This well staged episode has a lot to say for it. While you know who the murderer is from the first (Ms. Leigh), the watching of Columbo on her trail and the results at the end of his quest are a total surprise.
Ms. Leigh plays an aging performing dancer & former goddess of the silver screen. She screens movies in her mansion each night to remind herself of how great she was. Her rich husband who she married for money must be disposed of as she still had delusions of herself as an a list star who wants to come out of her retirement using her husband money to finance her own starring vehicle. So she carries out the murder to get that money.
Maurice Evans plays a butler to the family who with the maid watching Johnny Carson each night while being the projectionist for the movie shows keeps pretty busy. His activity is what throws Colombo off the trail for a while. Universal really put some extra effort into this one as the script is excellent and the cast is special. It is the first of only 6 Columbos in season 5 and because they would only run once a month in the alternating format, this one comes off with nearly movie quality.
I won't spoil the entire finish here except to say that when Columbo puts everything together, he gets a big surprise and has to change his plans about what he is doing when the pieces fall into place. Janet Leigh's performance sparkles in this one.
Ms. Leigh plays an aging performing dancer & former goddess of the silver screen. She screens movies in her mansion each night to remind herself of how great she was. Her rich husband who she married for money must be disposed of as she still had delusions of herself as an a list star who wants to come out of her retirement using her husband money to finance her own starring vehicle. So she carries out the murder to get that money.
Maurice Evans plays a butler to the family who with the maid watching Johnny Carson each night while being the projectionist for the movie shows keeps pretty busy. His activity is what throws Colombo off the trail for a while. Universal really put some extra effort into this one as the script is excellent and the cast is special. It is the first of only 6 Columbos in season 5 and because they would only run once a month in the alternating format, this one comes off with nearly movie quality.
I won't spoil the entire finish here except to say that when Columbo puts everything together, he gets a big surprise and has to change his plans about what he is doing when the pieces fall into place. Janet Leigh's performance sparkles in this one.