Now You See Him

Of all of the repeat offenders who appeared on Columbo, I admit to liking Jack Cassidy the best. Handsome, charming, exuding great self-confidence, always immaculately dressed, he's one you just love to see Columbo drag off to prison, no matter what character he's playing.

Here's he's a well-known magician with a secret. Calling himself The Great Santini, he's known by the blackmailing club owner Jesse Jerome (Nehemiah Persoff) of the Magic nightclub where he performs as Stefan Mueller, former SS officer.

Jerome collects 50% of The Great Santini's earnings - he's a regular Tom Parker. Elvis may not have known any better, but Santini does, and he's sick of paying up. When he tries to pay just 10%, Jerome informs him that if he doesn't have the rest of the money by performance time, he'll be writing to the Israeli government and turning him in.

Santini doesn't appear with the rest of the money - he has other plans, which include shooting Jerome during the time when he has an excellent alibi, stuck on stage in a locked case submerged in a tank of water.

I always try to find the moment where Columbo knows the identity of the killer - this one didn't take him long. Bob Dishy is a riot as the officer assisting Columbo, constantly returning the new raincoat Mrs. Columbo gave her husband, which he is desperate to lose.

Fantastic episode, with the lovely Cynthia Sikes as The Great Santini's daughter. Sadly, it was Cassidy's last appearance - he died in a fire in December 1976, the year of this episode.

Jack Cassidy dazzles as The Great Santini, a magician with a hatful of tricks but not enough to pull the wool over Columbo's eyes.

The Great Santini has had enough with sharing half his earnings with club owner Jesse Jerome (Nehemiah Persoff.) Jerome found out that Santini was a Nazi and a member of the SS and has been blackmailing him.

Santini conjures up an elaborate plan to have Jerome killed while he is supposedly performing a death defying escape act.

Columbo hooks up again with Sergeant Wilson who is always finding the new raincoat that Columbo wants to lose. Thayer David who was memorable in Rocky turns up as a magic shop clerk who gives Columbo an important clue.

This is Cassidy's episode, he died a few months after this was broadcast. He leaves a performance that shows just what a talent he was. There is some really nifty tricks on show here and Cassidy pulls it off with great aplomb.

Columbo has always been one of my favourites, and Now You See Him... while not quite among my absolute favourites is still a very good episode. It has lovely locations and the editing and photography are as slick as ever. The music also adds much to the atmosphere. The story is diverting in concept right from the well-constructed murder and never lets go. The ending is clever and satisfying if not going off like fireworks like Suitable For Framing or A Stitch in Crime did. The script is tense and clever with bits of humour that doesn't feel jarring. Now You See Him... is beautifully directed too. Of the support cast, it was interesting to see Nehemiah Persoff and Robert Loggia, but neither don't have that much to do really. I have to say though Bob Dishy has a role that is much better written than his role in The Greenhouse Jungle(which I liked but remember it for Ray Milland than anything else) and it shows, he really makes the most of it. I was most impressed by Cynthia Sikes, very beautiful and she can act. But it is the two leads that dominate. Peter Falk is brilliant as Columbo, while Jack Cassidy(one of the series' most justifiably most frequent and memorable guest stars) is wonderfully and smug. While Publish and Perish is my personal favourite of his three episodes(Murder By the Book is great too), my personal favourite performance of his in the Columbo series is here. In conclusion, a very good, no scratch that, great Columbo. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This the third Columbo that Jack Cassidy has played the villain and sadly the last. This is my favorite of the three where Cassidy plays the Great Santini who is on a us tour for his magic act. Santini's boss is aware that the Great Santini used to be an ex-Nazi named stefan Mueller during the end of world war II and the exposure of this leads Santini to preform the " perfect murder." In my opinion this was one of the most clever murders of the entire series due to beguiling tricks up Santini's sleeve. Once Peter Falk joins the festivities the pure magic begins as these two icons of film trifle around about magic tricks and secrets that must be revealed to sort out alibi's. Lt Columbo states "Your really not in that cube"? This terrific episode continues with other side acts including a Sergeant from a previous Columbo titled "The Greenhouse Jungle" returns to rekindle some comic relief with Lt Columbo. Lt Columbo constantly forgetting his new coat and Seargent Wilson always finding it for him is some of the funniest moments in the series. As good as Falk is here the show really belongs to Cassidy with his cocksure panache and smug posture really is convinced that he has preformed the perfect murder until Columbo tests his abilities to pick a pair of handcuffs for hardened criminals. This particular scene is one of tense moments in the entire series. Cassidy knows if he picks it he is guilty but still the master of illusions is more concerned about his image than to confess a murder. It's at this point Columbo moves in for the kill and starts to glean and glean some more until The Great Santini succumbs to his confession. This is in my top Five Columbo's of all time.

Sadly, this was Jack Cassidy's third and final outing as a Columbo villain, in a episode made not long before his tragic death in a housefire. Here he is just as effective as before as he perfectly conveys the wholesesome villainy and cold-bloodedness of his characterisation - a stiff jaw, humourless and stern-faced expressions, hard-hitting and economical use of dialogue, a piercing focus of the eyes and simmering arrogance that is often forced out of him.

All in all, Cassidy's contribution aside, this is a entertaining, well-produced and watchable addition to the series., with some interesting insights into the world of magic, accompanied by some typically robust forms of deduction (the creases/sweat on the back of the victim's shirt being an obvious example).

There are, as you might expect, some strong scenes between Falk and Cassidy; particularly memorable ones are when Columbo challenges Cassidy's character to escape from the former's handcuffs, and at the finale -

Santini (Cassidy) says: "..And I thought I had performed the perfect murder..." Columbo (Falk) says: "....there is no such thing...that is just an illusion!"

A very good standard Columbo, made at a time when original scripts were becoming increasingly difficult to conceive.