Columbo: Uneasy Lies the Crown

A substantially plotted and scripted 1990 Columbo episode penned by prolific writer Steven Bochco, which sees a debt-ridden, gambling dentist murder his wife's lover, by putting an overdose of a heart condition drug in the crown he puts in for him and then frames his wife, who is filing for divorce and also possesses a tragic marital history.

The murder set-up is fine, the story holds together very well, but it isn't particularly well-paced despite the deft development of clues which shift the focus of the investigation from the murderer's wife to murderer. Moreover, the story deserves more gritty and assured performances than we evidence, particularly from James Read as the murderer, who, for me, shamefully underacts in his relatively juicy role. Consequently, his scenes with Columbo, which should have possessed a mesmerising ferocity, instead only generate mild entertainment, which unfortunately deflects from the proficient elements of the storyline (just think what Jack Cassidy or Robert Culp could have done with the material!).

Very passable stuff for a new Columbo series that was trying feverishly to get somewhere near the quality of the original series, and in terms of storyline they get very close here. Sadly, the performances from the supporting cast don't really get the best out of the material.

This is one of the better second generation Columbos. The murder is ingenious and the murderer is more intelligent than many others in the later Colombos. He doesn't make any careless mistakes and if not for his arrogance in thinking he couldn't be caught, probably would have gotten away with it. James Read plays a charming and sophisticated villain. It's a pleasure to watch him spar with Colombo and to see his mounting irritation as Columbo keeps turning up as the proverbial bad penny ("uh, just one more thing, sir..."). The cameos by the murderer's poker buddies are a nice treat. Columbo's solution is equally fun and ingenious.

One of the better of the later Columbo movies has James Read as a most prominent dentist with a gambling problem being cheated on by wife Jo Anderson with movie star Marshall Teague and also being kicked out of the practice by father-in-law Paul Burke.

Using the knowledge of his profession Read concocts a scheme to kill the lover and frame the wife for the crime. Read is one cocky and arrogant suspect as he plays the role of the wronged husband standing by his wife.

To show how prominent Read is with the prominent people there's a nice scene here with a poker party with several of his patients playing themselves. They include Dick Sargent, Nancy Walker, and Dodger great 3rd baseman Ron Cey. Read is losing there and he likes to bet frequently on slow horses.

In fact it's at the track where Peter Falk confronts him even still not quite having put it together.

Read's one of Columbo's best villains, the ones you really love seeing tripped up.

As incredible and implausible as it is I still like this one because it kept me entertained. John Reed makes a great villain.

It is not unusual that fate plays a big role in making Columbo's job easier. As an example, who would normally leave the parking stub on the windshield? Besides, wouldn't it be turned in at the garage gate? Of course, this is Hollywood where many unusual things happen everyday. So, never mind that "little detail." I certainly enjoyed this episode and I'm ready to watch it again.

PLOT: A charismatic dentist with a gambling problem (James Read) concocts a clever way to murder his wife's movie star lover and frame her (Jo Anderson), but Columbo finds flaws in the elaborate scheme. Paul Burke plays the senior partner father-in-law in his final role.

COMMENTARY: The script was originally written in 1973 by Steven Bochco for the third season of Columbo, but Falk felt the villain was weak. So the teleplay was later used for the penultimate episode of McMillan & Wife, "Affair of the Heart" (1977). Obviously Falk changed his mind by the time this episode was shot, but he was unaware that it was used for McMillan a dozen years earlier.

While the murder scheme is a little too creative (i.e. farfetched), this installment is as good as any typical segment of the 70's show and plot-wise is reminiscent of "A Stitch in Crime" (1973), which may be an additional reason why Falk rejected it at the time. It's not great like "Stitch" because it's 24 minutes longer and contains some padding, but it's still a very good episode. Redhead Anderson is strikingly lovely.

GRADE: B+