This episode of Columbo brilliantly employs the literary technique of 'forshadowing'. At the END Columbo effectively breaks the rules; taking in a man he knows did not commit the murder in order to allow the real killer to meet her end without being arrested for a crime she doesn't even remember committing. this ending on its own may well have been jarring and hard to swallow were it not for the setting up of the forshadowing sub-plot. We are introduced to the concept that Clomubo is prepared to bend the rules through his dealing with the requirement to take a firearms test. Basically Columbo has never taken the mandatory regular tests for firearm competence, and in the end Columbo actually pays another detective to take his test for him. However this sub-plot is presented light-heartedly, and with comedy. Columbo effectively bribes the detective to fraudulently take his test - but the 'bribe' is only five dollars and we all know that a) Colubo never uses, or even carries, his gun, and b) he is an excellent detective that has brought in many many murderers. Through a sub-plot that could easily be seen as a simple diversion, time filler and offering of light relief, the concept of breaking the rules is introduced in a smaller way, so that when the end comes and Columbo out and out breaks the rules and takes in a person he knows is not the killer, effectively letting the killer go, we are ready for it - in other words 'forewarned' or 'foreshadowed'.
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The best years of "Columbo" were the first go-round, and "Forgotten Lady" is one of the best of the best for several reasons. The show features some old-timers as guest stars, making it especially delightful: Janet Leigh, John Payne, and Sam Jaffe. All of them are excellent. The second reason is film footage of the young Leigh doing "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." The third reason is a strong script with an unexpected ending. In Columbo, of course, one knows who the murderer is immediately - the story comes in Columbo being able to prove it. This one seems to go along normal lines and then veers slightly off course.
Janet Leigh plays a former movie star with a wealthy, ill husband (Jaffe). She wants to do a musical and, when her husband will not financially support her endeavor, she gets rid of him.
This episode and others from the early years makes me wish that the latest Columbos were as good. Peter Falk came back with some excellent episodes in the early '90s; however, the last few, later in the decade, have been disappointing. "Forgotten Lady" is a fine example of "Columbo" in its glory. -
Ramar15 February 1999Even though Janet Leigh plays perhaps the most sympathetic killer of any Columbo mystery (due to her health in story) the guest performance of John Payne is outstanding as her former song and dance movie partner. Peter Falk as always is excellent as Lt. Columbo and veterans Maurice Evans and Sam Jaffe turn in thier trademark performances as men of fine culture.
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The Welsh Raging Bull24 April 2002This was the first episode of Season 5 in the Columbo TV series, originally broadcast on 14th September 1975, and it is one of the most enjoyable.
Janet Leigh gives a brilliant, sympathetic performance as an aging dancer who murders her wealthy husband, since he won't finance her comeback (he has good reason for not supporting her). Her character is the best murderess in the entire series.
Scripted with great ingenuity and fluency, this Columbo adventure is far from a straightforward, "open and shut" case; one can almost sense a sombreness developing as Columbo gets near to identifying the killer when he is invited to the murderess's house, with her former dance partner, to watch an old movie of hers.
The finale contains some of the most intelligently and touchingly conceived sequences in the entire series - the twist is effective, surprising and poignant. -
Larry-Schmidt14 March 2007This is without question the greatest Colombo episode of all time.The acting of Janet Leigh is breath taking, stunning and captivating.I have watched this episode several times and I never grow tired of watching it.The acting is superb on all levels by the entire cast and will keep you tied to the screen until the very end which takes a different twist then other Colombo episodes.Had this been a Movie on the silver screen it would be as well known as other great classic movies of the past. The entire fifth season is worth looking at but forgotten lady is the all time peak of all Colombo movies.You will find yourself singing to the Janet Leigh movie shown during the episode called Walking my baby.
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clodax20021 August 2007At the beginning of this sad episode the viewers tend to sympathize with the gentle old doctor, who's killed in his own bed by his cruel and greedy wife. At the end, the viewers sympathize with the wife, because of her tremendous progressive brain disease, and again with the old husband, because we finally understand his denial to finance his wife's ambitions. The sympathy viewers feel is the same of Columbo's, as he lets the murderer live her last months in freedom - he will show a similar sympathy many years later, in "Columbo: It's all in the game" (1993). Overall a good film, with some weak pieces of evidence, but very well acted and with a really sad ending, which leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth. 8/10
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aromatic-223 June 2001Janet Leigh is magnificent. She delivers a performance which is superficially simple and actually incredibly complex. The story is one of the most intricately written and surprising Columbo's ever -- and the twists at the end just put me on the floor. I shall say no more about the plot. Just watch this A-plus Columbo and enjoy every delectable second. John Payne, Army Archard, and Sam Jaffe also deliver terrific performances. And, the always great Peter Falk is at the very top of his game as Columbo in an unforgettable episode.
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Film star Janet Leigh plays an aging actress who wants to be in the limelight again. Sadly, she married a doctor who provides a comfortable and secure life but it's no love match but he does take care of her well. Even though, they are in separate bedrooms. There does seem to be some kind of relationship. He tries to reason with her and her foolish dream to star on the stage again playing the roles she loved to do. Anyway, I loved Janet Leigh's performance and she was truly an excellent actress in this episode. Columbo and her character have humorous and tender moments as well. When we get to the end of the episode, we feel sorry for the prime suspect because we had no idea of the truth behind the crime. I love the maid and butler/chauffeur who are devoted Johnny Carson fans. Unlike other Columbo episodes, this episode has a twist and surprise that others don't have.
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FORGOTTEN LADY is an episode from the short-lived fifth season of COLUMBO, which followed this with A CASE OF IMMUNITY. It's a surprisingly touching episode of the show, which is thanks in part to an excellent performance from PSYCHO's Janet Leigh as the guest villain; she plays a faded movie actress who bumps off her husband and then makes it look like suicide.
It's a complex role for Leigh to play but she copes with the part admirably. Her character isn't sympathetic in the way she carries out the crime - her husband certainly doesn't deserve it - but thanks to some unique and unusual plot twists that take place along the way, you come to sympathise with her situation.
Elsewhere, it's business as usual, with Peter Falk giving a slightly shier and more sensitive turn as the detective. The supporting cast is excellent: layabout Sam Jaffe as the husband, John Payne as the former star, Maurice Evans as the comic butler. A sub-plot involving firearms training adds to the fun, and Dog makes a cameo too so there are some very funny scenes here. What really lifts FORGOTTEN LADY, though, is the ending, which is simply magnificent and one of the best in all of the Columbo episodes. -
TheLittleSongbird3 March 2012What a truly amazing episode. I am a huge fan of Columbo, and love a lot of episodes in the series, but I have to say Forgotten Lady is up there with the very best. As is always the case with Columbo, Forgotten Lady is beautifully shot, with a very convincing atmosphere and music that not just enhances the mood but also is authentic to the setting. Forgotten Lady is smartly scripted too, with the subplot of Columbo and the firearms test done in a light-hearted and very amusing fashion, and the story is interesting throughout, tight in structure and not as straight-forward as you may think. Right now, I can't think of a more touching ending than the one here.
The cast couldn't have been more perfect, Columbo, sharp clumsy and intelligent yet there is a touch of cunning, as ever is portrayed brilliantly by Peter Falk, and Maurice Evans, Sam Jaffe and especially John Payne are very good in support. But playing the most memorable female killer character alongside Susan Clark's in Lady in Waiting from any Columbo episode is Janet Leigh, a very sympathetic performance that had me both gripped and moved. The footage of Walking My Baby Home is very effectively used, there is a very nostalgic quality to it as it remembering the Golden Age in Hollywood and how great an actress Leigh was. All in all, an example of Columbo at its peak, a truly amazing episode and one of the finest of the series. 10/10 Bethany Cox -
Grace Wheeler is an ageing musical star who wants to revive her stage career, but when her wealthy husband refuses to fund her show, he has to pay a higher price. Can Columbo stop being star-struck long enough to solve the case ?
The unusual feature of this Columbo thriller is that it's the only one I can think of where he chooses not to nail the killer at the end (she's gradually losing her marbles and dying of an aneurysm). The murder plot is as gripping as ever, but the real enjoyment in this story comes from the superb performances by Leigh and Payne as a latter-day Rogers and Astaire. Leigh, for my money the greatest American actress of the fifties and sixties, is stunning in this; she's dazzlingly beautiful, she dances, she's ultra-glamorous one minute and cracking up the next. She's also playing considerably older than she actually was at the time. It's a hypnotic, selfless, memorable performance, by one of the few Hollywood stars not afraid to debunk their image. Payne, the veteran star of many B-feature musicals and westerns, is also excellent as her concerned, protective former partner and paramour. This is a terrific TV movie, and probably the only Columbo film where the guest stars outshine Falk. Walking My Baby Back Home, the film-within-a-film that is crucial to the plot, is a real musical from 1953 starring Janet Leigh. -
rockmail3 October 2005I really was surprised and touched by the ending to this one. Nice.
However, the writing does have one of the traditional "rail-straight" plot lines that forces reality to fit Columbo's conclusions.
Specifically, the part where the Lt. says there are "only four" possibilities for the Movie Veteran's actions during the broken film sequence. He insists that she either did nothing for a period of time (the time that the movie broke and concluded later than usual - two hours after starting instead of 1:45), or spent the time killing her husband.
Truly a plot hole of Canyonesque proportions. She could very well have been doing anything from taking a phone call, to getting a sweater, to taking a big steaming dump in the bathroom. Or she might have just nodded off for a momentary nap. It was late at night in the story.
The ending was sweet, but I really dislike when the Detective's solution is proposed as the "only possible" conclusion when in reality there were an infinite number of possibilities. The story could've been tighter. -
Prismark105 November 2018Columbo goes to Hollywood and he even wears a tuxedo in once scene.
Janet Leigh plays former musical star Grace Wheeler Willis who found fame on the stage and movies with her dance partner Ned Diamond. Her star might be diminishing but Grace still thinks she has one more go at the limelight by financing her own musical show.
Grace hopes her wealthy husband, a retired doctor who is infirm will finance it. However he wants both of them to go on a round the world trip.
Grace concocts a plan to kill her husband and make it look like suicide. She can then spend his money on the show.
Colombo is not convinced. There were only three people in the house. He knows the butler and maid did not do it, which leaves Grace as the only suspect.
There is a side plot where various police officials chase Colombo because he has not taken an update on his police firearms test. Columbo dislikes guns and we know he never carries a firearm.
What set this episode apart is that there is no cat and mouse game between Colombo and the suspect trying to outwit each other. The suspect seems to be acting unaware that she has committed cold blooded murder.
The episode has an unusual and touching ending, a confession to the crime and the real reason why Dr Willis would not finance his wife's show. -
bribabylk18 February 2007At the end it's revealed that she's suffering from a kind of aneurysm that affects her memory, probably has no more than two months to live, and more than likely doesn't even remember committing the murder. This episode is notable for being the only time that Columbo didn't actually apprehend the killer, choosing to let her live out the rest of her brief time in freedom.
I saw this one when it originally aired in 1975 and really liked it, but for some reason for all these years I remembered her medical condition as being one of the earliest TV references to Alzheimer's, when it fact that is not the case. Maybe I need to get myself checked out as well.
Not a particularly well-crafted "mystery" - the plot holes have already been pointed out in other user comments; "Rockman"'s comments in particular crack me up! But the chemistry between the actors, Janet Leigh's particularly sympathetic villain and admirable athleticism, and the unusual ending make it a fun way to pass a couple of hours.
Note of warning: I saw this episode on the Hallmark Channel a couple of weeks ago, and all scenes relating to the Lt. being pressured to take a marksmanship test had been completely deleted, presumably to make time for more commercials. I think there was also some bits relating to a clue, having to do with the little circles that appear in the corner of the screen on a film that signal the need to change reels, that were also cut out, but I could be mistaken about that. It has been twenty-six years since I last saw it, and I could be confusing this episode with another one. -
stones781 July 2011This somewhat lively segment of Columbo stars Janet Leigh, a once shining star who's fading quickly and needs to turn to her husband, played by Sam Jaffe, to finance her career. He refuses, and later we find out it's because she has a terminal brain injury, and after he gives her the bad news about not financing her, she kills him as he's sedated by sleeping pills; it's obvious she didn't marry him out of love, and this was mentioned by him before she kills him. I'm not certain if Leigh's star was dimming in real life in 1975, as I believe Anne Baxter's was(she starred in another episode), but the story was convincing. Many of the scenes between her and the late Peter Falk were very good, and even though he was a rumpled mess whenever he came to talk to her, she seemed to enjoy how he gushed over her and adored the adulation; most of those questioned by Columbo can't stand him, so this is refreshing. I don't think Columbo's speculation about the extra 15 minutes of the film Grace(Leigh)was watching would carry that much weight in court, but many of these episodes seem to make suspects confess, and it doesn't seem likely. I give props for one of the most clever endings of any Columbo episode, which has Grace basically forgetting she even murdered her husband, and her dance partner of many years named Ned(John Payne), admitting to the crime because Columbo informs him that she has just a few months to live. This is a very sad conclusion and doesn't have the usual formula which would typically make the audience happy.
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Wuchakk18 April 2019PLOT: A former musical star plans to stage a risky comeback (Janet Leigh), but her retired husband refuses to finance it so she murders him in his bed in a locked room, making it look like a suicide. She has a great alibi but, as usual, the details don't add up for Columbo. John Payne appears as her star partner from the past while the beautiful Linda Gaye Scott is on hand as a maid.
COMMENTARY: Janet was 48 years-old during shooting and in good shape, but made to look like she's in her early 60s. Her convincing performance carries the flick, which is a longer one at 1 hour, 37 minutes. A highlight is the rumpled sleuth climbing a tree, not to mention "Dog." The ending is effective, but one of the oddest in the series.
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planktonrules13 September 2019Of all the episodes of "Columbo" I have seen, "Forgotten Lady" seems to take the prize for the most amazing enemble cast. It stars Janet Leigh and is supported by John Payne (in his final performance), Sam Jaffe and Maurice Evans (whose greatest work, apparently, was on the stage). Together, the four make for an especially memorable show.
When the show begins, Grace Wheeler Willis (Leigh) is contemplating a comeback. It seems she was a huge star during the heyday of Hollywood and she thinks the world is ready for her return. However, her rich husband (Jaffe) isn't about to finance this vanity project....and so she murders him! How does she essentially get away with it....especially with Columbo on the case?!
This story differs from the average "Columbo" in many ways. There is a greater emphasis on comedy (with his dog in far more scenes than usual). There is an ending where the expected does NOT happen. And, you get to see Columbo dressed NICELY for once...just near the end. Overall, a very well written and rather sad episode despite its comedic elements. -
Boba_Fett113827 July 2008This is one of the best and also most enjoyable Columbo movie to watch out there. It's also original with its story and features some great actors as well. Even though it's one of the longest Columbo movie, it still is one of the best flowing ones and its 97 minutes simply fly by and it's over before you know it.
Harvey Hart seemed to be a director who knew how to handle the Columbo character and all of its usual ingredients that made the Columbo movie so great to watch. He handles especially the humor of the movie well, making his Columbo movies among the most entertaining ones to watch. But this doesn't mean that the mystery also doesn't get handled well.
It's a Columbo movie with a great story, with solid characters and as well an original ending to it. It's after all the only Columbo movie in which the killer gets away with the crime, for an humane reason. It's perhaps also the Columbo movie with the best ending because it's so surprising as well as original. It's a story that works as well on some more dramatic levels than any other Columbo movie perhaps. It's an engaging movie that really sucks you in and makes you care about its characters. It shows a real humane side of Columbo.
The story provides its movie with some great characters and settings, in the showbiz world. Columbo has an obvious respect for the main suspect, since it's an actress and performer he and his wife admirer. This gives the movie some great sequences in it, in which Columbo of course realizes very well that she committed the murder but is still reluctant to show this and confront her with it, since deep inside it's obvious that he wishes that it really was a suicide instead of a murder, or at least that it would had been committed by someone totally else.
The movie has a great cast, with mostly actors from the old days. Something that isn't anything uncommon for a Columbo movie. Besides Janet Leigh the movie also features movie veteran Sam Jaffe, as the movie its victim. Janet Leigh also is great, in a role in which she basically plays herself. The musical movie constantly featured throughout the movie also is an old unknown movie starring Janet Leigh, called "Walking My Baby Back Home" from 1953, by Lloyd Bacon.
Really one of the best and most enjoyable Columbo movies out there.
9/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/ -
dominic-paris2 August 2009This is certainly one of my favourite Columbo episodes. All of the elements of a classic are included; his brush with famous people which leaves him starstruck and humbled, putting his foot in his mouth 'My wife 'dragged' me to every musical you did' (to Ned Diamond), getting under people's skin, particularly the Butler, Raymond. Saying sweet things to Grace Wheeler Willis which makes him very likable to the murderess, Physical comedy (climbing out of the balcony and hanging from the tree), looking a god-awful mess when he arrives to the scene of the crime, appearing in a scene brushed up wearing different clothes (a very smart Tuxedo in the last scene) and of course, a marvellous twist at the end. Where usually we are watching the murderer or murderess squirm with Columbo poking around, I noticed this time, while watching for the first time, that the murderess seemed very confident that she wouldn't get caught and actually reacting the way someone would after the death of a spouse. Even when she's in her room and first hears the butler, Raymond, calling to Dr Willis through the door, she looks concerned that something may be wrong, where usually, we would expect her to wait in anticipation to hear the commotion and then put on an act of surprise. Even when she was asked, 'Why do you think the page in his book was not folded down before he put it down for the night?', she looked genuinely confused rather than worried. Thus, the ending reveals why this was- she'd already forgotten that she did it. The best twist to any Columbo episode. And when I watch it back I feel sorry for her because she really doesn't know she did it, acting as if she really is a widow of a man that killed himself, rather than someone who murdered her husband. I loved the line she delivered, 'Lieutenant, you're so involved with details, that maybe i can see something clearer than you? My husband was a revered and distinguished man. Eminent in his profession, loved at home. Who would want to kill him?'. Exactly the kind of thing you would say if you had nothing to do with it. My second favourite murderess next to the brilliant Ruth Gordon as Abigail Mitchell in 'Try And Catch Me'.
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FlushingCaps13 November 2012I'll try not to repeat other reviewers' plot descriptions. I'd like to explain my theory as to why this Columbo seems so popular, based on the reviews I've seen.
It's not because Columbo brilliantly finds five or six key clues, like he often does. The only thing that really gets him going is that the supposed suicide victim took a sleeping pill shortly before.
It's not because Columbo has a hilarious encounter with some other new technology, like he does in several episodes.
And it's not because of a really elaborate way for the killing to take place, like so many other episodes.
It's the characters, played by Janet Leigh and John Payne, and Sam Jaffe that intrigue the fans of the series. They are truly interesting, likable people--even the killer is likable for virtually everything else we ever learn about her.
I just saw this again last night and find that although I thoroughly enjoyed it, the holes in the plot and the fact that I never really disliked the murderer didn't keep it from being quite a good show.
Generally, my least favorite Columbos are where we like the killer too much and the clues that lead to his/her downfall are skimpy or perhaps stretched too much to be believed.
Aspects of this were weaker than lots of episodes, but it certainly is a very enjoyable show featuring wonderful characters, with some fine remembrances of the days of the Hollywood musical, which undoubtedly are fascinating to many, many people of today. -
DKosty12319 February 2011This well staged episode has a lot to say for it. While you know who the murderer is from the first (Ms. Leigh), the watching of Columbo on her trail and the results at the end of his quest are a total surprise.
Ms. Leigh plays an aging performing dancer & former goddess of the silver screen. She screens movies in her mansion each night to remind herself of how great she was. Her rich husband who she married for money must be disposed of as she still had delusions of herself as an a list star who wants to come out of her retirement using her husband money to finance her own starring vehicle. So she carries out the murder to get that money.
Maurice Evans plays a butler to the family who with the maid watching Johnny Carson each night while being the projectionist for the movie shows keeps pretty busy. His activity is what throws Colombo off the trail for a while. Universal really put some extra effort into this one as the script is excellent and the cast is special. It is the first of only 6 Columbos in season 5 and because they would only run once a month in the alternating format, this one comes off with nearly movie quality.
I won't spoil the entire finish here except to say that when Columbo puts everything together, he gets a big surprise and has to change his plans about what he is doing when the pieces fall into place. Janet Leigh's performance sparkles in this one. -
rmax3048237 February 2007Ranks up there at the top of the episodes from the 1970s. Colombo is at his rumpled best and the plot, though full of gaps, is nicely developed. The murder is not especially complicated but involves a marvelous cast, including Janet Leigh, John Payne (looking good), and Maurice Evans as the finicky butler.
Alas, there is that dog -- a lovable, floppy-eared, gloomy-looking beast. Colombo not only talks to him and honors his promise to take him to the zoo but feeds him ice cream too. Peter Falk found the dog a little too much. He felt enough gags could be built around the raincoat and the car, but the producers were insistent.
However, let us boot the dog aside and enjoy Colombo as he explains to John Payne, a movie star, that he, Colombo, has no talent himself but would still like to be able to dance, so is there anything he can do about it? Replies Payne: "Become a critic." And we can let ourselves laugh at the expression on Colombo's face as he hears -- and repeats wondrously -- the phrase, "Cadaveric spasm!" Really, if you don't enjoy this one, you're unlikely to enjoy any of the episodes. -
poj-man12 January 2014Count me in as among those who consider this one of the top Columbo episodes. The construct from start to finish is excellent. This is the kind of episode that helped build "the charm of Columbo" that has made the series stand the test of time. This is not the standard episodic construct of "good cop gets bad villain." It's actually something a bit different.
Some people may feel that a Columbo storyline that doesn't finish with Columbo arresting the villain makes this episode a sub-standard episode. This is because the episode does not meet a predetermined evaluation of how Columbo "must" act. What makes this episode work so well is the fact that Columbo comes off as more human and humane then ever with the decisions he has to make and how it affects his own behavioral patterns. This case emotionally bothers Columbo.
Janet Leigh plays a version of Nora Desmond. In a weird way she actually is both the same and completely different Nora Desmond that Carol Burnett played! Both Nora's are alive but they have already caught the next bus out of town.
Now...any person in any industry may grow older and have this happen to them. Many people around the world all have to deal with their own version of Nora Desmond...someone they love but are not the person they once were and they really don't know it. They character of Nora is a universal composite...and an exceptionally brilliant universal composite at that!
People who have checked out a bit but who are still here are generally very habitual and predictable. Frustration and anger sometimes well up inside such people because things like their sense of time are messed up. They try and remember what they did an hour ago and they just cannot grasp it. One of the other things that this leads to is a sense of habit. Having the habit is important...it is somewhat grounding for reality for the afflicted.
Columbo can see this habit and this character of Janet Leigh's for who she is. There is a piece of the puzzle missing and Columbo logically concludes the 4 possibilities for what occurred because he knows the character of the afflicted...he is Columbo...behavioral patterns are most important to him. While Janet Leigh's character could possibly be doing many other things Columbo knows she isn't because she is a creature of Modus Operandi. This leads him to have to make decisions that really disturb him.
It's really a beautiful story about tough decisions people face with older loved frames framed as a Columbo episode. A modified version of Sunset Boulevard is the vehicle used to achieve the script construct...and the cast and crew obviously bought into it for they do an excellent job. -
derek_larsson18 November 2012Due to the very high-quality of the entire Columbo series, the expectation level is always anticipating another 'masterpiece'.
There are many things to like in this episode including great acting, a unusual ending with a measure of human compassion, and likable characters. Peter Falk, as always is masterful.
But I had mixed feelings about this episode, because Columbo really does not ever prove that a murder, rather than a suicide, took place. He has his doubts of course due to some subtle clues (the husband last seen reading a light hearted book, taking a sleeping pill, etc.). But all that Columbo is able to ultimately do here is show that because a 1:45 minute film did not finish until 2 hours had elapsed, then this could've been caused by a break-in-the-film delay, that went unnoticed by former actress Grace Wheeler (and "star") -- because she was busy shooting her husband.
That's quite a leap here because what he has demonstrated is just hypothetical opportunity only, and there is no actual 'evidence' that ever places her in the bedroom, or which connects her to the gun used.
The delay, as someone else pointed out could've been hypothetically caused by any other routine behavior (such going to the bathroom, making mistakes trying to re-splice the film, getting a glass of water, etc.).
Columbo also speculates a motive, but only has the declining health of Wheeler to work with. Yet he knows from this for certain that her husband refused to finance her new show. But how does he know this? If she was dying anyway, then why not just let her enjoy her last months doing what she loved? No motive is proved by this, only speculation.
Yet we see not only Columbo prepared to indict her for murder on this loose bit of speculation, but also convince her loyal dance partner of her guilt as well.
This was a big stretch for me to accept, but it is a very entertaining and well-acted episode. -
The fun of Columbo is watching some haughty, loathsome person commit a murder and then Columbo slowly driving them insane with endless questions. This formula works over and over again in most of the episodes, but in this episode, Janet Leigh isn't someone you want to hate, she becomes a victim herself at the end, and she isn't unlikeable or scheming enough that you want to see her get caught. About the only good thing in this episode is watching a fussy Maurice Evans as a servant, constantly scolding Columbo over numerous infractions. The rest of the film is a disappointing misfire.