Columbo

This the third Columbo that Jack Cassidy has played the villain and sadly the last before his tragic death. Cassidy plays the Great Santini who is on a US tour for his magic act. Santini's boss is aware that the Great Santini used to be an ex-Nazi named Stefan Mueller during the end of World War II and the exposure of this leads Santini to perform the " perfect murder."

In my opinion this was one of the most clever murders of the entire series due to the beguiling tricks up Santini's sleeve. Once Peter Falk joins the festivities the pure magic begins as these two icons of film trifle around about magic tricks and secrets that must be revealed to sort out alibis.

This terrific episode continues with other side acts including a Sergeant from a previous Columbo episode who returns to rekindle some comic relief with Lt Columbo. Columbo constantly (deliberately) forgets his new coat and Sergeant Wilson always finds it for him in some humorous moments in the episode.

As good as Peter Falk is here the show really belongs to Cassidy with his cocksure panache and smug posture who really is convinced that he has performed the perfect murder until Columbo tests his abilities to pick a pair of handcuffs for hardened criminals. This particular scene is one of the most tense moments. Cassidy knows if he picks it he is guilty but still the master of illusions is more concerned about his image than to confess to a murder. It's at this point Columbo moves in for the kill and starts to glean and glean some more until The Great Santini succumbs to his confession.