Now You See Him
- Episode aired Feb 29, 1976
- TV-PG
- 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
2.9K
YOUR RATING
A stage illusionist kills his employer and makes it look like a contract killing; it's up to Lt. Columbo to trick the master trickster.A stage illusionist kills his employer and makes it look like a contract killing; it's up to Lt. Columbo to trick the master trickster.A stage illusionist kills his employer and makes it look like a contract killing; it's up to Lt. Columbo to trick the master trickster.
Benjie Bancroft
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
John Blower
- Magician's Assistant
- (uncredited)
Donald Chaffin
- Club Patron
- (uncredited)
Robert Cole
- Chef
- (uncredited)
Dorothy Dells
- Secretary
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe boarding house interview scene with Mike Lally was filmed several months after principal photography was completed on the episode. The writers hadn't completed, or could not agree on, the plot twist featuring Lally as a damning witness who could help to reveal Santini's true identity. Peter Falk himself wrote and directed the scene. Lally had appeared in 20 previous episodes of Columbo in minor roles or as an extra, making him the second-most cast actor of the show behind Falk. Lally's son said the scene, which uses Lally's real name for his character, was Falk's gift to the elderly Mike Lally for his otherwise nameless contributions to the series.
- GoofsDetective Sergeant John J. Wilson is identified by name not only by Columbo but by himself, and both characters mention having worked together earlier. They did work together before in The Greenhouse Jungle (1972), but Detective Wilson's name (played by Bob Dishy) in that episode is Frederic, not John J.
- Quotes
Santini: And I thought I'd performed the perfect murder!
Lt. Columbo: Perfect murder, sir? Oh, I'm sorry. There is no such thing as a perfect murder. That's just an illusion.
- Alternate versionsThe original German version from the 1970s was censored due to the Nazi topic. The dubbing changed Jack Cassidy's character Santini from the ex-Nazi Stefan Mueller to a wanted British bank robber named Stanley Matthews. Also this Columbo episode was slightly cut in places where the dubbing changes would have become obvious (i.e. the last few seconds of the scene where the name "Stefan Mueller" can be read on Jerome's letter). In the 1990s the German TV network "RTL Television" had the uncut version of this episode re-dubbed, now sticking to the original plot and preserving the Nazi-topic.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Sarah Silverman/Nico Hiraga (2021)
- SoundtracksCharade
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Sung by cabaret singer and incorporated into the background score
Featured review
One of the very best episodes....and quite enjoyable, too.
The story in "Now You See Him" is one of the best of all the "Columbo" episodes. It is quite enjoyable to watch...and extremely well thought out and intelligently written.
When the story begins, you learn that the great illusionist, The Great Santini* (Jack Cassidy), has something to hide...and he's being blackmailed because of it. His boss (Nehemiah Persoff) knows that Santini was actually an SS soldier who worked in a death camp during WWII. To rid himself of this threat, Santini uses his knowledge of magic and deception to make it appear as if he could never have done the murder as he was in a different part of the nightclub at the time of the killing. It's up to Columbo to match wits with Santini and best him at his own game.
The writing was just exquisite in this one and the story very exciting. It's a shame that Cassidy died later the same year he made this guest appearance, as he was always wonderful on the show. Also interesting is seeing Sgt. Wilson on the show, as he played Wilson in an earlier episode ("Greenhouse Jungle")...though his first name, oddly, changed.
*Not to be confused with the character played by Robert Duvall so expertly in 1979.
When the story begins, you learn that the great illusionist, The Great Santini* (Jack Cassidy), has something to hide...and he's being blackmailed because of it. His boss (Nehemiah Persoff) knows that Santini was actually an SS soldier who worked in a death camp during WWII. To rid himself of this threat, Santini uses his knowledge of magic and deception to make it appear as if he could never have done the murder as he was in a different part of the nightclub at the time of the killing. It's up to Columbo to match wits with Santini and best him at his own game.
The writing was just exquisite in this one and the story very exciting. It's a shame that Cassidy died later the same year he made this guest appearance, as he was always wonderful on the show. Also interesting is seeing Sgt. Wilson on the show, as he played Wilson in an earlier episode ("Greenhouse Jungle")...though his first name, oddly, changed.
*Not to be confused with the character played by Robert Duvall so expertly in 1979.
helpful•171
- planktonrules
- Sep 16, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Wenn der Schein trügt
- Filming locations
- The Magic Castle - 7000 Franklin Av Los Angelès, California, USA(Stage and other interiors)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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