Columbo (TV Series) The Most Crucial Game (1972) User Reviews

Fast-Moving, Interesting Episode But Ending Was Disappointing

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 12 August 2006]

Robert Culp is the "bad guy" here, after killing his boss: a young, spoiled owner of a pro football team who is basically a good-for-nothing. Culp, the general manager of the team, does all the work for the team and has little use for the "kid."

He decides to kill the owner while the latter is in his swimming pool during the middle of the one of the team's games. (The owner could care less about his club play) Culp has to make it look like he never left the stadium during the murder, so they can't blame it on him.

In the end, Lt. Columbo figures a flaw in his alibi, but I thought it was kind of weak, to be honest. I wonder, if it was real-life story, if the court would have gone along with it. I doubt it; Culp probably would have walked.

Nonetheless, it's an interesting 75 minutes. It also was interesting to see Valerie Harper's very short (too short) appearance near the end as a call girl. That was bizarre. There were good "names" in here with a young Dean Stockwell playing that owner; James Gregory as the coach and Dean Jagger as the man who used to be the lawyer for Stockwell's dad. Lots of other interesting characters in here, too. Too bad the ending was so abrupt and weak.

Some missed evidence

[clodax2002 · 6/10 · 25 July 2007]

Apart from a couple of very funny scenes - Columbo at the call girl's and his feet aching because of his new shoes - I found this film unconvincing. The motive of the murder isn't clear at all, the reason why Columbo suspects of murder is a little weak, both women's roles are not so relevant - I would say they're rather useless - and the ending is quite abrupt and unsatisfactory. But most of all: Since Culp's telephone was bugged as well as Eric's, why not checking out Culp's tapes - together with Eric's tapes? By comparing the two tapes, Columbo would have noticed that Culp's second phone call (the phone-box call) was totally absent from Culp's tapes: that absence would prove that he wasn't in his office at all when he called Eric for the second time! 6/10

Robert Culp's character seems incredibly on-edge and tense...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 18 August 2019]

An unusual feature of the show "Columbo" is that they recycled actors rather frequently. For example, in season one, Ray Milland (without hair) and Robert Culp were featured. Now, in season two, both are back--Milland (with his wig) and Culp. In fact, Robert Culp would make two additional appearances on the show...a testament to the loyalty the producers showed to many of their guest stars.

Paul Hanlon (Culp) is the high-strung manager of a pro football team. The owner (Dean Stockwell) is a drunk playboy...with little interest in the team or his other business interests. Apparently, this or something else rubbed Hanlon wrong, as he killed the owner and made it look like he died in his swimming pool by accident. But to do this, he dressed up like an ice cream man and did the vile deed during one of the team's games. Is this plan fool-proof or will he end up being caught because his plan wasn't quite so perfect.

In addition to Stockwell and Culp, this was a rather star-studded episode. Additionally, James Gregory, Valerie Harper and Dean Jagger appeared in the show. Together, they are all excellent...and it helped that the script was intelligently written and interesting.

By the way, I am no lawyer but I wondered about something. Someone in the show was involved in doing illegal wiretaps. Later, Columbo was listening to recordings of these illegal taps. Is that legal? It seems if they were illegal that the police cannot use them in any way...but I certainly am no expert.

Weak ending partly spoils an otherwise excellent "Columbo" episode

[J. Spurlin · 23 March 2005]

Sometimes Columbo solves a case by tricking his suspect into giving himself away, and other times by discovering a damning piece of evidence against him. In this episode – and I'm going to give the ending away, so stop reading now if you haven't seen it – he does the latter. But the "damning" evidence is the flimsiest thing I've seen yet in a "Columbo" episode, and it partly spoils an otherwise excellent script.

The crime itself is splendid. The manager of a football team (Robert Culp) murders the swinger (Dean Stockwell) who inherited the franchise. Culp sets up his alibi by calling Stockwell from his booth at the stadium, having discovered that Stockwell's lawyer (Dean Jagger) recently had his own client's phones bugged. He persuades Stockwell to take his exercise in the pool – right away. Next, he disguises himself as a Ding-A-Ling ice cream truck driver, drives halfway to Stockwell's house, and calls him again from a phone booth. When he gets to the house, he takes a piece of ice, goes to the pool and knocks Stockwell out with it. He throws the ice into the water as the unconscious man drowns. Brilliant. Looks like the guy hit his head on the diving board or something. An accident. Only our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case, and he has good reason to believe it was no accident.

You have seen this one, right? Because I'm spoiling everything. Anyway, it's excellent right up until the last moment. Not only is Columbo's evidence flimsy, but you realize the motive is never fully explained. Maybe I'm obtuse, but why was it necessary for Culp to murder Stockwell? I can see how he'd benefit from it. "The kid," as Culp calls him, is clearly a nuisance. But murder? Was it because the lawyer was going manipulate Stockwell into firing him? Were Culp and Stockwell's wife having an affair? I've seen this twice now, and it's still not clear to me.

Robert Culp and Peter Falk work beautifully together, which explains why Culp guest stars so often in this series. And as I said, the murder is splendid. There's a funny role for Valerie Harper as a call girl. This is even the episode where Columbo utters his most famous line: "What'd you pay for those shoes?" But that ending! Columbo discovers that Culp didn't make the second call from his booth because the clock in his booth would have chimed. But there are no chimes on the tapes made from the bugged phones. Big freaking deal! When Columbo reveals this shocking news, I expected Culp simply to make some excuse about the clock not working. Something. But then it turns out that's the end of the episode. Culp's alibi is destroyed? It's all over? Phooey.

Okay, I know, I know. The damning evidence in mysteries often requires a suspension of disbelief. In real life, some fancy lawyer would make short work of most of the proof offered in fiction. And I know Columbo has other evidence against Culp's character. But still … clock chimes! Give me a break.

I've seen all of these too many times now

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 9 January 2016]

...but I do love them.

"The Most Crucial Game" from season 2 of Columbo stars repeat offender Robert Culp as well as Dean Stockwell and Dean Jagger. Stockwell plays Eric, a young playboy who has inherited money and a football team from his late father and is basically interested in spending the money and fooling around when his wife is out of town.

Culp is Paul Hanlon, the manager of the football team and also in charge of building Eric's portfolio. He calls Eric after a wild party and orders him out of bed and into the pool, so that he's ready to fly that evening to look at a hockey team in Canada.

Paul goes to great lengths to get over to Eric's house and kill him during the game, and yet seem to be at the game while the murder takes place. And it's supposed to look like an accident, but Columbo finds a clue immediately the indicates that it may be otherwise.

This is a very good episode with a couple of holes that come from watching these shows until you practically have them memorized. Believe me, it doesn't take away from the entertainment value.

The big problem here is that there is never a motive given. There are two possible ones: interest in Eric's wife, or Paul has been stealing money of Eric's that he has access to, or has made some deals that benefit him more than Eric, is sick of him, and wants to get rid of him. He would still be manager of the team.

The thing is, it's up to you. People will point out problems in these shows; the viewer can sometimes explain them to his or her own satisfaction. And sometimes, it's a mistake, plain and simple.

These episodes were like feature films and I imagine were churned out fairly quickly, with the most attention paid to how the murder was committed and what clues Columbo would find. And the whole show is Peter Falk dragging some arrogant so and so off to prison anyway. In the end, as long as he does that, we're happy.

Great episode, confusing ending

[wesperkins · 9/10 · 28 October 2016]

While other reviews have given the plot by now, and I am going to agree with them. I will also say the writing and acting are top notch. The murder is a great idea, as I have always heard the perfect murder weapon is an ice sickle. This comes close as he uses s block of ice. (Since Columbo shows the murder at the beginning of the show, I don't think this is a spoiler) The interaction between Columbo and the killer are classic, Once again the killer thinks he can outsmart our hero. He does plan this one exceptionally well, leaving only a few clues to show its murder instead of an accident.I think most detectives would have ruled it an accident, and gone home. How Columbo could tell it was not an accident at first is only his intuition. I will say the few mistakes the killer makes does help point to it as murder, just not who. I will also the motive is not clear. While we can speculate, anytime you have to speculate it means the motive wasn't clear. The acting was good, and Columbo was at at his best being his usual self. I loved him looking for shoes all episode. The flaw in this episode is the ending. The show is going along great, and you expect some master reveal, and then the credits roll. I wasn't even sure what Columbo had to prove the killer did it. It's a shame such an incredible episode had that ending. Even with the bad ending, it's definitely worth watching, as it was just superb until then. So when you read reviews and see that the motive, and the ending are weak, yes they are, but it's so good please don't pass this episode up!

Top showing for the series

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 14 June 2016]

THE MOST CRUCIAL GAME is a strong early showing for everyone's favourite TV detective. It features regular guest villain Robert Culp as one of his most belligerent bad guys, the manager of an American football team who decides to do away with the wayward young owner in an almost perfect crime.

I say almost, because it doesn't take long for Peter Falk to get involved in the case and begin to unpick loose ends. As with the other TV movies starring Culp, watching the interplay between both actors is inherently amusing and difficult to dislike. Culp seems particularly short-tempered here, and he certainly gives Falk a hard time as the story progresses.

Also of note is the strong supporting cast, including the likes of Deans Jagger and Stockwell, and Valerie Harper as the call girl. There's plenty of natural, free-flowing humour in this one, particularly in Columbo's hunt for a new pair of shoes. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't have a problem with the ending, which I actually thought was really great in the way it was filmed, with the camera zooming in on both Culp's and Falk's faces as the realisation hits. Top stuff.

Culpability

[edgeofreality · 8/10 · 5 July 2021]

Top notch Columbo with great photography and one of the best villains ever - Robert Culp in blistering form.

Death By Ice.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 13 October 2008]

This is the one with Robert Culp as the aggressive self-starting manager of a football team who murders its madcap owner, Dean Stockwell, in the swimming pool of his playboy mansion. Culp has established an alibi for himself by manipulating a taped recording, phone, wiretaps, and other such stuff, some of which lost me along the way. Culp's legerdemain places him in his office high atop the Los Angeles Coliseum at the time the murder took place, whereas he was, in fact, impersonating a Ding-Aling Ice Cream man while driving to and from the scene of the crime. Valerie Harper shows up in an amusing scene as a hooker who mistakes the visiting Columbo for a client. Dean Jagger has a small part, and James Gregory has an even smaller part. All of the performances are up to par and the direction is competent.

But -- and this must be said -- but Columbo always shows an extraordinary amount of intuition and has an abundance of good fortune in all his cases. In this case the intuition and the luck smother the plot.

Columbo, try as he might, simply cannot pin the deed on Robert Culp. There is a "loose end", so to speak. But Columbo has an epiphany in a travel bureau when a cuckoo clock announces the time. My legal responsibilities forbid me to divulge more of the plot or its solution. Oh, well, I guess I can say that Culp's motive for murdering Stockwell is not only weak but absent. Early on, Columbo mentions in passing, "The motive. That's what I don't get, the motive." It doesn't seem to occur to him that there IS no motive. If Culp stands to profit from Stockwell's death, it's never made clear why. He's not going to inherit money. He's not going to take over the ownership of the football team. He has nothing going with Stockwell's wife. So, cui bono? The rules of logic decree that Culp is unculpable.

That's neither here nor there in an episode of Columbo, of course. The emphasis is not on logic but character and the interaction of characters. And this is the episode in which Columbo puts one foot accidentally into a swimming pool, ruins his shoe, and goes about asking people out of the blue, "Where did you get those shoes?" And, "Sixty-five dollars? Is there any place you think I could get a pair of shoes that look just like them for sixteen or seventeen dollars?"

A flawed episode with some wonderful performances

[DefLowd · 8/10 · 26 December 2023]

In the best Columbo episodes you initially are baffled how he seems able to sniff out the murderer, but then he reveals what he picked up on and it all makes sense. In this episode there's no clear killer motive and the main thing that gets Columbo on the trail seems to be that Paul Hanlon (Culp) isn't angry about the poor performance of his team in the game. Unusual, yes but it remains a large leap. The weak motive and large logic leaps make this one particularly flawed.

However there's two great performances that make it work, first is Culp, who is a clever murderer, who doesn't try to steer Columbo unnecessarily. He simply remains cagey and elusive. The second is Valerie Harper as Eve Babcock. Who delights as a call girl, then reveals a slight Hungarian accent when Columbo pushes her too far allowing him to supposedly get the information needed to confirm his suspicions Hanlon knew the phone was bugged. It's a great single scene performance.

Overall a fun episode just struggled to buy it completely.

Good mystery with a somewhat awkwardly executed ending

[The Welsh Raging Bull · 7/10 · 12 August 2004]

A refreshingly originally plotted Season 2 Columbo episode which sees the general manager of an American Football team, Paul Hanlon (played by Robert Culp) bump off the lazy, unambitious and wasteful owner, Eric Wagner (played by Dean Stckwell).

The script adds one or two nice twists along way and Culp, in his second outing as a Columbo villain is consistently stern-faced and oddly humourless throughout; in fact, he encapsulates the devious, selfish determination of his character and his scenes with Columbo are increasingly confrontational.

There is humour afoot in this story too: the scene when Columbo goes to call-girl Eve Babcock's home to question her is really funny, as she thinks Columbo is one of her customers.

There are however some nagging minus points - some aspects of the script rely too heavily on coincidence and luck. For instance, Eric Wagner was obviously a stubborn person - Hanlon's pestering manages to ensure that he is the pool so he can orchestrate his murder. This happens too easily for my liking...

Furthermore, the sealing clue is both inconclusive and rather contrived: amongst other things, Columbo's damning of Hanlon's alleged alibi-creating phone call takes place at exactly the same clock time it was perpetrated some days earlier. Therefore, Columbo miraculously judges his typical end-of-case wrant to perfection....

A very curious episode in many ways....worth a look for its's controversies.

Culp and a crisp ending

[resandersarts · 8/10 · 2 May 2019]

A great murder idea with good actors all around. You know Culp's time is near when he reacts to Columbo's confidence that he can get the call girl (Harper) to start talking. Sense the private box wasn't bugged he could have still maybe checked the phone records on this one, but just showing the murderer where he missed something is good for a gotcha.

Culp and Falk are great together

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 14 March 2005]

• When the owner of a football team is found dead in his pool, it looks like an accident. That is until Columbo starts poking around. He quickly latches on to the man who runs the team, Paul Hanlon (Robert Culp), as the primary suspect. But how could Hanlon have committed the murder? He was at the ballgame at the time it was committed.

• The best thing about this The Most Crucial Game is the interaction between Robert Culp and Peter Falk. Culp is great as the suspect who grows more weary of Columbo's continual antics. There are a couple of scenes where Culp looks like he's really ready to blow a fuse. In contract, Falk's Columbo is calm, cool, and collected. Great stuff.

• The actual murder is also a thing of genius. Using a block of ice to bash someone in the head while in a swimming pool is a masterful idea. The intended victim is dead and there is no murder weapon.

• The weakest point of The Most Crucial Game is unfortunately the ending. It's rather poorly handled. It's almost as if the writers couldn't come up with a good way to end it. The solution is fine, it's just that the revelation of the solution seems very awkward.

The Most Crucial Game

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 18 February 2018]

I liked the cast in The Most Crucial Game. Robert Culp, Dean Jagger, Valerie Harper, Susan Howard and Dean Stockwell.

Culp is Paul Hanlon, the general manager of an American Football team, the new owner is Eric Wagner, an idle playboy more interested in partying who has taken over the business from his late father.

Hanlon plans the murder by popping down to Wagner's house and killing him by the pool and making it look like an accident. Hanlon does this while the football game is on and his alibi is that he was watching from an executive box.

I never fathomed the motive Hanlon had for killing Wagner unless he thought he would one day get fired by him. The ending was rather weak.

The one sore point for me was when Hanlon hides his footprints by hosing the pool area down with water. Now I have swum in swimming pools in LA. With the sun bearing down the water dries up in no time. By the time Columbo shows up and we see him listening to the football commentary in the car, there would had been no water around the pool.

Lame Episode

[reddragon-14 · 6 September 2011]

While Peter Falk as Columbo is always a treat, this episode kinda stinks. First of all unless Dean Stockwell's body was discovered within 15 minutes of drowning, the thin coat of water that Robert Culp sprayed on the decking would have been long gone in Southern California by the time of Columbo's arrival. And you just knew he would use some gimmick to discover the fresh water. But to actually touch it and taste it was too much. Like the pool water that splashes onto he decking above the pool, chlorine dissipates when exposed to sunlight and heat. So, 5 minutes into it he just knows something's afoot. I mean he's good if a bit eccentric, but come on. And the ending was unsatisfying too, "ya know I've been listening to this tape for hours and I just found out it was a sound that should be there but isn't." As far as I can tell Culp has no motive for murder in the first place. The guys wife inherits and they'e not even involved. Love Columbo, but this is a very sub-par episode.

Culp returns for another great outing in "Columbo"

[Mr_Blonde3 · 8/10 · 2 June 2013]

Marking his 2nd of four appearances, Robert Culp guest stars as a man who murders the owner of the team in a very clever way, by luring the victim into his pool, clocking him with a chunk of ice, and leaving him to drown. One quick toss of the ice in the pool and boom, no murder weapon.

Columbo's method of figuring it out is quite good, and the episode features great support from Susan Howard, Valerie Harper in a brief appearance, Dean Jagger as the family lawyer who doesn't get along with Culp's Paul Hanlon, as well as some "Repeat offenders" including Val Avery, who made a number of appearances in the series, James Gregory as a Coach (Previously a victim in "Short Fuse") And Dean Stockwell is the victim, and later returned as a framed third party in "Troubled Waters".

But the real stars here are Peter Falk and Robert Culp, and once again, they make the episode. Falk never put in a bad performance as Lt. Columbo, and you really have to hand it to Robert Culp for creating such 3 vividly different murderers for the series. Not only to each of his characters look different (Cassidy never bothered much with an attempt to look different in his three appearances) But each one is a completely different characterization. I felt pity for his Investigator Brimmer, contempt for Paul Hanlon, and reveled in his third visit to the series, as Bart Keppel in "Double Exposure". Truly some of the best interplay between Columbo and the killer ever in the series.

On first viewing, I liked Culp's three episodes, but that was it. Now having seen them multiple times, the chemistry between Falk and Culp shows and all three of his appearances are among my favorite episodes.

This one is definitely worth a look, as are Culp's first appearance in "Death Lends a Hand" and his final appearance as the killer (But not the series) in "Double Exposure" (Culp returned to the series one more time as an innocent 3rd party in "Columbo Goes to College")

Wonderful piece a television !

[nicofreezer · 10/10 · 27 February 2021]

A great crime, A perfect Crime ! An Amazing ending, one little detail ....change everything... THE ENDING WAS A MASTERPIECE

Motive??

[stephjones-35526 · 6/10 · 18 July 2020]

Enjoyable enough episode except what was the motive?

Classic episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 21 December 2023]

Eric Wagner, The owner of a football club is killed in his swimming pool, his murderer makes it look like an accident, Columbo smells a rat.

I think this is a pretty great episode, it's excellent, one of the most clever mysteries I can think of, a real mind twister.

If you're a sports fan, I think you'll find some extra enjoyment here, which of us hasn't felt like owners of our favourite clubs haven't run them into thr ground, or fleeced them, fortunately extremes like this aren't on the cards.

The visuals are nothing short of breathtaking, the scenes from those hills, stunning.

I had to laugh, Columbo is constantly surrounded by athletic, built up guys, and there he is, in his raincoat, cigar on his top lip. Check out those extras, they earned their wages.

Robert Culp is excellent here, he's somewhat petulant, a little temperamental, but definitely convincing as the villain of the piece.

9/10.

Murder Making No Sense But Subtle

[DKosty123 · 7/10 · 29 December 2008]

It is interesting that the writer of Bonanza episodes (Dugan) got tapped to write a Columbo episode. There is plenty of humor present from the Ding-A-Ling brand of Ice Cream to Rhoda (Valerie Harper) performing a call girl routine on Columbo.

The cast here is quite strong as Robert Culp is at his prime here. It is amazing but it appears that if Culp didn't need to hose off the pool deck, he would get off on this one. Susan Howard's role as the widow is really very limited, like her role on Dallas as Ray Krebs wife often seemed. She only has 3 scenes here.

What hits the formula here is how Columbo trips up Culp though I am at a total loss how Culp benefits from murdering a boss who he was in complete command of when he is alive. The performances are good enough that you don't mind.

A good episode, albeit with a disappointing ending

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 13 March 2011]

I am a big fan of Columbo. The Most Crucial Game is a good episode if somewhat middling without being the best or the worst of the set. Susan Howard's role is disappointingly limited and she unfortunately doesn't do as much with it as she had the potential to do and the build up to the ending could have been steadied a bit which perhaps would have helped in making it better. I agree the ending was the most disappointing asset of The Most Crucial Game, the idea of the explanation I had no problem with, but it was the way it was executed and tied together that felt rather awkward, particularly with the flaw in the alibi which didn't convince.

However, the production values as are the case with all Columbo episodes are top notch, and the music adds a lot to the atmosphere. The script is excellent on the whole, with some great interaction between Falk and Culp and some thoughtful moments, and the story is well told with a splendid means of murder and premise. The direction and cast are generally on the money too. Peter Falk enjoys himself as Columbo, Robert Culp plays an interesting character and does very well with it and Dean Stockwell is good too.

Overall, the ending was a disappointment but the episode was good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

"The Most Crucial Game" (1972)

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 27 January 2019]

PLOT: Disguised as an ice cream man, the high-strung manager of a pro football team (Robert Culp) murders its young, hedonistic owner (Dean Stockwell). Susan Howard plays the callow man's wife while James Gregory appears as the coach and Valerie Harper as a call girl.

COMMENTARY: This one's otherwise known as the ice cream man episode, the block of ice murder or the cuckoo clock segment. It features Robert Culp's second of four appearances on the series; the others being "Death Lends a Hand" (1971), "Double Exposure" (1973) and "Columbo Goes to College" (1990). The latter is the only one where he doesn't play a murderer; it's his son instead.

The denouement is weak, unfortunately. (***SPOILER***) Why couldn't the manager have hanged up the phone a second or two before the clock chimed? What if the time in the manager's booth was off by a few seconds or even a minute compared to the call from the telephone booth? What if the clock sometimes failed? No matter how you slice it, it's flimsy evidence.

GRADE: B

Writing was terribly flawed, the murderer should have gotten away

[edaxroyeaux · 2/10 · 23 September 2020]

The murder was brilliant, the use of ice means there's no murder weapon and the alibi so solid and it cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he wasn't in that luxury box at the game.

Where it all goes wrong is when Columbo stumbled upon Robert Culp on a suspicious public phone in the middle of Los Angeles International Airport. How this happened was completely baffling. I have a hard time finding family members I'm trying to pick up in that airport in 2020, how did Columbo just find Culp right away? This causes Columbo to suspect Culp but how did this even happen in the first place? Did he follow Culp all the way to the airport and Culp never noticed Columbo's beat up car? And how would Columbo even know to check the public phones first thing? Wouldn't the first guess be that he's picking someone up? He doesn't know about the phone taps until later. It's also bizarre that Columbo would go from chatting with Culp at the office, then following him dozens of miles to the airport on the pretense of just chatting him again.

Then we reach the end where the we find out a clock chime wasn't on the bugged phone call, supposedly proving he wasn't in his luxury box at the time of the murder. That would never prove anything in court, especially given how small the clock was and the distance from the clock to the phone, and the fact that the clock might not have hit 2:30 during the call cause not all clocks are exact. The murderer never admits guilt in this episode, it just cuts to credits. With no murder weapon, no motive and no proven means, there's no chance this could go to court. Columbo's only hope was to get a confession which he doesn't get.

Watch for Culp's performance

[stones78 · 28 January 2011]

Let me get the negative out of the way first, mainly the lack of what I would consider a true motive for such a high-profile murder, carried out by a GM of a professional football team. That GM was superbly portrayed by Robert Culp, who's angrier than ever and is the 2nd best Columbo villain, behind only the great Jack Cassidy. I've seen this fine episode many times, and I'm still slightly baffled what was the motive; was it because the young owner, played smugly by Dean Stockwell, didn't want to buy a hockey franchise, or was Paul Hanlon(Culp)simply power hungry? This never jived with me. That being said, this is an entertaining episode revolving around football and there are notable actors performing, such as Dean Jagger, Val Avery, and Valerie Harper; there's even a special appearance by none other than Pat Riley of the LA Lakers. There's no need to repeat the plot again, but most of the scenes, including what appears to be a stray dog on set with Avery's character, are quite effective and fun. Peter Falk is in fine form, and his chemistry with Culp is superb. The conclusion may be a bit too tidy for my taste, but it doesn't detract from the rest of the segment.

No Football Heroes

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 13 May 2012]

This episode of Columbo finds Peter Falk investigating what looks like an accidental drowning of Dean Stockwell. Actually it was a carefully thought out murder scheme by Robert Culp who is the general manager of the pro football team that Stockwell inherited from his late father which would have had Stockwell look like he hit his head on a diving board and drowned.

For you historians the relationship between Stockwell and Culp is roughly equivalent of the one between Otto Von Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Bismarck who ran things under Wilhelm I thought the grandson a twit and Wilhelm thought a change in ministers was needed because he was going to do things differently. Imagine if Bismarck had murdered the Kaiser and stayed on and you roughly have the situation between Culp and Stockwell.

Columbo would never have solved the case but for the fact of a third player in the mix, lawyer Dean Jagger having Culp's office and home electronically bugged. At first those tapes seem to clear Culp, but in the end they don't. A rather pedestrian sound missing from the tapes incriminate him. The producers of Columbo anticipated Richard Nixon's downfall with his tapes by well over a year.

Funniest scene in the film is Valerie Harper who planted the bugs on Culp at the behest of Jagger. She doubles as an escort and her trying her best seduction on Peter Falk is worth seeing this episode alone for.