277:), Wheeler's longtime song and dance partner who has always loved Grace, falsely confesses to save her after Columbo informs him she is suffering from a degenerative brain disease (the primary reason her husband refused to finance her return as the physical strain of acting would have killed her) and likely no longer even remembers the murder. Nonetheless, Columbo is prepared to arrest her. Diamond makes his false confession to Grace who briefly becomes hysterical. Columbo arrests Diamond, both realizing that by the time he is cleared, Grace will have died. Columbo's normal instincts thwarted, he makes several half turns – as though to enter the screening room – where Grace, lost in the past, is watching the film, having already forgotten Diamond's confession. Columbo then leaves the mansion, following Diamond.
759:). He announces at his birthday party his intention to sell the company. That night, someone murders the Commodore. Although we don't see the murder on-screen, Clay is seen covering up the death by taking the Commodore's body out on his yacht at night and throwing it overboard. Columbo investigates with the help of a veteran sergeant and a 29-year-old rookie. The detective's conviction that Clay committed the crime proves premature and inaccurate, an unusual development for Columbo. Clay himself turns up dead and Columbo realizes that someone else is responsible for both murders.
776:, with the actual murderer revealed at the end. Second, neither of the two murders is shown. Third, Columbo's personality is atypically agitated, impatient and less superficially amiable than in most other episodes. Fourth, regular clichés such as "Just one more thing" and "Something's been bothering me" are absent from this episode. Fifth, rather than working alone, Columbo works closely alongside two other police officers (played by
1030:
546:) is gored in the bullring, Montoya freezes up in fear and does not challenge the bull. He later decides to kill Hector, who knows what happened. Montoya lures Hector to the ring, where he shoots him with a tranquilizer gun, and unleashes the bull on the prone man. The result is that it appears Hector tried to take revenge on the bull that gored his son. Columbo, who just happens to be in
292:) whose computer records show the lapses. Finally, while Columbo is eating an ice cream cone with his dog, an Internal Affairs officer tells him he has 24 hours to appear at the range or his badge will be pulled. (Columbo lends his badge to a crony whom he asks to go to the range in his place, claiming he cannot pass the shooting proficiency test.)
364:), a naïve idealist in the Legation, to help him stage the murder of a security officer, then plants evidence to make it look like the work of radicals. Salah pins the murder on the now-absent Habib, who, as part of the plan, has gone into hiding. Salah later kills Habib as well. Columbo unravels the truth, but finds himself stymied by Salah's
269:
Columbo believes that a discrepancy between the length of the movie and the time it took Grace
Wheeler to watch it, including the few minutes it took her to fix the film after it ripped, proves that Grace spent some time away from the screening room. It was then, Columbo concludes, that she was out
638:
prison guard. Mueller tires of the arrangement and Jerome's demand for more money, and kills his blackmailer in the middle of his famed water tank escape act, giving himself what he believes to be an airtight alibi. He sneaks out of a room where he hides during the act, makes his way dressed as a
564:
used to attract the bull, Columbo deduces the time frame of the murder, a period for which
Montoya has no alibi. To prove Montoya's motive, Columbo persuades Curro to lure Montoya into the ring. The bull is then released, and the ex-matador again becomes paralyzed with fear, this time in front of
765:
When
Columbo holds what he says is Commodore Swanson's pocket watch to every suspect's ear, only Swanny disputes it, saying "'Tisn't" when he hears it ticking. The watch was broken at the time of the murder to create a false time frame, and only the murderer would have known the watch no longer
373:
Columbo gets Salah, still under diplomatic immunity, to confess to the murder with the king listening in from the next room. To stay in the U.S. rather than be sent back to Suari and the torture that it is implied he would face, Salah signs a confession and waives his immunity from
657:. The carbon ribbon has a clear imprint of everything written with it, so it is in effect a copy of the letter Jerome was typing to send to federal authorities, which revealed the motive for the murder. At his arrest Santini remarks that he thought he had created the
286:, which starred Leigh; Colombo music composer Henry Mancini had served as the film's composer as well. It is Grace's favorite film, the one playing when she was committing the crime and the one she is watching, mesmerized, at the end of the episode.
743:), who has turned the modest and upstanding business into a name-brand production line for status-seekers. Nor is he pleased with any of the people closest to him - his alcoholic daughter Joanna Clay (
288:
An amusing concurrent side-story concerns
Columbo's penchant for not carrying his firearm and his decade-long lapse in going to the range for shooting proficiency. He has been evading Sgt. Leftkowitz (
442:. It motivates Brenner to kill Geronimo. Columbo finds himself blocked at every turn by a man who knows a lot of private and classified secrets, and even by a visit from the Director of the Agency (
766:
works. (Clay's motive for covering up the murder is because he thought the killer was his wife due to planted evidence by Swanny; he was killed when he realized who the real killer was)
142:
452:
Brenner's alibi, a taped speech for a client, is proven false when
Columbo establishes that some statements in the speech were based on news that was not known until hours
542:, credited as Ricardo Montalban) is a Mexican national hero. His trusted bookkeeper, Hector Rangel (Robert Carricart)'s son Curro is also a bullfighter. When Curro (
360:), chief diplomat of the Legation of Suari, an Arab nation with a new young king, has a scheme for shifting power within his government. He enlists Rachman Habib (
647:
and Jerome's less than enthusiastic business partner, whose personality was such that another character says of the late Jerome, "To know him was to detest him."
273:
This is one of the only three episodes in which the perpetrator is not arrested (the others being "It's All In The Game" and "No Time To Die"), as Ned
Diamond (
784:), who at times interrogate suspects. Finally, the episode departs from the usual style in presenting a far greater emphasis on comedy, including some minor
1066:
1061:
476:, his character repeatedly uses the phrase "Be seeing you" in the episode. During the party at Brenner's home, an arrangement of the song "
739:) is a retired naval officer who owns a shipbuilding company, and is not happy with the shady dealings of his son-in-law Charles Clay (
627:) is a magician extraordinaire at a cabaret. He is also being blackmailed by his insatiably greedy employer, impresario Jesse Jerome (
864:
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282:
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639:
waiter through the cabaret's kitchen and up to Jerome's office, shoots him, then returns to his act with nobody noticing.
368:. Columbo then meets the new king, who is on a diplomatic visit to the United States, and is liked by the young monarch.
438:, who also directed), to demand his share of money from a previous operation they were involved in. The go-between is
427:
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119:
434:) contacts a fellow CIA-operative, now working undercover as speech-writing consultant, named Nelson Brenner (
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format in several ways. First, the man implied to be the killer is not, and thus the episode becomes a true
551:
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263:) believes Grace was in a private screening room the entire time, watching one of her classic films.
255:) refuses to finance a return to the spotlight for his wife, aging former movie star Grace Wheeler (
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witnesses. This episode is noteworthy as the murderer's motive is not revealed until the very end.
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Montoya watches a film of himself as a matador, which uses footage from the 1947 movie
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episode. In all three he played the killer. This episode also sees the return of
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259:) kills him in his sleep, passing it off as a suicide. Their elderly butler (
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as
Detective Sergeant Wilson, although unlike his previous appearance in
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for the weekend, is recognized by a suspicious local chief of police (
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The season originally aired
Sundays at 9:00-10:30 pm (EST) as part of
561:
632:
846:
661:; Columbo remarks that a "perfect murder" is only an illusion.
336:
André Lawrence as
Youseff Alafa and Sal Mineo as Rachman Habib
161:
The DVD was released by
Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
58:
635:
280:
The episode features excerpts from the 1953 musical comedy
842:
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Santini is undone by the used carbon ribbon on Jerome's
127:
This is a list of episodes from the fifth season of
979:
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54:
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26:
747:), his middle-aged playboy nephew Swanny Swanson (
466:is that the Director's name is Phil Corrigan (aka
143:1975–76 United States network television schedule
508:(credited as Ricardo Montalban) as Luis Montoya
858:
458:The episode features another French car, the
8:
788:elements, and features a less dramatic tone.
818:. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 110.
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755:), and his shipyard manager Wayne Taylor (
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573:, in which Montalban plays a matador.
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251:When elderly physician Henry Willis (
204:
7:
768:This episode departs from the usual
663:This was Cassidy's third and final
93:
751:), his lawyer Jonathan Kittering (
643:plays Harry Blandford, the club's
470:). In a nod to McGoohan's role on
456:the recording was allegedly made.
14:
430:operative code-named "Geronimo" (
1067:1976 American television seasons
1062:1975 American television seasons
1029:
1028:
554:), who enlists Columbo's help.
689:"Last Salute to the Commodore"
39:
1:
812:Britton, Wesley Alan (2004).
560:Due to the condition of the
406:as A.J. "Geronimo" Henderson
234:September 14, 1975
150:The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie
606:February 29, 1976
21:Season of television series
18:Season of television series
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517:February 1, 1976
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409:November 2, 1975
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339:October 12, 1975
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283:Walking My Baby Back Home
210:
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33:
735:Commodore Otis Swanson (
655:IBM Selectric typewriter
270:committing the murder.
988:The Chevy Mystery Show
478:Once Upon a Summertime
315: : James Menzies
718:May 2, 1976
674:The Greenhouse Jungle
534:Retired and renowned
711:as Otis Swanson and
585:"Now You See Him..."
552:Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
329:as Hassan Salah and
304:"A Case of Immunity"
194:Victim(s) played by
677:, his name is John.
623:The Great Santini (
496:"A Matter of Honor"
366:diplomatic immunity
191:Murderer played by
1008:Furuhata Ninzaburō
753:Wilfrid Hyde-White
197:Original air date
68:September 14, 1975
1044:
1043:
1002:statue (Budapest)
793:
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763:Final clue/twist:
705:as Swanny Swanson
651:Final clue/twist:
597:as Stefan Mueller
558:Final clue/twist:
540:Ricardo Montalbán
506:Ricardo Montalbán
450:Final clue/twist:
400:as Nelson Brenner
386:"Identity Crisis"
371:Final clue/twist:
267:Final clue/twist:
137:Broadcast history
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90:Season chronology
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512:Robert Carricart
468:Secret Agent X-9
436:Patrick McGoohan
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394:William Driskill
390:Patrick McGoohan
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333:as Rachman Habib
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225:as Grace Wheeler
219:William Driskill
211:"Forgotten Lady"
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120:List of episodes
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65:Original release
55:Original network
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829:. Retrieved
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185:Directed by
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749:Fred Draper
745:Diane Baker
737:John Dehner
709:John Dehner
703:Fred Draper
588:Harvey Hart
464:inside joke
444:David White
318:Teleplay by
257:Janet Leigh
223:Janet Leigh
215:Harvey Hart
188:Written by
157:DVD release
78:May 2, 1976
42:of episodes
1051:Categories
1015:Poker Face
994:Howcatchem
883:Characters
799:References
722:1976-05-02
610:1976-02-29
544:A Martinez
521:1976-02-01
460:Citroën SM
440:Otis Young
413:1975-11-02
343:1975-10-12
275:John Payne
238:1975-09-14
82:1976-05-02
72:1975-09-14
831:August 7,
786:slapstick
669:Bob Dishy
645:maître d'
362:Sal Mineo
331:Sal Mineo
320: :
253:Sam Jaffe
229:Sam Jaffe
1035:Category
962:Spin-off
908:Season 1
900:Episodes
774:whodunit
499:Ted Post
322:Lou Shaw
313:Story by
308:Ted Post
200:Runtime
165:Episodes
112:Season 6
102:Season 4
98:Previous
34:Season 5
1000:Columbo
980:Related
890:Columbo
875:Columbo
770:Columbo
720: (
665:Columbo
608: (
548:Tijuana
536:matador
519: (
411: (
341: (
236: (
179:season
174:series
130:Columbo
109: →
96:←
80: (
76: –
70: (
50:Release
28:Columbo
822:
728:91 min
616:85 min
570:Fiesta
562:muleta
527:70 min
419:93 min
349:70 min
244:93 min
182:Title
177:No. in
172:No. in
480:" by
462:. An
454:after
833:2014
820:ISBN
780:and
633:Nazi
107:Next
446:).
428:CIA
59:NBC
40:No.
1053::
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683:37
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579:36
490:35
426:A
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