This is not one of the best Columbo episodes, but it was one that held one's attention because of the two principle characters (besides the Lieutenant) in the tale.
Eddie Albert is Major General Martin Hollister, a much decorated "blood and guts" style army leader from the Korean War. Hollister is greatly admired, but the public is unaware that he has been using his military connections to sway government contracts to a firm he is heavily invested in. His only close associate in this activity is Colonel Roger Dutton (John Kerr, of TEA AND SYMPATHY and SOUTH PACIFIC). Kerr is about to crack under up-coming pressure from Congressional watchdogs who can see that the company has been short changing the government on this business. Albert is at home when a panicking Kerr confronts him. Big mistake for Kerr: Albert does not hesitate to silence Kerr in the seeming privacy of the house.
What happens is a variant of the "boy that cried wolf". Looking towards the house in time to see Albert kill Kerr is a young woman named Helen Stewart (Suzanne Pleshette). She quickly notifies the police. The police arrive with Lt. Columbo (our Mr. Falk) to see about this crime. They are confronted by a totally controlled, unflappable, and impatient Albert. He has to attend a fancy dinner that night...why are they disturbing him. Falk starts explaining, and Albert tells them to check the house. They look it over and find no evidence of the killing. Falk, of course, does notice that the rooms facing the window seems to have been freshly cleaned, but that is not enough evidence in itself. Later, after everyone leaves, and after Albert returns from the dinner, we discover he put the corpse of Kerr into a plastic coat bag in his closet, and was able to rapidly cover up the signs of the killing that were unexpectedly witnessed.
Usually in a typical Columbo episode the concentration is on the careful planning of the killer and how it overlooks salient points the clever Lieutenant picks up on. That does happen here, but instead the story takes a different twist from most of the others. We become very interested in Pleshette's character. She is 30-something, and her one marriage has flopped. Her mother, Mrs. Walters (Kate Reid) is an alcoholic harpy who constantly reminds Pleshette about her failures in love and in her other life decisions. We do see Pleshette go on a date that collapses (like most of them do). So she is quite fragile. When she learns that Columbo and the police found nothing she resents this as further proof that her imagination is running away from her or she is cracking up.
Then Albert finds out that Pleshette was the woman who witnessed his crime. Albert has played villains (most of the time he played nice guys, but see his cowardly, despicable Captain in ATTACK to see him in a really vicious role). But here he is capable of showing charm, and he realizes that if he romances Pleshette he can silence her interests in any further police investigation. The calculating charm he exudes towards her is matched by the slow drift of the poor woman into falling in love with him (despite knowing what she saw).
I said, it is a really interesting character study.
Viewers know that Falk will get his man in the end - I won't say how. But the Lieutenant's best scene in the episode is when questioning the General while the latter is testing a new cabin cruiser. Tired of the Lieutenant's relentless pursuit of him with new, pesky questions, the General purposely starts and stops the boats engines (his excuse is that he is testing the boat) because he notes the Lieutenant is becoming more and more green from Mal de mer. In the end, as Falk stumbles off the craft, Albert does wonder out loud how a man with his last name ("Columbo") is not at home on a boat.
Eddie Albert is Major General Martin Hollister, a much decorated "blood and guts" style army leader from the Korean War. Hollister is greatly admired, but the public is unaware that he has been using his military connections to sway government contracts to a firm he is heavily invested in. His only close associate in this activity is Colonel Roger Dutton (John Kerr, of TEA AND SYMPATHY and SOUTH PACIFIC). Kerr is about to crack under up-coming pressure from Congressional watchdogs who can see that the company has been short changing the government on this business. Albert is at home when a panicking Kerr confronts him. Big mistake for Kerr: Albert does not hesitate to silence Kerr in the seeming privacy of the house.
What happens is a variant of the "boy that cried wolf". Looking towards the house in time to see Albert kill Kerr is a young woman named Helen Stewart (Suzanne Pleshette). She quickly notifies the police. The police arrive with Lt. Columbo (our Mr. Falk) to see about this crime. They are confronted by a totally controlled, unflappable, and impatient Albert. He has to attend a fancy dinner that night...why are they disturbing him. Falk starts explaining, and Albert tells them to check the house. They look it over and find no evidence of the killing. Falk, of course, does notice that the rooms facing the window seems to have been freshly cleaned, but that is not enough evidence in itself. Later, after everyone leaves, and after Albert returns from the dinner, we discover he put the corpse of Kerr into a plastic coat bag in his closet, and was able to rapidly cover up the signs of the killing that were unexpectedly witnessed.
Usually in a typical Columbo episode the concentration is on the careful planning of the killer and how it overlooks salient points the clever Lieutenant picks up on. That does happen here, but instead the story takes a different twist from most of the others. We become very interested in Pleshette's character. She is 30-something, and her one marriage has flopped. Her mother, Mrs. Walters (Kate Reid) is an alcoholic harpy who constantly reminds Pleshette about her failures in love and in her other life decisions. We do see Pleshette go on a date that collapses (like most of them do). So she is quite fragile. When she learns that Columbo and the police found nothing she resents this as further proof that her imagination is running away from her or she is cracking up.
Then Albert finds out that Pleshette was the woman who witnessed his crime. Albert has played villains (most of the time he played nice guys, but see his cowardly, despicable Captain in ATTACK to see him in a really vicious role). But here he is capable of showing charm, and he realizes that if he romances Pleshette he can silence her interests in any further police investigation. The calculating charm he exudes towards her is matched by the slow drift of the poor woman into falling in love with him (despite knowing what she saw).
I said, it is a really interesting character study.
Viewers know that Falk will get his man in the end - I won't say how. But the Lieutenant's best scene in the episode is when questioning the General while the latter is testing a new cabin cruiser. Tired of the Lieutenant's relentless pursuit of him with new, pesky questions, the General purposely starts and stops the boats engines (his excuse is that he is testing the boat) because he notes the Lieutenant is becoming more and more green from Mal de mer. In the end, as Falk stumbles off the craft, Albert does wonder out loud how a man with his last name ("Columbo") is not at home on a boat.