A Matter of Honor

The episode begins with Columbo in Mexico. He's in trouble because a group of folks staged an accident and Columbo barely speaks Spanish. Fortunately a local policeman intervenes...unfortunately, he has to stay in the country for a few more days AND this policeman asks him to help on a case. It seems that on the estate of a great retired bullfighter, Don Montoya (Ricardo Montalban), there have been a couple accidents. First, a young bullfighter in training was severely injured. Second, shortly after that the injured man's father is torn to pieces by the same bull. Soon, Columbo is convinced that the death was NOT an accident...the bull was 'helped'. But why??

This is a sub-par episode because by the end Columbo found a good reason for the murder but in no way did he prove that the murderer killed anyone....no evidence at all. Yet, inexplicably, the man surrendered to police and the credits began to roll! Overall, quite weak...and a disappointment.

By the way, this as well as episodes of "Mannix", "Quincy", "Murder She Wrote", "Cannon" and "Columbo" have convinced me that crimefighters should NEVER go on vacation....bodies are sure to begin piling up wherever they go!

Yes we've owned all 69 Columbia episodes forever.

As such, we've seen them all too many times. And yes, we'll do it again😊 'A Matter of Honor' was not one of my favs after first viewing so any years ago. But I came to appreciate Montalban's role more with time. Of course Falk's role as Columbo is only the best ever put on tv; thanks in large part to great writing.

The unveiling of the facts follows the usual course. And the TJ Chief of Police, (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), who practically kidnaps Columbo to solicit his help; is a super likable guy. And because the suspect is such a prominent & influential member of the community, he REALLY needs Columbo, both for investigative & scapegoat reasons. One of the great things about this episode, IS the police chief's reckoning with himself as to "what kind of man/cop; he himself really is. ?

I might have rated it a star too high; but remember; whatever the worst Columbo episode is, it is nonetheless better than (pretty much), all other tv.

Bob R.

A well-paced, well-thought-out adventure for Columbo whose penchant for spotting seemingly trivial and unrelated clues at an "accident" scene is highlighted in enjoyable fashion here.

The fact that Columbo is cajoled into helping the Mexican police with their investigations whilst he is on holiday provides an alternative platform for Columbo to exploit his careful, crafty and meticulous style of detective work, which increasingly irritates the renowned (murdering) bull-fighter in this story who is considered to be totally above reproach; this structure works particularly well.

Another asset to this adventure is that the clues are inserted into the script at well-chosen moments, and coupled with the fact that Columbo struggles to discover a motive to underpin the murder, it all leads to a fascinating conclusion.

The main drawback, on reflection, appears to be the rather stiff performance of Ricardo Montalban in the murderer's role; the fractious on-screen chemistry between Columbo and adversary is plentifully evident in many of the best Columbo episodes, but it never really seems to consistently ignite here.

Nevertheless, a good standard outing for the scruffy detective, which is certainly well worth watching, although it would not quite reach the vintage description.

Ricardo Montalban plays a proud matador in Mexico who, after an accident involving a bull, feels compelled to murder one of the witnesses, cleverly using a bull as the weapon, despite him being an old friend, because he cannot take the chance that his honor/reputation will be threatened. Enter Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) who is visiting Mexico at the time, and after an auto accident, finds himself stranded and forced to investigate the death at the request of the police, which he does conclude to be murder, despite being way out of his jurisdiction to make an actual arrest... Montalban in particular is quite good, elevating this otherwise routine entry.

Columbo is on vacation in Mexico and he is a stranger to this country. Guest stars Ricardo Montalban stars as a celebrity matador who kills the man who knows his deepest secret. A. Martinez from L.A. Law, Santa Barbara, and General Hospital has a memorable role as the son of the victim. Anyway, it's typical Columbo with a usual formula. He gets entangled with his own problems. They mention a previous crime solved in another episode entitled "Troubled Waters." Well anyway, this Columbo episode doesn't rank up there as one of my personal favorites but it is worth watching great actors like Falk and Montalban have exchanges and A. Martinez perform in a supporting role. Even today, Mexicans are rarely seen on mainstream television shows and it gave a very different exposure rather than everybody in the country crossing the border. Nobody seemed in this episode to be racing to get over the Border. Keep that in mind and nobody was smuggled in Columbo's car.