This episode's killer is a real scuzzbag - one of the best this series has ever come up with. James Read does a great job of playing this part, somewhere between the ideal son-in-law and the ultimate face of true evil. Maybe some of the acting is no better than your average 'As the world turns' performance, but it fits perfectly somehow.
The ending, in which he (the killer) caves to a small chemistry experiment by Columbo, is a little disappointing, though. All the while before, this unscrupulous killer had been portrayed as an incorrigible gambler, but then he throws in the towel way to easily when it really counts. I'm not saying this should have been the one episode in which the killer got away with it, but still...
Other supporting roles, by Jo Anderson and Paul Burke especially (and the card gang, for instance, as well), were pretty terrific, too.
Another fine Columbo episode, in short. A small 8 out of 10.
The ending, in which he (the killer) caves to a small chemistry experiment by Columbo, is a little disappointing, though. All the while before, this unscrupulous killer had been portrayed as an incorrigible gambler, but then he throws in the towel way to easily when it really counts. I'm not saying this should have been the one episode in which the killer got away with it, but still...
Other supporting roles, by Jo Anderson and Paul Burke especially (and the card gang, for instance, as well), were pretty terrific, too.
Another fine Columbo episode, in short. A small 8 out of 10.