Hayden Danziger has it made. He is a successful businessman with an older, very rich wife while also getting a bit of spice with his secret lover Rosanna Wells who works on the cruise as a singer. However Rosanna is threatening to expose him to his wife and Danziger cannot risk losing it all over a fling with some silly showgirl and plans to kill her. He fakes a stroke by the pool and gets confined to the medical centre where he is the only patient and under 24 hour supervision of the nurse. When the ship band take their break, Danzinger slips out unseen, heads to Rosanna's cabin and shoots her dead. The Captain turns to one of his passengers of help a certain Columbo, who is taking the cruise with his wife who won it in a competition. Columbo starts to investigate the best he can and, despite it all looking like an open and shut case, he can't get passed the problems that scream out at him.
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. Knowing this ahead of time won't ruin anything for you; it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually down to several factors whether or not the Columbo film stands out or if it is just average. With this film the location switched to a cruise and it makes for a nice contrast to the landlocked locations of the other films. One other reviewer has commented on the limitation of the location but for me, like By Dawn's Early Light, the limits make it more enjoyable and tight. The plot is solid enough but hardly anything special. The link with Danziger is a big jump to get him into the usual cat'n'mouse role and from there the clues seem to come a little easily to Columbo but it still manages to produce a fairly enjoyable story.
Falk is his usual good self here and he seems to do better thanks to the doubts of the captain and the fact that he is more out of his element than usual. Vaughn is a bit weaker and doesn't quite engage with Columbo as well as he should. Yes, the two of them interact well enough together but it doesn't work as well as the better partnerships do (although it is miles better than his other Columbo appearance). The support cast are impressive with small but valuable contributions from Stockwell, Macnee and Fox.
Overall an enjoyable film that plays it right down the formula line without doing anything that interesting or special. About average for the series and will please fans as a result but there are much better Columbo films out there than this one.
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. Knowing this ahead of time won't ruin anything for you; it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually down to several factors whether or not the Columbo film stands out or if it is just average. With this film the location switched to a cruise and it makes for a nice contrast to the landlocked locations of the other films. One other reviewer has commented on the limitation of the location but for me, like By Dawn's Early Light, the limits make it more enjoyable and tight. The plot is solid enough but hardly anything special. The link with Danziger is a big jump to get him into the usual cat'n'mouse role and from there the clues seem to come a little easily to Columbo but it still manages to produce a fairly enjoyable story.
Falk is his usual good self here and he seems to do better thanks to the doubts of the captain and the fact that he is more out of his element than usual. Vaughn is a bit weaker and doesn't quite engage with Columbo as well as he should. Yes, the two of them interact well enough together but it doesn't work as well as the better partnerships do (although it is miles better than his other Columbo appearance). The support cast are impressive with small but valuable contributions from Stockwell, Macnee and Fox.
Overall an enjoyable film that plays it right down the formula line without doing anything that interesting or special. About average for the series and will please fans as a result but there are much better Columbo films out there than this one.