I won't post any spoilers for this film; but if you're going to watch this unpopular "Columbo" entry anyway, I recommend you don't read this, or any other review, until afterward.<br /><br />Charlie Clay (Robert Vaughn) runs a ship building business owned by his father-in-law, Commodore Otis Swanson (John Dehner), who is not happy with the wastrel's shady dealings. Nor is he pleased with any of the people closest to him, including his alcoholic daughter Joanna Clay (Diane Baker), his elderly nephew Swanny Swanson (Fred Draper) or his lawyer Kittering (Wilfred Hyde-White). Soon the Commodore is murdered; and Charlie Clay covers it up by impersonating the Commodore, taking the corpse out on the man's yawl at night and throwing the body overboard. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) investigates this case with the help of a veteran sergeant (Bruce Kirby) and a 29-year-old novice (Dennis Dugan). Our rumpled, redoubtable detective knows Clay covered up the crime. But his assumption that Clay committed the crime may prove premature.<br /><br />The reason you shouldn't read any reviews is because they invariably call this is a whodunit. That makes it a departure from the usual "Columbo" formula, in which we always see the murder take place. But the word "whodunit" gives away the surprise an hour into the filmin which we learn, along with Columbo, that who we thought had done it, hadn't done it.<br /><br />Actually, it's not that much of a surprise. "Columbo" fans will know something is up right away, since we see the cover-up but not the murder itself. We always get to see the murder, we lucky brutes. This unusual episode has two precedents. "Double Shock" also withholds important information during the murder scenein order to surprise us later. "A Friend in Deed" also has one person covering up the murder for someone else.<br /><br />"Columbo" is one of those rare series that succeeds because of a strict formula, not in spite of it. Even many mystery series leave us craving more variety. The only parallel I can make is an odd one: Chuck Jones's "Road Runner" series also works because of its formula. The closer it hues to it, the funnier it is. This film should join the post-Jones "Road Runner" shorts in one grave marked, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."<br /><br />Everything is wrong with this entry, directed by Patrick McGoohan from a script by Jackson Gillis. The pacing is jerky and awkward. The performances are bad: Diane Baker, a good actress, overplays her role as a drunk; Peter Falk is weirdly aggressive and self-satisfied as Columbo. The characters seem manipulated into acting the way they do, instead of behaving like real people. Lt. Columbo has all the suspects gather into one room for a classic Agatha Christie-style ending; but the solution to the mystery is a complete bore.<br /><br />Here's a question for those who have already seen this (not a spoiler): Why wouldn't the Commodore have reused the "S" stencil rather than asking for two?