Oscar Finch is a celebrated legal prosecutor and political campaign manager for a vice-presidential candidate. Things are looking rosy until a skeleton from his past forces him to commit murder, and subsequently lock wits with the intrepid Lieutenant Columbo.
This is arguably the best of the second-generation Columbo TV-movies. It has a great script by Jeffrey Bloom, with a terrific out-of-left-field plot-twist at the end involving a piece of cheese. It's handsomely produced, well-directed and has a fine cast, including Columbo's old sergeant Kirby. Best of all though, it reteams old adversaries Falk and McGoohan in their similar-but-couldn't-be-more-different personas. One is modest, quiet and affable while the other is imperious, dogmatic and assertive, yet both are the epitome of shrewd, calculating professionalism. The pleasure of the piece comes from watching them intellectually wrestle over the subtlest of plot points; a dry patch under a car, an inconsistent fax message, a dry-cleaning order, the position of some blood. Solid entertainment throughout, and don't miss the flasher gag.
This is arguably the best of the second-generation Columbo TV-movies. It has a great script by Jeffrey Bloom, with a terrific out-of-left-field plot-twist at the end involving a piece of cheese. It's handsomely produced, well-directed and has a fine cast, including Columbo's old sergeant Kirby. Best of all though, it reteams old adversaries Falk and McGoohan in their similar-but-couldn't-be-more-different personas. One is modest, quiet and affable while the other is imperious, dogmatic and assertive, yet both are the epitome of shrewd, calculating professionalism. The pleasure of the piece comes from watching them intellectually wrestle over the subtlest of plot points; a dry patch under a car, an inconsistent fax message, a dry-cleaning order, the position of some blood. Solid entertainment throughout, and don't miss the flasher gag.