The best part of this episode is watching Estelle Winwood (as Aunt Anita) help Barnaby solve a puzzling case. She is one of a kind. Her antique dollhouse figures prominently in exposing the murderer of a famous author.
10 Stars. All the way.
This story was somewhat done in the tradition of a Miss Marple mystery, well played by the great Margaret Rutherford back in the 60s, who passed not too long before this episode.
Benjamin Masselink wrote the story, who handled four episodes for the series, later doing work for STARSKY AND HUTCH. He spins a super tale here. Ben may have been inspired by the old movie detective Philo Vance (William Powell), who in THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (1933) used a dollhouse to re-construct a killing. A classic movie scene well remembered by all of us mystery buffs. Catch it on Turner Classics.
Smooth villain Jack Cassidy guest stars, playing Woodridge, and I agree with the last reviewer, his black goatee makes him a dead giveaway for a shady, shady character. Could also have been a little inside joke cooked up by the makeup people. Par for the course.
Regardless, Jack was at his best in the master villain department. Special guest star is Anne Francis, playing Miriam. Anne was a natural, both in movies for years and later tv. She also played a dynamic woman of mystery.
There is one goof... Barnaby leaves the hotel manager on the floor, and does not check to see if he's all right. True, with his medical background, he should have at least checked his pulse. Then again, Barnaby may have played it cautious, because the goon could have tried to slug him, right?
Another top tier mystery, comparable to COLUMBO, and wait for the ending. SEASON 1 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set. Re-released in 2016.