Jeu d'identité

This episode has all the trademarks: Guest appearances by Hollywood notables; memorable one-line throwaway gags; a baffling mystery; familiar L.A. locations; problems with the car ("there's only three like this in the country" he says; and Columbo's tying things together by staying on that one thing that doesn't make sense.

Guest was Leslie Nielsen, looking younger and much more serious than in the other roles I've seen him in.

Can we catalog the great one-liners in these 68 movies? Here are two from this episode: Columbo: "Do you have any wine?" McGoohan: "I have a whole cellar full." Columbo (waving his hand) "Oh, I'll just have a glass." Another classic: McGoohan: "Do you like music?" Columbo: "Oh, I hear it all the time."

Seeing the action at Travel Town, where I took my daughter 10 years ago, added to my enjoyment of this episode.

Maybe it's my tv adjustment, but the clash is getting greater between the color of Columbo's suit and his raincoat ...

Stay the course, Lieutenant Columbo, stay the course.

Leslie Nielsen dying in the first few minutes tells you that this is going to be a good TV film after all! However he does get to accompany McGoohan at the funfair first. McGoohan's portrayal of a cynical killer who is kind to little girls takes us all right back to those gallant Danger Man days! Then he even has the nerve to deliver the line "Be Seeing You" repeatedly, a farewell to his Prisoner devotees? What a star! Peter Falk shuffles in and you know even McGoohan's time is limited but what a lot he packs in first! McGoohan even gets to do his favourite 'pretending to be a very old man' party-piece. As other reviewers have said, an excellent piece with many strands. Columbo was always great but some episodes were brilliant. The only criticism of this one would be that even Columbo would never have caught this guy!

While I agree with those who point out the plot implausibilities, there is no denying the chemistry that exists between Falk and McGoohan. Other installments surely have a tighter plot and stronger story- telling, but McGoohan is hands-down the finest bad guy the series had. Not for nothing was he featured four times. Just the way he intones "mahjongg" make it worth wading through the borderline ludicrous plot twists.

Peter Falk enters the world of espionage with this case as CIA man Leslie Nielsen is found dead on a beach after leaving a restaurant. He was having dinner with Patrick McGoohan who then murdered him. Nielsen was getting way too close to finding out that McGoohan had a secret identity as a double agent named Steinmetz.

Again Falk is facing a perpetrator who is pretty smart and resourceful and in his case can call down the very forces of the government he's betraying to halt the investigation. In fact he does have Columbo followed and then even has David White who is playing his superior come down and confer with Columbo. All that does is convince Falk that he's definitely got the right guy.

This one is a cleverly written story and how does McGoohan get tripped up. Something as simple as the time of the day. Check this out.

In 1975 I saw this episode on the first run.

Roughly fifteen years later I saw this episode on late night television and they cut the clue scene short five seconds before the clue.

This week I saw this episode on Bravo and they cut out the scene with the clue entirely.

I won't spoil it for you, but it would be a much better episode if they showed the full scene of the perp driving his car in the early morning light, listening to the car radio, the morning after the murder.

(Is it okay to say that there was a murder?)