Publish or Perish story
Publisher Riley Greenleaf decides to kill his prolific author Alan Mallory, for the insurance and also to keep him from defecting to another publisher. He hires ex-con and avid homemade bomb enthusiast Eddie Kane to do the job. While Greenleaf is getting drunk at a nearby bar, Kane walks into Mallory's office and shoots him. To cover his tracks, Greenleaf then kills Kane with one of his own bombs, making it look like an accident. Columbo must discover the link between the two crimes. Final clue/twist: Greenleaf hands over an old synopsis to Columbo, claiming it was Kane’s, which allegedly proves that Kane had the idea for Mallory's latest book, and murdered him out of revenge for Mallory's having stolen it. Columbo finds out, however, that the ending of the book was actually developed very shortly before the murder, by Mallory and his agent, to make sure the book was more appealing for a Hollywood film adaptation. Kane could not have known the new ending, so the synopsis must have been done by Greenleaf. This episode has a split screen of Greenleaf's alibi and Mallory's murder. Mariette Hartley's role is similar to the one she played in Season 7's "Try and Catch Me". Spillane was the real-life author of Mike Hammer detective mysteries. Cassidy played the villain in three Columbo episodes: this one, Murder by the Book and Now You See Him... Directed by: Robert Butler. Story by: Peter S. Fischer.
18 total · 2 choice · 5 major · 11 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| greed for riches | choice | The publisher Riley Greenleaf resorted to murder to collect on a lucrative insurance policy. |
| how to murder someone and get away with it | choice | The publisher Riley Greenleaf arranged for an unhinged war veteran to take out his cash-cow author Alan Mallory. He planned to collect on a life insurance policy on Alan. He also wished to prevent Alan from defecting to a rival publisher. Greenleaf made it look like the war veteran killed Mallory for stealing the war vet's idea for a prospective bestseller set in Vietnam during the war. He would have no doubt gotten away with it not been for the meddlesome Lt. Columbo. |
| betrayal | major | The publisher Riley Greenleaf took it personally when word came out that his cash-cow author Alan Mallory was defecting to a rival publishing house. |
| creative writing | major | Alan Mallory was busy writing the prospective first bestseller about Vietnam, entitled "Sixty Miles to Saigon", when he got shot. |
| law enforcement | major | The bumbling but sharp-witted homicide detective Lt. Columbo was tasked with the following murder mystery: Did an unhinged Vietnam war veteran shoot the famous potboiler novel writer Alan Mallory dead for stealing his idea for a prospective bestseller about the war, or was something still more convoluted afoot? |
| the publishing industry | major | The plot turns on the publisher Riley Greenleaf trying to get away with having his cash-cow author killed before he could defect to a rival publishing house with a manuscript for a prospective bestseller set in Vietnam during the war. |
| what if I were being framed for a crime | major | Columbo made it seem like Riley was being framed for Alan's murder as a ploy to lure Riley deeper into his trap. |
| drunk driving | minor | Riley deliberated hit a Volkswagen van while drunk at the wheel. He was later arrested for being drunk at the wheel while parked in a public space. |
| explosives | minor | The homemade bomb enthusiast Eddie Kane was trying to get his book, entitled "Blow Up Anything in 10 Easy Steps", published. |
| human characters in contrast | minor | Columbo ordering chili at a fancy restaurant was compared and contrasted with the publisher industry people ordering dainty dishes. |