"Columbo" The Greenhouse Jungle (1972)

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

Jonathan Latimer (written by)
Richard Levinson (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

15 October 1972 (Season 2, Episode 2)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Columbo arrives at a kidnapping case, which at some point turns into a murder. Everything seems to be related to a trust fund, that is being managed by a man with a great love for orchids.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Orchid | Murder | Mistress | Criminal Investigation

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Ray Milland	...	Jarvis Goodland
Bob Dishy	...	Sergeant Frederic Wilson
Sandra Smith	...	Cathy Goodland
Bradford Dillman	...	Tony Goodland
William Smith	...	Nichols
Arlene Martel	...	Gloria
Robert Karnes	...	Grover
Milton Frome	...	Driver
Peggy Mondo	...	Woman
Richard Annis	...	Officer
Larry Watson	...	Sound Man

Runtime:

USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005)

Filming Locations:

Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Goofs:

Continuity: After the Jaguar is pushed into the canyon, it comes to rest with minor damage. When Columbo inspects it the next morning, it has much more damage: the front bumper is missing, the headlight assembly is gone, and the body has more front end damage.

good cast wasted

I'm as big a Columbo fan as anyone, and also can be very critical of certain episodes which warrant negative comments, see Last Salute to the Commodore, but I digress. Greenhouse Jungle contains a solid cast, including Ray Milland, who's as snooty as ever, Bradford Dillman, and William Smith, he of Any Which Way You Can fame, and the plot line revolves around a phoney kidnapping and trust funds, but is carried out weakly; all the characters simply look as if their guilty, mainly the scene between the wife and the uncle, right in front of Columbo himself! Another problem of mine is that none of the folks are likable nor developed enough to even remotely care what happens to them, and that's sad considering this is a decent cast, and Milland was very good in his other episode with Robert Culp, and he's rather funny and snobbish here, but he acts as if he doesn't give a damn if he's fooling Columbo or not, considering he just murdered his nephew, played by Bradford Dillman.

It seems everyone just mailed this episode in, or the writing was just plain lazy, but this isn't a very memorable insertion, even though it contains the funniest moment in the entire series; Columbo accidentally falls down a steep hill, and supposedly the powers that be left this scene in, as this was the best moment of this episode.