Swan Song

This Columbo episode is a real treat, as it features a singing Johnny Cash and footage from one of his actual concerts. Cash plays a singing evangelist who, with his domineering wife, travels the country performing religious music in order to raise money for a new tabernacle. Johnny's a little upset as he never gets to see any of the money. When he makes noise about it, his wife, well played by Ida Lupino, to keep him in line, prances out an underage member of the choir whom Cash once seduced. The Cash character plots a great murder by crashing his plane with his wife and choir member in it while he parachutes out.

I thought Johnny Cash did a great job. He had such a tremendous voice and presence, and acting was very natural and relaxed. All in all, a wonderful "Columbo."

Impressively directed by pre-"Cheers" "Coach" Nicholas Colasanto, good old gospel-singer Johnny only gets better after the initial Mann Act scene. You also witness a rare good-guy performance by the pig-squealing "Deliverance" mountain man Bill McKinney as Ida's ("Edna's") brother "Luke." It's quite sadly nostalgic that all of the main characters in this episode are long gone. John Dehner as usual added another fine character actor performance as the aeronautics post-crash investigator, who collaborated with Columbo and stated what a talented person the detective would be as a member of his investigation team. This episode also included some wonderful songs by the "Man in Black."Rest in peace, all, and God bless.

In one of his rare opportunities to show his acting talent, Johnny Cash plays a gospel artist that has to deal with his shrewish wife (Ida Lupino) and his proclivities for dalliances with somewhat younger women. When his wife threatens to expose his infidelities and continues to hold tight to the purse strings, Cash has no option but to plot murder...and a dandy one it is.

The two-hour episode allows Cash to do what he does well: sing. However, he gets to stretch his thespian legs as he matches wits with the clever detective.

In addition to a bravura performance from Cash, veteran character actor John Randolph has a brief but memorable part as a gung ho and slightly deaf military man.

This episode is, most definitely, in the Top 10 of all Columbo episodes.

Johnny Cash's limited acting ability is remarkably offset by his semi-autobiographical portrayal of a gospel crusader who wishes to use half of the concert earnings to finance his lavishly reckless lifestyle, rather than plough all of the monies into building an ornate tabernacle. His blackmailing wife and one very young concert group member are killed off so that his reputation remains unblemished and his lifestyle can be maintained.

Everything you would want in a Columbo story is in evidence here: a refreshingly original, well-thought-out plot with an ingeniously conceived "murder" scenario; a very tightly structured script with each scene leading on nicely from the last; circumstantial clues which are clever and instinctively-developed; an abundance of well-crafted scenes between a typically persistent Columbo and a relatively self-assured murderer which have a progressive intensity about them; and well-timed injections of humour.

A crackerjack Columbo episode, that is all the better for making it look like the murderer has won(nb: the marvelous airport scene); and for not being sentimental when Columbo pities the murderer. Almost flawless in its conception and execution, this must be one of the top-three Columbo episodes.

While not one of my favourite episodes, it is one of the more interesting ones for me. It is strikingly filmed, with a score that is atmospheric, clever dialogue and a compelling story that benefits from one of the most ingenious murder scenes of any Columbo episode. It has some great songs, footage of Cash's in concert and Cash himself in tremendous voice. I liked the comic scenes, the undertaker scene was priceless, and the ending was overall satisfying. Peter Falk once again embodies the character of Columbo, and I think Johnny Cash deserves credit for trying his best in a large and complex role. He may be inexperienced, but there are a number of scenes especially in the fantastic rapport between him and Columbo where he is at ease. John Randolph's small part is as juicy as the juiciest orange. The episode is a little slow moving at times with a couple of scenes that felt padded and although the murder was ingenious the scene was almost cheapened by special effects that are pretty lame even for the 70s. Overall though, it is a very good episode and an interesting one too. 8/10 Bethany Cox