Prescription: Murder (TV 1968)

A psychiatrist uses a patient he is having an affair with to help him kill his wife, but his perfect alibi may come apart at the hands of a seemingly befuddled LAPD lieutenant.

Director:

Richard Irving

Writers:

Richard Levinson (teleplay), William Link (teleplay),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Gene Barry, Katherine Justice

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Falk	...	Lt. Columbo
Gene Barry	...	Dr. Ray Flemming
Katherine Justice	...	Joan Hudson
William Windom	...	Burt Gordon
Nina Foch	...	Carol Flemming
Virginia Gregg	...	Miss Petrie
Andrea King	...	Cynthia Gordon
Susanne Benton	...	The Blonde
Ena Hartman	...	Nurse
Sherry Boucher	...	Air Hostess
Anthony James	...	Tommy

Storyline

Doctor Ray Flemming is a Psychiatrist, he is married to Carol who is a rich woman and one of his patients is Joan Hudson who is also his lover. Ray decides to murder his wife with Joan's help. And so he does, making sure he has a perfect alibi. Lt. Columbo is in charge of the investigation and he is almost sure that Doctor Flemming is guilty. So a duel starts between the cold Doctor and the seemingly naive detective.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | psychiatrist | alibi | detective | investigation | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Columbo: Prescription Murder

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Police Department - 464 N Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor ®)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In "Prescription: Murder", the reception room at Dr. Fleming's office features a distinctive painting, of trees and white houses with red roofs, which is prominent in several scenes. This same painting later appears in Columbo: Suitable for Framing, as part of the art collection sliced and stolen by Dale Kingston.

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Goofs

When Dr. Flemming smashes the balcony window, his shadow can be seen on the background, revealing it to be a simple backdrop.

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Quotes

Lt. Columbo: You know my sister, she has a living room that's very, very modern. But the minute you sit down in it, you can't open your mouth. You know, she's got this big kidney-shaped coffee table, it upsets me just to look at it. Her husband doesn't say anything and I figure the coffee table got to him years ago.

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Connections

Follows The Chevy Mystery Show: Enough Rope (1960)

User Reviews

"The pilot episode for the long running series stands as one of the best."

A shabby detective called Columbo sets out to prove that a smooth talking doctor murdered his wife for his younger mistress.

The pilot episode for the long running series which began four years later. This probably stands as one of the best with good performances and a neat twist ending which many subsequent episodes lacked.

The film is based on Richard Levison & William Link's Broadway show which starred Thomas Mitchell as Columbo.

Prescription Murder has been released on video in the UK paired with the Dead Weight episode.