Interesting that the very first Columbo episode with Jack Cassidy as the murderer was one of the less successful dramatically in my humble opinion. Because of that it convinces me more than ever that the series and the character were sold brilliantly to the television audience by Peter Falk.
Cassidy plays half of the mystery writing team of Cassidy and Martin Milner and does this guy have one hell of a racket. Milner is the creative one and Cassidy gets half the royalties by just doing the public relations with the newspapers, the TV and Radio talk shows, all that stuff with all the fringe benefits coming with it.
Well the gravy train has now come to an end because Milner wants to go out on his own. You would think that Cassidy would want the last thing to be Milner's demise because he would still hope for reconciliation. What he does do though is take out a hefty insurance policy on Milner and proceed with an elaborate murder plot.
If anything this Columbo episode proved Milner really was the creative one because he is the obvious suspect. The insurance policy and his deliberate deception with phone calls placed are traced easily enough and don't ring true. And above all he gets himself blackmailed by the owner of a general store played by Barbara Colby and has to do another and less planned murder. For a guy so arrogant as Cassidy was and he set a pattern for Columbo villains he really botched this one.
The late Barbara Colby whose career and life came so tragically to an end only a few years later, she plays an interesting if spaced out character. Her scenes with Cassidy are the best part of this episode.
Still though Columbo would face far more deceptive villains in the future.
Cassidy plays half of the mystery writing team of Cassidy and Martin Milner and does this guy have one hell of a racket. Milner is the creative one and Cassidy gets half the royalties by just doing the public relations with the newspapers, the TV and Radio talk shows, all that stuff with all the fringe benefits coming with it.
Well the gravy train has now come to an end because Milner wants to go out on his own. You would think that Cassidy would want the last thing to be Milner's demise because he would still hope for reconciliation. What he does do though is take out a hefty insurance policy on Milner and proceed with an elaborate murder plot.
If anything this Columbo episode proved Milner really was the creative one because he is the obvious suspect. The insurance policy and his deliberate deception with phone calls placed are traced easily enough and don't ring true. And above all he gets himself blackmailed by the owner of a general store played by Barbara Colby and has to do another and less planned murder. For a guy so arrogant as Cassidy was and he set a pattern for Columbo villains he really botched this one.
The late Barbara Colby whose career and life came so tragically to an end only a few years later, she plays an interesting if spaced out character. Her scenes with Cassidy are the best part of this episode.
Still though Columbo would face far more deceptive villains in the future.