Make Me a Perfect Murder

This is, by far, one of the most intriguing episode of Columbo. I love the tone of the storytelling, the incredible music, the suspence and the mesmerizing and terrific performance by Trish Van Devere. I'm a huge fan of her (one of my favorite movies is The day of the dolphin) and she's magnificent here. She plays the role of Kay with the right balance between coldness and anger, sensibility and pain. She is a scorned woman, but also a very sensitive and empathetic one. You can see in Van Devere's performance every shades of a woman with so many emotions. Falk has been matched with so many talented and great actors. But Van Dever has created a very strong character that it's really a pleasure to see Columbo struggling. A perfect episode that fully celebrate the astonishing talent and beauty of Trish Van Devere.

This is a classic case of the "woman scorned" genre. Trash Van Devere is so good in this episode. And the behind the scenes filming were great.

I'm not saying any person should be killed, but the coldness Mark(Laurence Luckinbill)gives to Kay(Trish Van Devere), after getting a big time job offer, even made ME want to hit him. Let me mention that Van Devere is terrific as the scorned woman, and she was the best among a field of Patrick O'Neal, who was also very good in a cameo or 2, Lainie Kazan, whose New York accent you could chop off with an ax, Ron Rifkin, reliable James McEachin, and Columbo veteran Bruce Kirby. The best scene for me was when Columbo is getting his TV fixed, as the repairman(Kirby)talks to Columbo about his dog, who is also in the shop. Kirby and Peter Falk have good chemistry together, although Kirby's characters usually talk down to Columbo. Look for the rare appearance of a late 70's Mustang, a strange looking model which doesn't get much publicity. Although I sometimes criticize how silly the murderer acts around Columbo, I felt Van Devere gave a somewhat realistic performance as the walls came closing in on her.

The ambitious lover and chief assistant to a top TV network programmer exacts murderous revenge when he gets promoted to a high-profile New York post and decides that she has not had enough experience to accompany him in that job.

Quite a freshly plotted Columbo episode considering it was made at the tail-end of the original series; it features quite an engaging and gritty performance from Trish Van Devere as the murderess who is very good at exhibiting her character's misfiring and impatient ambition.

The plot is cleverly and systematically developed: the murderess's grip on the prize job she temporarily acquire's after her lover's demise is dramatically loosened by the ironically erratic decision-making that her lover alluded to prior to his death, in line with the other harassment of Columbo's increasingly revealing investigation.

The main weakness of this Columbo adventure is that it wreaks of padding to satisfy a 120 minute slot - it could easily have been done in 90 minutes: the plot is bloated with prolonged scenes that add no value to the story, particularly the misjudged sub-plot involving a trouble-stricken actress on a TV show.

The circumstantial clues stack up against the murderess quite entertainingly and many of Columbo's intuitive observations are of a reassuringly high-standard, but the murder weapon scenario is rather unconvincing to say the least.

A Columbo story that probably would have had a higher mark but for its damaging protractedness; nevertheless, a story that is not without its merits.

Trish Van Devere goes all out. A woman so ruthless and ambitious but also very flawed. I cannot figure out if she is "Bi-Sexual" or just pretending to be one or the other to get ahead. She does cover for her friend who has a melt down. But does not even hesitate to take out another lover who spurns her and does not reward her attentions with a new job. A very enjoyable episode. She makes a formidable and dangerous adversary