"Columbo" Lovely But Lethal (1973)

Director:

Jeannot Szwarc

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (teleplay)
Myrna Bercovici (story)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

23 September 1973 (Season 3, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The formula for a miracle wrinkle cream leads the founder of a cosmetics company to murder. Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Plot Keywords:

Cosmetics | Blackmail | Murder | Murder Investigation | Poison

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Vera Miles	...	Viveca Scott
Martin Sheen	...	Karl Lessing
Sian Barbara Allen	...	Shirley Blaine
Vincent Price	...	David Lang
Gino Conforti	...	Ferdy
Colby Chester	...	Jerry
Fred Draper	...	Dr. Murchison
Bruce Kirby	...	Lab Attendant
John Finnegan	...	Sergeant
Richard Stahl	...	Burton (as Dick Stahl)
Marc Hannibal	...	Fingerprint Man
David Toma	...	Policeman
Layne Mathess	...	Fashion moderator (as Layne Matthess)

Runtime:

USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

In the film Psycho in which Vera Miles co-starred, the character Norman Bates gives the famous line "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly". In this episode, the character Viveca Scott played by Ms Miles gives the line to the ever inquisitive Detective Columbo "I didn't kill Karl Lessing. I couldn't kill a fly".

Goofs:

Continuity: Safe door is already open before she turns the dial to unlock it.

Quotes:

Viveca Scott: [to a competitor in the cosmetics business] Mr. Lang, why don't you just go gobble up a pill company?

Two old pros and a couple of neophytes make the show!

"Columbo" had successfully completed two years in the NBC lineup by the time this episode aired. Peter Falk was more than accustomed to the role and he knew every amusing quirk about the beloved character. This particular installment deals with the cutthroat world of cosmetics, a world where loyalty is bought and sold with the ease of putting on some mascara or cologne. Vera Miles, an actress that always seemed destined for greater stardom (she had been selected by Hitchcock to star in "Vertigo"), is outstanding as a cosmetics queen that contends with the treachery of an employer, a very young Martin Sheen. Sian Barbara Allen, another performer that eluded stardom's golden ring, plays a lackey of Miles's competition and is good in her supporting role.

And the legendary Vincent Price plays "David Lang," Miles's chief rival. Though his part is mostly a cameo, he brings about an air of distinction to the show, something that he always displayed in over one hundred films.

The ninety-minute airing time of the episode makes it move swiftly and enjoyably to its nifty conclusion.