Genre: comedy crime thriller

Cast: 4 men, 8 women

Zany conversational crime comedy revolving around a stolen diamond and set in an old castle in an unnamed county of England. Its characters are drawn from clichés of the genre, including a slightly dim-witted lord, a sarcastic valet, panicking servants, a confused local police constable and guests who seem to understand nothing of what is going on. The apparently schematic nature of the plot plays out absurdly in the dialogue, however; the behaviour of none of those present could be described as normal. Because the case of the theft of the precious diamond is so complex, world-famous detectives refuse to take it on. But Madame Columbo eventually gets to the bottom of it. In the closing scene, the uncovering of the culprit with all the suspects in the room is a classic of English fictional detective work.