This installment of "Thriller" aired at the end of its brilliant third series. Unfortunately it is way below the standard of the five preceding episodes but it is still very sound and profits from further watching.
Bernard Peel (Christopher George) is an American businessman living in England, married to an exceptional corporate lawyer. He returns home from a party one evening, has a drink and falls asleep. He is woken by the doorbell and is alarmed to find the police. They tell him they have been tipped-off about an incident involving him and his wife. He is utterly incredulous. An inspection of the house shows evidence of a violent incident and of a female visitor, but Bernard denies all knowledge. Matters get far worse when the boot of his car is opened and his wife's body is found.
Bernard is arrested by the police for the murder of his wife. He strenuously denies responsibility and calls in the services of the foppish but remarkably skilled private investigator Matthew Earp (Dinsdale Landen). Earp approaches the case with typical incisiveness and is true to his word that he will prove who killed Jennifer Peel.
On screen this is a rather pedestrian outing, never generating the tension and edge of many other stories. However it is very professional, and doesn't embody some of the glaring weaknesses of some other lesser episodes. Its great virtue is the return of the marvelous Matthew Earp. Earp is a deliciously witty and entertaining figure but never just a comic presence or a caricature. There is also a very sharp brain, and he is a brave and skilled fighter as the climax demonstrates. Dinsdale Landen's performance, as in Earp's other appearance in "An Echo Of Theresa", is perfect. There are also some neat exchanges with Gifford (Edward Hardwicke) the detective who quietly resents Earp's involvement as well as his enormous fees.
Christopher George does a fair job as Bernard Peel. Hans Meyer has a nice part as a director of Peel's business who is clearly suspicious of him and unhappy about being down the pecking order. There is a note-worthy appearance by Richard Todd as Tulliver, one of Bernard's colleagues.
1974 was a big year for the martial arts and they make an appearance here, with karate being employed by one unlikely assassin. Unfortunately they also make for a very silly piece of art-work on the American end-titles in which a fist above Peel's head appears to be pulling his hair! These "artistic" end-titles were almost always appalling and are best avoided.
The climax features an extraordinary twist that is a great bonus - one of the most striking in the show. Maybe if the preceding hour had been more memorable this could have been one of the better installments of a great programme.