.......... I loathe Jack Cassidy. His face, his voice, his arrogance, his ego and so and so on. What Shirley Jones or anyone ever found appealing about him is a mystery in itself. A lot of good primetime show episodes were ruined with his appearance. I guess the macho types like Liberace weren't available.

Handsome Isn't as Handsome Does!

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 27 March 2024]

Jack Cassidy is one of the best villains ever. In nearly every role he performed, he was smug and slippery. His good looks and suave being got him out of a lot of jams. In this one, he arranges the murder of a man (Mickey Spillane) who is writing a new novel. His decision to drop Cassidy's character and remove a meal ticket, causes our guy to take matters into his own hands. He hands the job to a nut case explosives expert, the casting of which could not have been better. He has that wayward look in his eyes. I've never heard of the actor, but he pulls off the psychotic role to a T. Once again, the villain overplays his hand, making too much noise along the way. Cover-ups always entice Columbo and once in his grip, these guys don't have a chance. One thing that has nothing to do with anything. One would think that Columbo who has dined with near royalty, people in the entertainment industry, would lose the boorishness. He goes into a fine restaurant to meet with some people. He is invited to stay and then orders chili, which isn't on the menu, of course. He is so insightful, yet he is clueless when it comes to basic social interactions.

It's really Jack's turn!

[Sylviastel · 7/10 · 19 May 2006]

Jack Cassidy is a perennial veteran of Columbo episodes especially as the chief suspect in murdering his prize writer, a mystery writer, who would be stolen by Mariette Hartley's character. I never really liked Mariette Hartley's acting or personally and I don't know why but she has been in a few episodes of Columbo. Mickey Spillane plays the victim writer. Anyway unlike Murder by the Book which features Jack Cassidy as a writer who offs his partner, he gets somebody else to do the crime because the writer wants to go legitimate and break his contract but to Jack's character, he's the star writer and makes him a lot of money and he would go broke. Rather than do the murder himself, his character gets drunk and involved in a car accident and arrested by the police and spends the night in a drunk tank. Anyway, Columbo always gets his guy or gal so he gets him in the end. It's how that's the question.

Jack Cassidy shines in this classic episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 13 April 2024]

Cut throat publisher Riley Greenleaf highest bomb expert Eddie Kane to kill a writer who's determined to jump ship, and move to another Publisher, when the mission is completed, Riley turns his attentions to Kane.

It's a classic episode, it has a wonderful opening sequence, a good story, and a terrific performance from Jack Cassidy.

This is a fairly gritty episode, and despite a couple of humorous moments, this one doesn't have too many of the lighter moments, pretty serious, very, very good.

Greenleaf is a tough nut to crack, it takes the great Detective a bit of effort to work this one out.

Jack Cassidy is excellent as Greenleaf, it's a compelling performance, one of the more memorable ones I've seen, he's a very smart guy too, he has real presence.

8/10.

Good, but felt rushed

[Apalerwuss · 7/10 · 25 May 2021]

Another very watchable Columbo, but felt a bit lazy and rushed in parts. Not one of the best, but far from the worst.

Nonsensical plot twists ruin it (SPOILER ALERT)

[alan_sonja · 2/10 · 9 March 2015]

The weakest of Jack Cassidy's three episodes. The writing is poor. Jack Cassidy's character gets caught because Columbo tricks him into have a key made. Makes absolutely no sense. The possibility of the door being unlocked or open is never brought up. Also, Cassidy would know if the lock on the door was really changed then the killer would not have left the other key on the ground to frame him. The fact that Cassidy did not have a key to the new lock cleared him of the murder. Ironically, Columbo doesn't check the typewriter ribbon of the second victim like he does in the final Cassidy episode later on. Weak and silly ending to this one.

an annoying inconsistency

[Atschmid5322 · 3 August 2016]

I love Columbo. Have almost all of them on DVD.

But Publish or PErish strikes me as one of the more poorly written episodes.

In particular, one giant inconsistency. Riley Grrenleaf has an alcoholic blackout, he claims, and has no alibi for the time his best selling author was murdered. Riley greenleaf is the authors long-time publisher and is being dumped.

He is examining his car with Lt Columbo, noting a great deal of damage. The phone rings and Greenleaf's attorney goes in to answer the phone. When he returns he gloats to both Columbo and Greenleaf, that the latter has an ironclad alibi even he doesn't know about. He was in Encino the night before, getting drunk. HE had an accident with his car, was eventually arrested and spent the night int he drunk tank until he, the lawyer, bailed him out that morning.

So my question is, if Columbo is there asking all these questions about where Riley Greenleaf was at the time of the murder, why didn't the lawyer pipe up with this information at THAT time? Instead he lets Greenleaf squirm. He just told us he, the lawyer bailed greenleaf out of the drunk tank that morning.

Makes me nuts every single time I see this episode.

Publish or Perish

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 23 February 2018]

Mickey Spillane plays a bestselling author who is on the verge of leaving his publisher, Riley Greenleaf. The publisher hires a wacko bomb maker to kill the author as part of an elaborate plan where the evidence leads to the publisher being the main suspect. Riley meanwhile makes sure he has a good alibi at the time the murder took place by behaving like a drunken lout.

Sometimes Columbo's shtick not only irritates the suspect, it grates the viewer. I found the restaurant scene where Columbo is all at sea with the menu frustrating. Also as he was invited to eat by the guests in the restaurant to eat, the fact that he was later separately billed made no sense. It was just shoehorned for a particular gag involving the bill.

A lot of the episode was rather contrived. So Riley had been arrested for being drunk. His lawyer had come to pick him up. How did Columbo know that he was in the police cells? Columbo would only need to look at the charge sheet to find out where Riley had been arrested.

The episode does feature a cast of familiar faces who made early appearances such as James B Sikking. It also has a fantastic performance from Jack Cassidy and an unhinged one from John Davis Chandler.

Too convoluted a murder scheme

[jameselliot-1 · 5/10 · 27 August 2016]

I love Columbo and all of Jack Cassidy's performances. It's just that the killer's scheme is absurd. Besides the basic plot of his murder plan, he has to lie too much to Columbo, concoctions no murderer could keep up with. As usual excellent performances by a cast of super pros. It's always funny to see how cavalier the police and forensic are with handling property at crime scenes in TV cop shows of the era. Columbo plays the victim's answering machine with bare hands. One funny bit has him borrowing a pencil from a waiter who served him chili at a lux restaurant to write some info in his notebook during a phone call from police headquarters.

Lesser But Entertaining And Well-Written Columbo Mystery

[ShootingShark · 5/10 · 3 September 2007]

When a bestselling writer threatens to sell his latest novel to a rival, his enraged publisher decides to employ a hit-man to write him off permanently. Columbo is on the case.

Though not one of the best, this is still a diverting Columbo thriller, with a great script by longtime series script-editor Peter S. Fischer which touches all the usual bases - mistrust of perfect alibis, careful noting of assumptions, the gee-this-really-beats-me routine, the accomplice double-cross and the persistent nagging. This was the second of Cassidy's three appearances and he is his ever-sneering impatient self, though the best performance is by Chandler as the disturbingly psychotic Vietnam vet killer with a penchant for home-made explosives. There are plenty of well-observed scenes, like the valet-parking gag or the bit where the lawyer gives Columbo a sanctimonious lecture, only to be rebuffed with an astute comment on his client's incriminating gaffe. Nicely made all round, although like many Columbo stories, Falk's charming foible-filled escapades account for much of the viewing pleasure. Worth catching, if only for the presence of cult crime author Spillane (creator of Mike Hammer) as the victim. Dependable character actor James B. Sikking appears unbilled as a uniform.