Own the rights?
If you've read most of my posts on many given Columbo episodes, my biggest problem with almost all of them are the underwhelming conclusions, which the murderers simply confess or where the ending seems rushed in order the wrap the case up. I'll get to the finale in a bit, but most of this episode is both funny and intriguing as Columbo is on the trail of Paul Gerard, an arrogant food critic who murders a restaurant owner by poisoning his wine, by a rather interesting method. This particular episode is a treat to watch as the detective is deluged with fancy food concoctions by chefs at posh locations, as they hope he can catch the killer; you'll notice the victim Michael Gazzo from the Godfather fame. There's hardly a boring moment, as we meet a bevy of interesting characters/actors like Louis Jourdan, Mako, Richard Dysart, Anthony Alda, and the unremarkable Shera Danese(wife of Peter Falk). They all add flavor and make this episode extremely pleasant to the eye and Falk looks as if he's having fun, and I credit Jonathan Demme, who directed this segment.As I said above, the ending left me wanting more than the usual broken down killer confessing to the crime. As we know by now, he poisoned Vittorio's wine earlier and attempts to do the same to Columbo, even though he knows that there's no real proof, "only conjecture". Why kill a cop to make matters much worse when there's no actual proof? Also, we're to believe that Gerard actually returned to the scene of the crime the very next night to switch wine container cartridges; wouldn't the place be off limits because of the investigation? Simply too risky.Other than the final 15-20 minutes, this is still an interesting and fun episode to see and one I highly recommend. Watching this may make your mouth water with all the great dishes passed around.
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