Playback

Harold Van Wick has landed on his feet by marrying the wheelchair-bound Elizabeth Meadis as he has become the head of the family electronics company. Harold has driven the company to focus on gadgets like the many toys he has in his own home – a direction that mother-in-law blames for the fall in profits of her company. When she decides to fire him, Harold sets it up to kill her, make it look like a burglary and use the CCTV with a recording to make the security guard think it happened while Harold was at a party. It all goes to plan but wet mulch and the precision of Harold's timings make Columbo believe this is not as simple as a robbery gone wrong.

The problem with me having seen so many of the Columbo films is that there are so few left for me to watch without knowing the whole show. This has meant me mostly watching the modern ones which aren't as good as the original films. Playback caught my eye in the TV guide and I had no memory ever seeing it and was thus looking forward to it. This pressure of expectation could have damaged the viewing of it but thankfully this was a typically strong Columbo that sticks to the formula and delivers what the fans love about the series. The plot is the usual cat and mouse game as Columbo tries to piece the mystery together and it is a good example of how to do it. The little details are well worked by Columbo and he has good chemistry with Harold, albeit not quite as good as in the best films. The humour is present as well, which helps things move along entertainingly and makes Columbo fun as a character.

Falk is terrible here when asked to act like he has a cold – for some reason he cannot do it and his sneezes are laughable. However in every other regard he gives great Columbo. He is self-depreciating but always leaves just enough of his cogs turning visible so the viewer knows what he is doing. His turn in the art gallery is an obvious scene but he makes it work by the deftness of his comic touch – the moment where he explains to the gallery owner that his wife paints is probably one of my favourite Columbo moments. He works well with Werner, who himself is good value even if he is given a slighter weaker character than some of the better adversary roles have had. Support is so-so from Scott and Rowlands, mainly because the two men make the film theirs and work their joint and individual scenes well.

Overall then a great example of what the Columbo films do well. The formula is all in place and all parts work well – from the mystery right through to the humour. Apart from a terrible cold, Falk is strong and works well with Werner in a film that will please fans and showcase the film series for first timers.

My favorite Columbo for so many reasons. Oscar Werner is one of his best adversaries - note the wonderful way he refuses to accept he has been caught and that his fool-proof plan was thwarted by a simple human frailty - carelessness. Gena Rowlands, though restricted by her wheelchair bound role, nevertheless acts as a streak of goodness running against the machinations of her husband. Look at the way she is displayed in flowing robes and long blonde hair, almost angelic.

The real strength of this episode lies in the denouement. 99% of the time we root for Columbo to outwit the murderer but here there is no winner. Gena Rowlands has neither a mother nor a husband at the end, as Werner led is away for incarceration, but there is no victory in Columbo's face, only a deep empathetic resignation and an underlining of what is the true cost when people commit the most heinous of crimes.

Again Columbo seems to be completely out-classed, but again his usual turn around and asking just that one question, harassing the person he thinks has done it until some progress is made. There also is the enjoyable presence of his dog, but as usual, his wife isn't there.

In this episode Peter Faulk is in great form, as always. And the villain of the week, Oskar Werner, turns a decent performance as well. But for me the real icing on the cake was the performance of Gena Rowlands, who in her role plays the 'innocent audience' (the audience that did not see the opening of the show), as she observes Columbo slowly peel back Werner's alibi and reveal the real perpetrator of her mothers death.

Notice how low key this beautiful, powerful, award winning actress (and wife of John Cassavetes) plays her part. Even with a relatively few number of lines to recite, Gena does not over compensate with on screen affectations in order to get the camera's attention. She is totally understated, and carries out the role almost solely with facial expressions, and of course the well timed flow of tears at the climax of the episode when her character is faced with the undeniable truth she has lost a husband as well as a mother. What a Greek tragedy!

Yes, Gena was the glue sealing the credibility of the story and allowing us, the real audience, to suspend our disbelief and take a nice ride on the murder train. Thank you Gena!

This is one of the better "Columbo" episodes. Oskar Werner is excellent as Harold van Wyck. The company name is "Midas Electronics." The previous reviewer misspelled that. Van Wyck is an inventor ahead of his time. The gadgets portrayed are now everyday things so someone on the production staff did a bit of research in '74 when the episode was filmed. It was originally broadcast during the spring of '75. Van Wyck is a complex genius as the character shows. He clearly enjoys creating the new "inventions." But, he is no saint in that he does apparently like the ladies, and has several extra marital relationships going on. The acting is excellent from an excellent cast. Martha Scott as the mother-in-law is suitably nasty as the company owner out for profit over ideas. Gena Rowlands is, as usual, equally good. This episode of "Columbo" is a rarity. It is the only work done by Oskar Werner on American television.