Why not just come clean and let Gabriel really start conducting? Crawford already (I'm sure) had millions in the bank. Retire. Get a boat; buy a house in Maui. Yet like a baseball player who never knows when to retire, he is envious and jealous that young Gabe will get all the credit from here on, so he decides to take him out. And what a sloppy way to do it too. Not a smart move for a man who the rest of his life made.

I guess Findlay was humiliated that he had lost his talent and that young Gabriel was so gifted. Also, Findlay had been using Gabe and, once Gabe was on top, he may have exposed that and taken rightful credit for his work.

What was Findlay planning to do without Gabe anyway? Find another genius to front for?

You’re right of course that Crawford would have been better off by giving Gabe his big chance, but Columbo episodes would be dull if the characters behaved morally, lol.

One thing I never understood was why Columbo played the game of running out of gas when he really did not. (??) Can anyone help with that question?

Columbo’s M.O. is to always be around the main suspect, study what the suspect is a master in, i.e. mind control, magic, country music or even wine. Then clues reveal themselves: Why did you not decant the wine yourself?, How did you know that you’d be changing the musical arrangement?, How did you know that you would need a new suit coat last week?, etc. (Can anybody name those episodes?).

I think Columbo was just trying to spend as much time with Findlay as he could. When Findlay wanted to go home and he wouldn’t let the Lieutenant drive him, Columbo came up with that ploy.

I've often wondered how many murderers would have actually gone through with it in reality. I've always thought Crawford was one of the weakest ones.

In reality I reckon he would have retired, earning a fortune in royalties and conducting the occasional concert.

I suppose it may have looked odd Crawford retired relatively quickly after winning what I guess was his first and only Oscar but I'm sure he could explain that.

As for the car running out of fuel and winding Craford up scenes, can you honestly see Columbo letting a man clearly that drunk, drive his own car? Not the.best scenes in Columbo history.

I have to admit that scene was hilarious when they were going so slow that someone on a bike passed them!