Swan Song

Clumsy insertion of stock footage wife blackmailing him to continue homemade parachute

Aside from a few minor complaints (the use of clumsily inserted stock footage at the beginning and the overuse of the song "I Saw the Light"), this is a very good episode of "Columbo" and features a very likable murderer!

When the story begins, Tommy Brown (Johnny Cash) is completing yet another successful concert. However, despite his gospel music, he's a very earthy man and we soon discover this when his wife (Ida Lupino) confronts him. What had he done? Oh, not much....just statutory rape! Then, to hide this crime, he concocts a very elaborate plane crash which kills both the victim and Tommy's wife. Can Columbo figure out that there's more to the crash than meets the eye?

Johnny Cash was a good actor and through the 1960s and 70s, he did quite a bit of acting. In this case, he managed to make his evil character seem a bit nice....rather likable in fact. And, not surprisingly, Columbo seems to like him as well....though, as you must remember, murder isn't a very nice thing to do! Overall, well written, acted and a nice finale.

In this episode, Johnny Cash's Tommy Brown is both an arrogant and a sympathetic figure to behold, and Cash plays it almost perfectly. As is known by now, he executes an original plot to murder his wife and his one-time romantic fling, who just happened to be underage when Brown had an affair with her a few years back. Turns out his current wife, played both annoyingly and convincingly by Ida Lupino, is using this as leverage against him, as he can be sent back to prison. This is his motive to kill the 2 by plane, of which he's the pilot. Is this plot a little far-fetched? Probably. Certain loose ends have Columbo thinking this was more than just pilot error, so his scenes with Cash are both humorous and interesting, and they both have good chemistry with each other. There are many funny moments including scenes with a seamstress, an undertaker, and an older military general, but Johnny Cash shines as the murderer.

Lastly, the only moment in this episode which I didn't totally believe is the conclusion, when Brown admits that the guilt was getting to him, and that he was going to confess eventually. He was too arrogant for me to agree with this; otherwise, this is a solid episode of the legendary Columbo series.

When Academy Award nominee Joaquim Phoenix was researching Johnny Cash, he mentioned this Columbo episode in particular. Johnny Cash plays a man who is very similar in some respects to his real personality. They're both musicians and singers but that's it. Johnny's character is a recovering criminal who married Ida Lupino's character who is overly zealous about God and religion. When her character learns of her husband's straying with younger girls, he decides to off them on the plane but survives. Anyway, I love watching Johnny Cash and Peter Falk together. I love the scene where Columbo researches parachutes and goes into the sewing room where the woman thinks she is losing her mind. Anyway, I remember that scene in particular as he tries to figure out how he did it. In the end, it's just worth watching. It's for Johnny Cash fans especially. He would have been a wonderful actor as well as singer.

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.