This is the one with Joyce van Patten as the spinster curator of a museum. The museum is losing money and her brother, Tim O'Connor, wants to sell its inventory and shut it down, the fact that Van Patten has devoted her entire life to the organization notwithstanding. How can she prevent this catastrophe? Well, her niece, Jeannie Berlin, is going with a guy who has a miscreant brother. The brother, recently out of the Crowbar Hotel, has been hired as a security guard at the museum but he's sloppy and careless.
Van Patten arranges a burglary by the willing guard late one night, but she herself shows up on the scene and shoots him dead. Her brother, taking inventory, investigates the noise and she shoots him too. Then she arranges the scene in such a way as to suggest that the brother interrupted the ongoing burglary and the two men shot each other simultaneously.
Columbo shows up and unravels the crime with his usual unerring intuition.
There's one very funny scene involving a hair dresser, but other than that it seems as if the writers went for something a little different from the usual formula. Family relationships are explored in some depth and instigate the viewer's sympathy for Van Patten who is about to be deprived of everything she loves. The usual motives -- greed, jealousy, blackmail -- don't apply.
Van Patten is as dry as always but this time it suits the part. She gets able support from the slow, thoughtful performance of Jeannie Berlin, daughter of Elaine May. Berlin has large and generous features but remains beautiful. Van Patten and Berlin get along very well and it's easy to see why. Van Patten is sterile and rational. Berlin is soft and emotional. They complement one another. It's rather touching when Berlin kisses Van Patten's forehead and says, "I wish you were my mother." Berlin's real mother is the hysterical Celeste Holm. Holm is a fine actress but this part defeats her, as it would anyone else. The attempts to make her character humorous only make one wince. Many of the smiles are given over to the sergeant, Jon Miller, who has a queer voice and makes puzzled queries without cracking a smile.
All in all, a rather standard entry. It reaches for some depth but in doing so emits a creaking sound, as of joints long unused. Not a failure, but not one of the best.
Van Patten arranges a burglary by the willing guard late one night, but she herself shows up on the scene and shoots him dead. Her brother, taking inventory, investigates the noise and she shoots him too. Then she arranges the scene in such a way as to suggest that the brother interrupted the ongoing burglary and the two men shot each other simultaneously.
Columbo shows up and unravels the crime with his usual unerring intuition.
There's one very funny scene involving a hair dresser, but other than that it seems as if the writers went for something a little different from the usual formula. Family relationships are explored in some depth and instigate the viewer's sympathy for Van Patten who is about to be deprived of everything she loves. The usual motives -- greed, jealousy, blackmail -- don't apply.
Van Patten is as dry as always but this time it suits the part. She gets able support from the slow, thoughtful performance of Jeannie Berlin, daughter of Elaine May. Berlin has large and generous features but remains beautiful. Van Patten and Berlin get along very well and it's easy to see why. Van Patten is sterile and rational. Berlin is soft and emotional. They complement one another. It's rather touching when Berlin kisses Van Patten's forehead and says, "I wish you were my mother." Berlin's real mother is the hysterical Celeste Holm. Holm is a fine actress but this part defeats her, as it would anyone else. The attempts to make her character humorous only make one wince. Many of the smiles are given over to the sergeant, Jon Miller, who has a queer voice and makes puzzled queries without cracking a smile.
All in all, a rather standard entry. It reaches for some depth but in doing so emits a creaking sound, as of joints long unused. Not a failure, but not one of the best.