"The Most Crucial Game" was a terrific episode. In my opnion, it is the best of Robert Culp's three appearances as a Columbo killer. The interaction is intense and the surprising nab at the end makes for an exciting final clue.
Agree!
I think the chimes is a good clue.
Remember, LT. visited Hanlon after the.murder and heard the.clock chiming.
So, it couldn't be easily explained away.
What is Hanlon going to say when asked " Why did you pretend to be at the stadium when you called the owner? Why didn't you remove the phone taps when you caught Rogorjak? Why did you pay her off?
Did he prove MURDER?
No.
Did he have reason to arrest.him and put him on trial?
Yes.
[Of course, the other thing is well-documented: the sound of the chimes at 2.30p.m. on the tape. It breaks Hanlon's alibi but nothing else. Columbo's reinactment of the crime also just happens to compliment the chiming of the clock in Hanlon's office at exactly 2.30!!! This makes the script look a little contrived and artificial.]
You made some excellent points about this episode, but I disagree that Columbo's reinactment at 2:30 seems contrived. Columbo deliberately planned to be in the booth at that time in order to drive home the proof that Hanlon's alibi was toast.