Hassan Salah (Hector Elizondo), first secretary to the King of Suaria, has a scheme for shifting power within his government. He tricks a naïve idealist (Sal Mineo), who is working in his legation, into helping him murder a beloved security officer (André Lawrence), rob the safe and make it look like the work of radicals. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) of the LAPD finds himself with a suspect who may have immunity from the consequences of his crime. But never underestimate our rumpled, redoubtable detective.
Considering how often novelties fail in this series, when the plots must stick to a strict formula to succeed, this is a surprisingly strong episode. Setting Columbo into the world of foreign diplomacy proves to be a good idea. The two murder schemes (yes, there's a second one) are interesting. Elizondo makes a good villain. And instead of stopping the story cold to insert some extraneous comic business, as far too many "Columbo" movies do, the comedy is well integrated into the plot.
Still, this won't completely satisfy fans. The made-up kingdom of Suaria requires a higher than usual suspension of disbelief; and the ending is both predictable and false. I don't believe Columbo's psychological trick would have worked so quickly and so well. The best thing in the episode is seeing Columbo repeatedly step on the Arab diplomat's robe—both figuratively and literally.
Considering how often novelties fail in this series, when the plots must stick to a strict formula to succeed, this is a surprisingly strong episode. Setting Columbo into the world of foreign diplomacy proves to be a good idea. The two murder schemes (yes, there's a second one) are interesting. Elizondo makes a good villain. And instead of stopping the story cold to insert some extraneous comic business, as far too many "Columbo" movies do, the comedy is well integrated into the plot.
Still, this won't completely satisfy fans. The made-up kingdom of Suaria requires a higher than usual suspension of disbelief; and the ending is both predictable and false. I don't believe Columbo's psychological trick would have worked so quickly and so well. The best thing in the episode is seeing Columbo repeatedly step on the Arab diplomat's robe—both figuratively and literally.