PLOT: Vera Miles plays Viveca Scott, who owns a cosmetics firm. She is talking to Karl Lessing (Martin Sheen), an ex-lover, about obtaining a revolutionary wrinkle removing cream. However, he refuses to part with it and she picks up a heavy microscope and in a moment of anger clubs him over the head with it. Scott takes the cream and in doing so has gone a step ahead of her rival David Lang (Vincent Price.) Columbo arrives on the scene and begins to suspect Scott of the murder. She then murders her chain-smoking assistant Shirley Blaine, who is working for both companies and is being somewhat of a 'double agent', by giving her a poisonous cigarette. While interviewing Scott, Columbo notices her scratching at her hands. This proves to be crucial, as the slide on the microscope that Scott smashed had poison ivy on it. Scott looks out of the window and sees Columbo arrive in the drive with a cordon of police cars. She realises the game is up and throws her sample of the wrinkle removing cream out of the other window of her office, which just happens to be on a cliff above the sea. When Columbo and the police search Scott's office and find nothing she thinks she has got away with it but Columbo reveals that the only place she could have got poison ivy was Lessing's apartment, and arrests her for the murder.
VERDICT:
This is a lame effort. Vera Miles gives a poor performance as Viveca Scott and the plot is weak. It is such a shame that Vincent Price was reduced to the small role of David Lang. He would have made a far superior murderer to Miles. Martin Sheen also has a small part.
Written by Mark Wilson
(C) Copyright Wilson/Young Enterprises 2006.
CAST:
Viveca Scott............Vera Miles
David Lang...........Vincent Price
Shirley Blaine..Sian Barbara Allen
Karl Lessing..........Martin Sheen
Jerry................Colby Chester
Ferdy................Gino Conforti
Dr Murchison...........Fred Draper
Sergeant.............John Finnegan
