Powerful performance of Hugh O'Brian as a compulsive gambler, who is also an ambitious business man whose the boss proposes him something which he was not prepared for. As you have probably guessed, you deal here with a character study, especially the lead's one, played by O'Brian. The gambler side is not so emphasized on, but remains important to fully understand the whole O'Brian's character. You also have a powerful, tense murder scheme in the pure Columbo series style, with the sharp and accurate timing for the assassin, who thought of the perfect alibi...I did not expect that so far in the story which I thought at first it would be a simple drama story, and certainly not a crime one. Terrific score to support the murder sequence and its surroundings. One might say that we have already seen that before and I would say yes, but that remains a very good and suspense story anyway with a Hugh O'Brian at his very best, probably as we have never seen him before. But this remains a curious mix up between drama and crime tale. Yes, curious, with unforeseeable twists.