PLOT: A middle-aged actress (Anne Baxter) is blackmailed by a gossip journalist (Mel Ferrer) and, evidently, seeks to silence him through an automobile explosion. Pippa Scott plays her faithful assistant while Kevin McCarthy appears as the ex-starlet's new beau.
COMMENTARY: The first half is curiously lackluster with the murder sequence being questionable at best (e.g. the dubious way the vehicle explodes, plus why didn't the victim just jump out the door before flames engulfed the car). The ostensibly obtuse sleuth returns to Universal Studios for much of the runtime, which recalls some scenes in the first Columbo movie "Prescription: Murder" (1968). Anne still looked good at 49 during shooting and the gumshoe seems more charmingly pestering as ever.
The second half thankfully picks up steam as we learn that not everything is as it first appeared. The story contains some quality twists and effectively connects-the-dots at the end. Nevertheless this is the least of the Columbo flicks up to this point after the previous installment "Dagger of the Mind."
GRADE: C+/B-
COMMENTARY: The first half is curiously lackluster with the murder sequence being questionable at best (e.g. the dubious way the vehicle explodes, plus why didn't the victim just jump out the door before flames engulfed the car). The ostensibly obtuse sleuth returns to Universal Studios for much of the runtime, which recalls some scenes in the first Columbo movie "Prescription: Murder" (1968). Anne still looked good at 49 during shooting and the gumshoe seems more charmingly pestering as ever.
The second half thankfully picks up steam as we learn that not everything is as it first appeared. The story contains some quality twists and effectively connects-the-dots at the end. Nevertheless this is the least of the Columbo flicks up to this point after the previous installment "Dagger of the Mind."
GRADE: C+/B-