"Columbo" The Greenhouse Jungle (1972)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

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

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

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

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

Directed by
Boris Sagal

Writing credits
Jonathan Latimer		(written by)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	associate producer
Dean Hargrove	....	producer

Original Music by
Oliver Nelson

Cinematography by
Harry L. Wolf		(director of photography) (as Harry Wolf)

Film Editing by
Sam E. Waxman

Art Direction by
Archie J. Bacon		(as Arch Bacon)

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.		(as John McCarthy)

Production Management
Henry Kline	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Foster H. Phinney	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Edwin S. Hall	....	sound

Stunts
Jesse Wayne	....	stunt double: Bradford Dillman in car chase (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grady Hunt	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Henry Mancini	....	composer: theme "Sunday Mystery Movie"
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main titles
Jackson Gillis	....	executive story consultant

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• MCA-TV (1972) (worldwide) (TV)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

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:

Factual errors: When Jarvis and Tony are working out the kidnapping details, Tony is listening to the police dispatcher on his radio. A close-up shows the "police radio" is just a common portable AM radio that would not receive police frequencies.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Columbo: Mind Over Mayhem (#3.6)" (1974)

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.