Make Me a Perfect Murder

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

Trish van Devere makes for a good killer. A woman scorned, she murders her lover who she thinks is a partner producer for a TV network. She's cold and steely but also human and, like the best Columbo villains, very sympathetic, and not just because she's a woman.

The problem with this episode is the problem with the entire final Season 7, before the show was done... until returning years later, which don't really count in my book... For true Columbo fans, THIS was the show's final season...

Herein, Falk is no longer being natural as Columbo, but seems to be doing a Columbo imitation by acting like his Murder by Death character channelling Bogart. He crosses his eyes in a cartoonish fashion and his voice sounds like Bugs Bunny...

Here, though, he's kept in check, and it's mostly because of the villain, Devere, who the producers of Columbo obviously thought wasn't strong enough to lead the show in the usual 15 minute murder first after which Columbo rolls in to figure things out...

Instead, vapid scenes of Columbo getting his neck injured in a car wreck are spliced into the prologue murder, and with the exception to this episode's acting and writing, it's rather awkward.

This and Clive Revill's turn as an Irish Revolutionary poet in the final episode are the top episodes of this quirky final season when Falk seems done with Columbo, and he might've been trying to tell us something. If that's true, only a few caught on...

I've read previous comments on this movie. The premise of this movie is a Television executive [Trish Van Devere] wants a promotion she feels is justly deserved. She finds out that her boyfriend has been given the job, he gives her a Mercedes as a consolation prize, of course, she kills him. Temporarily the affiliate gives her the job, until they can find a replacement. This was a great episode! Columbo once again makes the suspect sweat as he gets closer to solving the crime. Ms. Van Devere plays the part of the villain perfectly. She isn't a trained killer, she knows it, and plays the part of a frightened novice criminal with perfection. I'm a die hard Columbo fan from the very beginning of the show. This episode is one of the best.

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.