User Reviews

Harold McCain is a gambler – although he is not a very good one and he has run up big debts with mean bookie, Hacker. It would be easy for his uncle Big Fred to clear his debts – given that he is very wealthy and owns an American Football team. However Fred dislikes his nephew and has no intention of helping him, meaning that Harold must resort to other measures to get his hands on his money – namely murder. He rigs a bomb under his uncle's car but his plans are altered when his uncle is killed in a hit and run whilst jogging. Harold can't believe his luck until he realises that the bomb is still under the car and, with police all over the place he has to try and get it out and hide it. He fails to do so and someone trying to move the car dies in the explosion – giving Columbo another murder investigation while Lt Robertson picks up the hit and run.

As with many TV film series (such as Perry Mason), if you like one or two of them then you'll pretty much like them all. This entry in the Columbo series pretty much follows the usual formula – we know the killer and the "perfect" plan but then watch Columbo follow his hunch and gradually starts to pick holes in the story he is told before eventually finding enough to prove his suspicions. However in this entry in the "new" Columbo's things are not quite that simple because the plan doesn't work at all and Harold's futures go from good to bad to worse when he kills the wrong man in front of the police. Although this essentially does set up the usual investigation, it is enough of a different first 30 minutes to make it seem that much more interesting and, although we know the car will blow up, it is still quite tense while Harold tries to get at the bomb under the noses of the police.

The film provides some nice twists along the way but the second "big" one is a bit unlikely and asks us to accept a lot about Dolores, who up till that point had been nothing but a comedy drunk. The film isn't as good from that point on because the sudden shift of direction in the final third doesn't really work (it didn't work in Columbo Cries Wolf either) because the main mystery that Columbo was doing just ends with Harold's murder – essentially negating the 70 minutes of film beforehand. It is still interesting enough to carry itself till the end but it loses a lot of pace by changing everything so suddenly and so late. The solution to the murder is also a problem – specifically the issues over Dolores killing Harold without leaving blood in her house and being able to move a really big guy to another house unseen, but this is all part of the weakness in the final quarter.

Falk is still good as Columbo although some scenes portray him as a bit of a clown (specifically rolling around on the car showroom floor). Normally he is a comic figure but the films always bring out his intelligence under the surface – something that this film doesn't do quite as well. Evigan may have a nasty style (cowboy boots, country music and ugly moustache) but he is a nice "suspect" character and works well with Falk. Daly is poor; for the majority she is just giving a poor drunk performance and the sudden change to scheming femme fatale just doesn't convince at all. Forrest is OK and, having just seen him spoof noisy senior police officers in Last Action Hero, it was amusing to see McRae deliver the same again! McEveety does pretty well as director, injecting tension well at places (until the material lets him down) but I must admit that I didn't think opening with the same music as the famous opening of Goodfellas was a good idea – it just made me think how great Goodfellas was.

Overall though it is an enjoyable Columbo despite the fact that the final 20 minutes does really spoilt it to some degree – mainly by suddenly dismissing everything that had gone before. Not good enough to stand up alongside the original series but certainly one of the better modern ones.

On first viewing I was rather underwhelmed and confused by this complex multi-murder mystery. But repeated viewings add more and more to the movie, making it rank as one of my Top 10 Columbo episodes of all time.

I disagree with the poster who said Greg Evigan is a horrible actor. I think he's fantastic. His character is horrible, that's for sure, but in terms of shifty, haunted-looking characters who end up totally out of their depth, you couldn't ask for more. He just oozes desperation, which makes for an unnerving but riveting viewing experience. This is my favourite type of Columbo baddie, the ones who come across as preoccupied and on edge, even if they try to mask their anxieties with arrogant bluster. Needless to say Tyne Daly is also a joy to watch from start to finish. Bright enough to plot a murder or two, but not sharp enough to withstand the Lieutenant's questioning.

Aesthetically this isn't a very stylish episode, with loud music, terrible hairstyles and hideous fashion sense, but as with my favourite movie Scarface, the tacky brashness adds to the sense of cheap tastelessness (in terms of the characters' lifestyles and morals). Some of the more lavish, arty-looking Columbos lack suspense and momentum, whereas this one is gripping all the way, especially as the net closes in.

Another extra dimension of this episode is that there are two would-be murderers (one beats the other to it), so not only does that mean twice the usual Columbo cat and mouse games, it also results in an increasingly tense relationship between the two villains. The downside is that maybe at first it's a difficult story to follow, because we only really find out exactly what's been going on at the end of the movie.

All in all this is another 90s episode far better than some of the poorer 70s ones like "Dagger Of The Mind" (the worst Columbo ever, from way back in '72). Not quite as good as "Swan Song", "Any Old Port In A Storm" or "A Friend In Deed", but not far off.

Well, it finally happened: I got to spot a little scene that had just been used in the previous Columbo episode ('No time to die', in which police cars, with lights and sirens on, cut off a burgundy red car in the streets of L.A.)! It only makes things more fun.

For this episode, it's back to the usual Columbo mold again, with a slick male gold-digger (well played by Greg Evigan) who executes a fatal plan on the wrong guy. But there's also his 'sugar aunty' (well played by Tyne Daly), who had her own fatal plan, and things get more and more complicated from there on out. Columbo seems to be going on auto-pilot more and more, making a lot of weird faces that feel a bit stale by now, as does the final scene in which all is tied together. Luckily, the story, the settings and the rest of the cast keep things pretty interesting and fun.

A small 7 out of 10.

Many reviews are saying it's unique to have 2 dead bodies, 2 murders -- but what about that poor gardener?! He was murdered by Harold!!!! And for the few minutes he was on screen he was a nice character acted out well. Sheesh. Just because he was a lowly gardener no one remembered him. Dang. That's cold. Anyway, Tyne Daly is a great actress but it was painful to watch Harold melt all over her in her face that was just too much and repeatedly done. Those tacky 80s hairstyles and big earrings and shoulder pads .... Just not fun to watch haha. Why do I need to have a minimum of 300 plus characters in this review is it some kind of punishment for my bad reviews or what?! Haha.

I'm basically writing this for two reasons, 1 amazingly I don't agree with any of the views exactly and 2 my score and thoughts on this episode keep shifting over time. I just went from 9/10 to 7 now. It has always been complicated to me and things never making sense like who did end up killing the first victim, was it Delores? And time lines with the last murder of Harold is all over the place. The fact there are two murderers and 3 murders with a twist doesn't bother me just all the other holes I don't get. But still there's some really funny scenes by all in it so it certainly is still enjoyable.

I cannot praise this episode enough. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole structure and the mixture of facts we saw and those we didn't.

Usually, in A Columbo episode you have murder. There is the occasional second murder when one of the killers friends or relatives has some sort of evidence in their hand, or the killer just wants to get rid of any unnecessary problems. But here we have three murders and oh boy do things get complicated.

As any other gambling addict Harold has money issues. He's seriously in debt and the loan sharks are getting very angry. What does he do? He of course goes to ask for money from his uncle, the famous Big Fred. The response is expected: rejection. Dolores, his secret lover and Big Fred's wife is next. The woman, however, has some dirty secrets only Harold knows. She wants to put his husband away and she accomplishes it. Things get complicated, though, as Harold also wants to kill his uncle.

Now comes the fun part. Harold rigs a bomb under his uncle's car but the victim is the gardener. Poor guy just tried to move the car. This is probably the only murder that wasn't on purpose as we can see Harold clearly saddened.

Now we have two murders and finally Columbo gets involved and on the case. The Lt. is back to his usual self, brilliant and conical. There are so many funny scenes in this episode, there's just no time for you to get bored.

Finally, after a while Harold tries to get money from Dolores once more, but, after she rejects him, he turns angry and threatens to spill the beans. Afraid she might get into trouble, Dolores kills Harold. But the murder is so bad, she leaves so much evidence for Columbo to just come in and solve the final case easily.

The ending is really masterful as well. When Dolores asks the Lt. for a motive, he gives her one. Then she obviously asks for more evidence to prove the murder. But Columbo's response is brilliant. One is enough. Yes it is! Perfect! Better then some of the 70's best episodes!

This episode is not the typical formula for a couple of reasons. First- Columbo is actually working on 3 different murders and solving them at the same time. Second - the audience is slightly led off course early on in this one by an important small clue. Third - there is no real explanation on how the last victim could have been murdered without a trail of evidence larger than Columbo finds.

It is good fun though Tyne Daly is the only notable guest in the cast,must be NBC was low on guest cast money. Spoiler - the small clue the viewer must catch is why Big Fred's car is moved?. The bomb being planted in the car kind of makes you miss this why question.

Nephew Harold McCain is a big loser whose is being bailed out by Uncle Big Fred who owns a football team. Actually it is Delores, his wife, who bails him out for some amorous activities. Harold wants to run things so he thinks he can maneuver Delores based on past history to give him everything he wants if Big Fred dies. So he makes a pipe bomb and plants it in his Rolls.

Big Fred dies but he is hit by a gardeners truck jogging. Meanwhile, Columbo is found digging into the car with the bomb in the driveway. Then the Gardener gets blown up in the car. Delores pulls out her fangs and tells Harold he is getting squat. Harold has put together what really happened with Big Fred and decides to blackmail Delores. Harold is death number 3.

Tyne Daly does a nice acting job playing the roll with just the right amount of acting. Columbo does get to use his "Just one more thing" trademark line a few times and gets it all right in the end.