Columbo has his hands full when the security chief at an Arabian legation in Los Angeles is murdered during an apparent robbery. The case has too many holes however, the killer is a slippery target, and there are political niceties to contend with.
This is an intriguing Columbo story, with a unique setting and a highly unusual ending; the killer basically bests Columbo, but is duped into a confession with a clever trick at the end. Columbo has plenty of evidence - ceiling-dust where it shouldn't be, a patsy wearing both glasses and contacts, a hotel reservation someone couldn't have made - but none of it he can pin squarely on his target. Making the killer a dignitary from the fictitious country of Suaria (which seems to be some thawb/keffiyeh-wearing Arabian Peninsula state) with immunity from prosecution is an interesting device; it allows Columbo to make his usual faux-pas but also to absorb some culture and make friends. Elizondo is the wrong ethnic type for the role (he's Puerto Rican-American), but his bright blue eyes and formidable intelligence make him an excellent choice and and a fine adversary for the ever-reliable Falk. Nicely directed by TV veteran Post, this is perhaps not the best Columbo TV-movie, but one of the most offbeat and interesting.
This is an intriguing Columbo story, with a unique setting and a highly unusual ending; the killer basically bests Columbo, but is duped into a confession with a clever trick at the end. Columbo has plenty of evidence - ceiling-dust where it shouldn't be, a patsy wearing both glasses and contacts, a hotel reservation someone couldn't have made - but none of it he can pin squarely on his target. Making the killer a dignitary from the fictitious country of Suaria (which seems to be some thawb/keffiyeh-wearing Arabian Peninsula state) with immunity from prosecution is an interesting device; it allows Columbo to make his usual faux-pas but also to absorb some culture and make friends. Elizondo is the wrong ethnic type for the role (he's Puerto Rican-American), but his bright blue eyes and formidable intelligence make him an excellent choice and and a fine adversary for the ever-reliable Falk. Nicely directed by TV veteran Post, this is perhaps not the best Columbo TV-movie, but one of the most offbeat and interesting.