Murder Under Glass

Both Steven Spielberg and Jonathan Demme cut their teeth on Columbo. This is a particularly good episode that sports not only Demme directing but an excellent script by Robert Van Scoyck, an award winning writer who wrote episodes for Columbo, Ellery Queen, Banacek, and other shows.

Louis Jourdan is the murderer du jour in this one, playing a blackmailing restaurant reviewer who collects big time from some of the local establishments, owned by France Nuyen, Michael Gazzo, and others, in return for good TV reviews. Shera Danese, Falk's then new wife, plays Jourdan's associate, who's in love with him but isn't getting very far. One of the restaurant owners has had enough and threatens to expose Jourdan, so he poisons him over dinner. Columbo pegs Jourdan within minutes of getting to the scene. At this writing, the dialogue at the end of the show is on the home page for this episode, and I hope it's removed. We all know who did it, but learning how Columbo reached his conclusion is a lot of the fun.

It's a strange thing about these shows. When you see them as often as I have, you realize that a lot of the shows are based on the same formula: successful man using a woman accomplice with the promise of love unlimited, and yet the shows are presented in such an interesting way that they're not tired. This is a particularly good one, and you'll love Columbo eating his way through restaurant after restaurant while questioning people, and his conversation in Italian with an employee. Basta!

One of Columbo's most elegant opponents appears in this episode. It is Louis Jourdan well known gourmet and food critic who's gotten himself quite a nice racket. For a good review he takes nice kickbacks and one fine day restaurant owner Michael V. Gazzo decides he's not paying any more and is going to expose the whole thing. After dining with Jourdan at his own restaurant, Gazzo takes sick and dies within minutes.

A rather rare and exotic poison that only someone like Jourdan would know about is used. But this particular Columbo is about how it was administered. Jourdan is even helped by the fact that originally suspicion falls on busboy Anthony Alda from the old country who speaks no English. Columbo has to communicate with him in Italian.

The final confrontation scene between Jourdan and Peter Falk is about 20 minutes and it's a classic. Columbo wants Jourdan's professional opinion on his veal scallopine and it's over some fine dining that Falk tells Jourdan how he did it. The dialog is some of the best ever done for a Columbo story and both the players are superlative.

You ought to see this episode for that alone.

Louis Jordan stars as arrogant food critic Paul Gerard, who has been extorting money from local restaurants in exchange for good reviews. One such owner Vittorio Rossi(played by Michael V. Gazzo) decides to expose the scheme, but Gerard instead kills him, poisoning a wine bottle using a rare fish that he thinks will go undetected, but Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) of course discovers quickly the truth, but finding the right proof(and avoid overeating from the often-offered food of grateful restaurant owners) will be a different matter. Classy episode with Jordan effectively cold-blooded and self-satisfied. Certainly a lot of expensive food on display here.

This whole episode, but most certainly its succinct ending, full of subtle life and summation via its robust subtext, captured my interest so much so that I had to come online and see if Robert Van Scoyck had an entry in IMDB. Sure enough, he does, and I also see he won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for this particular show. Kudos to myself for recognizing great work without any bias, and congrats to Mr. Van Scoyck for the award. Thanks for leaving memorable work we can look up to!

Louis Jordan is very good in this Columbo movie. Peter Falk, as usual, comes through, and we can't get enough of him! 'Don't know if it was intentional or not, but it seems someone was using similarities on purpose, in this film, to the old movie "History Is Made At Night" with Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur. 'The restaurant, both men named 'Paul', both women named 'Irene' (in 'Columbo', 'Irene was the alias of the gal, which she used at the bank.), the connection to France,...just thought I'd mention that. We were amused by it, even if it wasn't intentional. 'Would like to know, however, if it WAS done on purpose.

'Hope Falk lives forever, 'cause we just love that Columbo!!