I hadn't noticed that til you mentioned it, but I will have to watch it again and see!

One thing that always struck me about this episode is how differently Columbo treats the suspect. She's a sweet, spicy little old lady, who SHOULD be someone he enjoys being solicitous to (as it is, he's always solicitous, makes excuses for, etc. almost every other murder suspect), but in this episode, he almost seems hard toward her to the point of rudeness. Do you notice that about this one, or am I just somehow misinterpreting the action?

Like when other murder suspects would get away with a statement, even early-on, he seems to drive home to her that he doesn't buy what she's telling him and/or isn't amused by her at all. It's sorta weird, when you contrast it with some of the others. It almost makes me wonder if he and the actress didn't get along in real life or something, or if it was just written that way.

I have not noticed that but that does not mean its not there. I notice her being a bit rude and cutting in her interactions with others but it comes across as cute and a bit charming to me as she is an senior person. I find Columbo sympathetic with Abby as they stand on the dock watching the sailboats. Funny how we get different impression from the same thing; which is what makes like interesting to me.

Yeah that is pretty interesting how you can see it in different ways! I should have given examples, because he's not entirely (what I'm calling) unsolicitous throughout the episode. But right away, when they first meet, he goes right in for correcting her when she says it's an accident. No hemming and hawing, just an unusual -- for him -- straight-up disavowel of what she's saying. That's just one example. And his facial expressions aren't the usual baffled variety, or don't seem to be, when he's doing these in-for-the-kill scenes, either. He looks a little more... stern? Officious? I may just be seeing something that isn't there, but it does seem to me he's a bit more pushy toward not letting her get away with excuses than he is with other murderers.

I do totally agree that she's sort of cutting and rude throughout the episode to others, for sure; she often couches it with a pleasant smile or impish smirk, but it's definitely mean. :)

Abigail: "Shall we compare poverty stories Lieutenant?"
Columbo: "Not in a Rolls Royce Ma'am."

Interestingly enough, I noticed that the venue in which Abigail Mitchell appears as guest speaker, was not only featured in a Rockford Files episode (The Farnsworth Stratagem), I discovered it to be the main backdrop for the action in an a 1967 episode of The Fugitive I recorded last night from MeTV entitled "Goodbye My Love."

IMDb lists the shooting location as 365 S. Hudson Ave. in LA, but oddly doesn't include "Try and Catch Me" among its credits.

I liked the scene with them in the Rolls. I also liked Abby's line about the chair when Columbo ask if he might sit in it and she replies, "That's what is was made for 400 years ago".

Wow, that is pretty cool, Simon! Thanks for sharing the interesting background!

I agree about the Rolls Royce scene being nice, but one line of hers that always bothers me a little (because it shows a little more than a "healthy" ego) is "My father never owned a car, until I bought him one."
I mean, sure, she has reason to be proud of that, but it can be taken in other ways.

I've also always had a problem with the Columbo line that Wendy mentions, where he says he's sure it was no accident. Even if he IS sure of that, why would he give that away at the start?

Grant, I agree with you, but when friends ask these kinds of questions I also laugh and say because it was in the script. I learned long ago I can pick these kinds of things to death, instead I have decided to just enjoy them as they are, besides I am usually running my two brain cells at full capacity by just watching and chewing

I love the rich visuals and music in this episode, but for most of the show I felt Ruth Gordon was overacting. However, at the end, after she's been caught, I love how her cheekiness suddenly deflates, and she gives a wonderfully heartfelt performance: "Veronica will split when she hears... I don't suppose you could make an exception in my case... ?" I also like the interaction between Columbo and Abigail's attorney: "I'd say something APPEARS to be missing." I can't remember exactly how Columbo responds, but it's something like, "You're a very good attorney, sir. A very good attorney." A great scene.