Short Fuse

Roddy McDowall stars as Roger Stanford, the intelligent but irresponsible playboy heir of Stanford Chemicals that decides to kill the CEO named David Buckner(played by James Gregory) who has plans to sell the company that Roger must stop, so arranges to place an explosive box of cigars in his car, and the aftermath of this blowup brings in Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) who comes to believe that Roger is more involved than he lets on, but must come up with a last-ditch plan to expose his guilt. Anne Francis, Ida Lupino, and returning actor William Windom(from "Prescription: Murder") costar in entertaining entry with memorable climax in a tram car.

This one has Roddy MacDowell as the chief villain, a conniving and brilliant member of a family that owns some kind of gigantic chemical plant, only two victims away from the presidency. Good support too, from James Gregory (huffing and puffing), Anne Francis, Ida Lupino, and William Windom.

In order to eliminate the two obstacles to his career path, MacDowell blows one of them up with an exploding cigar and frames the other one for fornication and first-degree mopery.

Comic moments include Colombo being forced by circumstances to take a 15-minute ride on a tram suspended from cables, at times half a mile above the earth. Steve Bochco was the story supervisor and he knows his character. Colombo is frozen with fear but never speaks a word, perhaps unable to. He just stands there like a statue, avoiding the windows, while his guide points out all the scenic features.

The climax is good too, however implausible. MacDowell is led to believe that the exploding cigar is now aboard the tram, along with him, Wisdom, and Colombo. As the time passes and the moment of destruction ticks nearer, he becomes more nervous, finally betraying himself by becoming hysterical and ripping the box of cigars out of Colombo's hands.

It's lots of fun.

Curious note: Both Falk and Anne Francis were raised in Ossining, New York, the site of Singsing Prison, born only a few years apart. Falk visited his home town recently on a kind of nostalgic tour. Arriving, he was greeted by an enthusiastic, cheering crowd, raised his hands, smiled gratefully, and announced, "I gotta take a leak."

This was an entertaining segment with an impressive cast of actors, which include Roddy McDowall, Anne Francis, James Gregory, Ida Lupino, William Windom, and Jason Wingreen. That is quite a cast! Let me get the bad out of the way first; that is, the guilty party usually acting too cocky when they should be the opposite, such as Roger Stanford(McDowall)does here. Also, the song that plays in the club while Gregory's character(David L. Buckner)gets blown up in the car may be the worst recorded song in the history of music. It's that bad! The good parts include a fairly original kill, a mountain railcar, Roger's cool car, some nice outdoor shots at a huge plant, and one of the funnier moments in the series that has Columbo accidentally shooting silly string all over his head. Although I mentioned above that the killers act too guilty, the final scene wasn't something I expected, and that adds to this fun segment.

It should have been Sir Roddy McDowall in my opinion. Why he never got knighted for his contributions to acting and drama, I will never know. This episode also feature Ida Lupino, another legendary actress, writer and director herself. Sir Roddy as I will call him plays a genius character who wants too much from his stepfather who played the evil Vice Presidential candidate in the original Manchurian Candidate. His plan is ingenious but there are exceptions being that Sir Roddy's character is still no match for Lieutenant COlumbo's genius. You have to laugh with him at the end of the film. Like most COlumbo episodes, you have to pay attention. We know who kills the character but how does Columbo catch him or her in some cases is just as fascinating as the episodes themselves.

When his Uncle uncovers compromising evidence against him, Roger Stanford is offered an ultimatum – sign away his rights to his Aunt's corporation or be exposed. Without any options Roger plants a bomb in his Uncle's car and kills him on a remote mountain road. When someone as important as Doris Buckner calls in a missing person, the Police Commissioner sends his best man (Lieutenant Columbo) to investigate. Whenever the wreckage of the car is discovered at the bottom of a ravine, it appears like an accident but a phone message, strange burn patterns and a curious Stanford make Columbo suspect that something untoward may have caused the fatal crash.

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. Saying this is not a spoiler – it is simply what happens in all the films. Here the film is pretty obvious throughout but does have some nice touches along the way. The main problem is that Roger is about the least subtle murderer that the series has seen – not only eccentric but with loads of motive and ability, Columbo goes after him as usual but the game is not as good it can be mainly because the character is so unusual. However the film has a neat ending that is tense and enjoyable even if it is a bit obvious. The fact that it has dated very badly is a bit of a problem, thanks to loads of seventies touches in the music, the direction and, most hilariously, the costumes. It isn't much of a problem but it is funnily distracting at times. The lack of consistent tension is more of a problem and the lack of clues means that the "investigation" is more of a speculation rather a building case.

Falk is his usual self – crumpled, self-deprecating and with a good line in mocking wit. He is as comfortable as an old pair of shoes and is very good value. McDowall is not as good but the problem is more to do with his character than anything else. He is an oddball and he drips suspicion at every turn, he never convinced me that he was the genius that the script would have us believe he was and, what's worse, he never once came across as a match (or anything like a match) for Columbo. The two have vague chemistry but there are no sparks between them and you almost feel pity for McDowall by the end because it was all so easy. The support cast threw up a flashback in the shape of Ida Lupino but it is Falk that steals the film as usual.

Overall this is a standard entry in the series that has the usual formula that will please fans but lacks anything special to really make it stand out. It is enjoyable on these terms but I didn't get much more from it than the average – watch it if you like the films generally but don't expect it to win you over if you have no particular love for the crumpled little policeman.