Laurens the one who pulled the trigger, and theyve made it look like Franco was killed by a burglar in his apartment.

Theyve prepared well, with both having solid alibis.

Lt. Columbo is in charge of the case and is very much attracted to the beautiful Lauren.

She uses that to her advantage and is soon buying him gifts and giving him the odd kiss.

He manages to get that, but even he is surprised when learns of her true relationship to Lisa.

In the opening credits, the water from the fountain outside Lauren Statons house defies gravity and flows back into the fountain, revealing that the shot is being played backwards.

All the elements of vintage Columbo are in place, with a few added twists.

The main attraction of this episode is the undercurrent between Columbo and murderess, played brilliantly by Faye Dunaway.

As she says, youre never quite sure what Columbo is thinking.

So you have conversations that work on different levels - superficially both Columbo and Dunawayes character Lauren are flirting with each other and looking halfway to getting romantically involved, but under the surface they are basically just playing each other.

That doesnt mean there isnt a genuine spark between the two, its just a complicated mixture of head and heart.

And with Columbo, his head always rules his heart - no matter how much he likes a murderer, he will never fail in his job to put them behind bars.

In this case the murderess has an accomplice, and Columbo goes so far as to spare her from arrest in return for Laurens confession.

The murder is a straightforward shooting, no trained dogs or magic markers balanced on record players.

The relative simplicity of the case means that the episode can focus more on the dialogue and characterisation than an elaborate plot.

All in all this is a real classy episode that manages to be sophisticated and upmarket without ever becoming dreary in the process.

The whole show was virtually single-handedly created by Peter Falk (well maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration) but it seems the more involvement he had in an episode, the better.

Finally, no I dont think Columbo was ever remotely tempted to take his relationship with Lauren any further.

The title explains everything: the flirting, the gentle frissons of romance are ultimately nothing more than Columbos way of playing the game.

Columbo French Torrent