Another fun episode, but it comes with a problem which it shares with the original pilot movie. In both, the victims manage to leave highly improbable clues as to their killers.
The story also leaves the viewer wondering how the killer could know the exact moment the victim enters the elevator. A more tantalizing puzzle is where did the victim go when the elevator first shows up on the 12th floor empty?
There's a huge clue to the identity of the murderer which stares Ellery, his Inspector Dad and the viewer right in the face. A matter of simple misdirection keeps the viewer from recognizing the obvious. But it is right there for the viewer to spot, just as Ellery Queen always promises.
Ultimately, it's the victim's clue which knocks the script down a notch. Like the victim in "Too Many Suspects" who drags herself across her living room to provide investigators with a death bed clue, the victim in this episode manages to ward off what should be instant death so he can press several elevator floor buttons in a certain sequence. With all the time (and effort!) that would have taken, he could have dipped his finger in the puddle of his blood on the floor and written a short note on the wall for investigators to discover.
Several suspect characters provide enough interest to liven the proceedings. A no nonsense City Editor. A knock-out sister of the victim who gleefully takes over running the newspaper. A disappearing company lawyer. A commie-hating fake-story-generating journalist. A snooty obituary writer and a wacky plant/baseball broadcast loving Grandmother. Ellery has his hands full with this caper and he's loving every minute of it.
The story also leaves the viewer wondering how the killer could know the exact moment the victim enters the elevator. A more tantalizing puzzle is where did the victim go when the elevator first shows up on the 12th floor empty?
There's a huge clue to the identity of the murderer which stares Ellery, his Inspector Dad and the viewer right in the face. A matter of simple misdirection keeps the viewer from recognizing the obvious. But it is right there for the viewer to spot, just as Ellery Queen always promises.
Ultimately, it's the victim's clue which knocks the script down a notch. Like the victim in "Too Many Suspects" who drags herself across her living room to provide investigators with a death bed clue, the victim in this episode manages to ward off what should be instant death so he can press several elevator floor buttons in a certain sequence. With all the time (and effort!) that would have taken, he could have dipped his finger in the puddle of his blood on the floor and written a short note on the wall for investigators to discover.
Several suspect characters provide enough interest to liven the proceedings. A no nonsense City Editor. A knock-out sister of the victim who gleefully takes over running the newspaper. A disappearing company lawyer. A commie-hating fake-story-generating journalist. A snooty obituary writer and a wacky plant/baseball broadcast loving Grandmother. Ellery has his hands full with this caper and he's loving every minute of it.