Publish or Perish

"Publish or Perish" marks the second time Jack Cassidy starred as a villain on "Columbo". It also is interesting because the famous pulp writer, Mickey Spillane, stars as the murder victim!

Riley Greenleaf (Cassidy) is a publisher who apparently holds grudges. When he learns that a best-selling author is about to leave his company, he plots to murder him using a very elaborate plan and a seriously disturbed young man who enjoys blowing up things! The plan works great...until Greenleaf tries too hard to tidy up every loose end. As is typical of most "Columbo" episodes, this results in his brilliant plan unraveling.

This is an enjoyable episode...one worth seeing. My only worry is that my wife is also a best-selling author and I think I'd better warn her against changing publishers!

Jack Cassidy returns as another killer, this time a publisher called Riley Greenleaf who is about to lose one of his top authors to a rival firm, so concocts an elaborate scheme to give himself a drunken alibi, ending in jail after a forced auto accident, that brings in Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) who first believes it to be a frame-up, but the later murder of the actual, bomb-making assassin(and would-be author) puts the case in a whole new direction. Mariette Hartley guest stars. Exciting episode with Cassidy playing a character not unlike the one he played before('Murder By The Book') A shame some plot connection couldn't have been made from that...

There are Columbo episodes, and there are Columbo episodes. For the most part, Peter Falk is consistent as the consummate Lt. Columbo, so what makes certain episodes shine are those who play in the role of his adversary. Robert Culp and Patrick McGoohan readily come to mind, as does Jack Cassidy, in his several (I believe three) appearances in various episodes, including this one. Cassidy never disappoints. He is cool and sly, often paying "left-handed" compliments to the good Lieutenant as the cat and mouse game ensues. Add to Cassidy's performance this great story and script, and you've got one of the classic episodes.

PUBLISH OR PERISH is a short and straightforward mystery for the ever-dedicated Lieutenant Columbo. The villain of the piece in this one is series regular Jack Cassidy, playing a snotty publisher who finds himself peeved when a bestselling author cuts him off, planning to go with a rival house. He's not about to let this stand, however...

The scant running time means that PUBLISH OR PERISH is a fast-paced movie. The murder is already over and Columbo already investigating in the first twenty minutes. The twists and turns and uncovering of plot points is cleverly done, including a few things that I missed myself, and the cast is very good. Cassidy makes for a delightfully unpleasant bad guy, and real-life bestselling author Mickey Spillane has a pivotal cameo. And John David Chandler is up there with Reggie Nalder in terms of evil-looking actors.

As usual, this production belongs to the ever-great Peter Falk, who's on top form as the apparently befuddled detective. His interlude in a posh restaurant is a comic highlight , but overall the detective's force of personality has never been, well, so insistent. PUBLISH OR PERISH marks Columbo at his most dedicated.

I love Columbo. Have almost all of them on DVD.

But Publish or PErish strikes me as one of the more poorly written episodes.

In particular, one giant inconsistency. Riley Grrenleaf has an alcoholic blackout, he claims, and has no alibi for the time his best selling author was murdered. Riley greenleaf is the authors long-time publisher and is being dumped.

He is examining his car with Lt Columbo, noting a great deal of damage. The phone rings and Greenleaf's attorney goes in to answer the phone. When he returns he gloats to both Columbo and Greenleaf, that the latter has an ironclad alibi even he doesn't know about. He was in Encino the night before, getting drunk. HE had an accident with his car, was eventually arrested and spent the night int he drunk tank until he, the lawyer, bailed him out that morning.

So my question is, if Columbo is there asking all these questions about where Riley Greenleaf was at the time of the murder, why didn't the lawyer pipe up with this information at THAT time? Instead he lets Greenleaf squirm. He just told us he, the lawyer bailed greenleaf out of the drunk tank that morning.

Makes me nuts every single time I see this episode.