How do you compare this to later 'Columbo' episodes?
"Columbo" fans won't find their favorite detective in top form until the second pilot episode in 1971, with Lee Grant. A few problems with this one:
The very worst aspect of this TV movie is the cheesy, intrusive music. It's really godawful. When it's finally silent, you're tense, wondering if it's going to intrude again and spoil everything again.
Gene Berry isn't a bad villain. He's smooth and polished, just as the character requires. But his style is too artificial. If you see the second episode immediately afterwards (as I did when I watched both of them together on DVD), you notice that Lee Grant is a huge improvement. Grant is also smooth and polished, but she brings far more life into her character. Much, much more.
Berry's artificiality is reflected in much of the movie. The sets are phony-looking, especially the backdrop out Berry's window, which reveals his shadow at one point. Some of the dialogue is overbaked, especially in the scene where Columbo interrogates Berry's lover.
Berry's accomplice and lover is played by Katherine Justice. Her voice is remarkably similar to that of Jean Heather, who played Barbara Stanwyck's step-daughter in Double Indemnity. Both women are merely passable as actresses.
Peter Falk has one of his best scenes in the entire series. It's the one where Columbo and Berry sit in the office and play cat-and-mouse. Brilliantly written and beautifully played by both actors. Then Falk immediately has one of his worst scenes: the one where he interrogates Katherine Justice.
If anyone stumbles onto this lonely board, please let me know what you think.
... Justin