George Hamilton still had some grey hair left over from his role in The Godfather III. He plays Wade Anders a security consultant turned smooth and successful true crime television host.
A rival host, chain smoking Budd Clarke lost out to the presenter's job and is bitter about it. He plans to blackmail Wade over a skin flick he made many years ago.
Wade is not taking this lying down and plans to kill Budd by poisoning his cigarettes.
This is one case where my sympathies are with Wade. Normally the killer is arrogant, here Wade is rather a nice guy. He might be self confident but his interactions with his colleagues seems genuine. Budd is a relic of the past and he somehow thinks if Wade resigns the executives are going to give him the gig.
Of course Columbo sees things do not sit well in the crime scene. A ashtray full of cigarette butts that were not smoked. It all smacks of writers inputting mistakes and conveniences so Columbo can catch the killer.
Hamilton was certainly ecstatic that Francis Coppola chose him for The Godfather III where he showed he can cut it with the best. Here he is certainly more restrained in his acting.
A rival host, chain smoking Budd Clarke lost out to the presenter's job and is bitter about it. He plans to blackmail Wade over a skin flick he made many years ago.
Wade is not taking this lying down and plans to kill Budd by poisoning his cigarettes.
This is one case where my sympathies are with Wade. Normally the killer is arrogant, here Wade is rather a nice guy. He might be self confident but his interactions with his colleagues seems genuine. Budd is a relic of the past and he somehow thinks if Wade resigns the executives are going to give him the gig.
Of course Columbo sees things do not sit well in the crime scene. A ashtray full of cigarette butts that were not smoked. It all smacks of writers inputting mistakes and conveniences so Columbo can catch the killer.
Hamilton was certainly ecstatic that Francis Coppola chose him for The Godfather III where he showed he can cut it with the best. Here he is certainly more restrained in his acting.