This is one of my favorite episodes mainly because of Patrick McGoohans compelling (IMO) performance. I love the scene where he lends Columbo money to buy gas & of course, the scene in the house is classic. I love the double meaning of the "do you like to play games" conversation.

I love that scene in the gas station! It is terrific. It is a perfect Columbo moment when he is on the ground picking up his change that he has dropped and figuring out how much more gas he can afford. And then when he sticks his head and half his body into Brenner's car window...it just cracks me up!!

P.S...........as has been discussed here before...that is NOT Chuck McCann as the gas station attendant.....take my word for it.

In my opinion, the story here is not as good as "By Dawn's Early Light", but Patrick McGoohan puts in a better performance in "Identity Crisis", because this spy character is what made him famous in "Danger Man/Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" (BTW he was offered the role of James Bond before Sean Connery, but turned it down, fortunately in my opinion).
I think the idea of having Brenner meet Geronimo in the amusement park was so dumb as to be laughable..sure enough Brenner was identified by the photograph as being with Geronimo. The writers were apparently aware of this problem so they had Geronimo say the best place for spies to meet is in a very public place, which just means there are a lot of potential witnesses.
Still, the interaction between Columbo and the suspect makes up for weaknesses in the story line, just like in "Any Old Port in a Storm" and "The Conspirators".

Cassa, i love the scene with the little girls, too. Columbo is such a sweetheart. And that was back in the days when a man in a raincoat could tell some little girls in the park that they're pretty without bringing out a SWAT team.

You got that right, girlfriend!!!

Despite the story as a whole I think the petrol station scene is great, really entertaining, although if you think about it there is a flaw - why would a leutenant who ranks higher than both a sargant and a basic police officer and so must be getting a good wage be scrambling around for a few cents? But as I said, a great scene.

Stephen, I think the reason Columbo was scrambling for change to pay for his gas was because Mrs. Columbo keeps the checkbook, and pays all the bills, and leaves Columbo with a small allowance. Columbo and Mrs. Columbo probably had a huge savings account that they were gonna use for retirement, and the were very disciplined to stick with their budget.

Just my imagined opinion.

By the way, I really believe in the beginning of this episode we find that Brenner owes Geronimo a few hundred thousand dollars, (the "banna land" scheme) and that's the main reason he kills him.