"Columbo" The Greenhouse Jungle (1972)

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 | Police | Mistress

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		(music score)

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.		(set decorations) (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
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	main title design
Jackson Gillis	....	executive story consultant

Production Companies

• Universal TV (from Universal City, California) (as Universal® Studios)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV)
• MCA-TV (1972) (worldwide) (TV) (as MCA-TV Exclusive Distributor)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005) | Australia:PG (video rating) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

8610 S Sepulveda Blvd., Westchester, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Sgt. Wilson reappears later in the Columbo series to help catch the Great Santini. However, his first name changes from Frederic to John.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Columbo is in charge of the kidnapping case since the very beginning, even though he works in Homicide. The case does not become a murder until minute 45.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Six Million Dollar Man: Population: Zero (#1.1)" (1974)

Ray Milland does a bad imitation of himself in this rare "Columbo" clunker

Now who would have guessed that Ray Milland would make a bad "Columbo" villain? Milland, of course, is the star of Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder," where he glides through the part of the diabolical husband who commits a near perfect crime. Almost twenty years later, he's at it again.

This time he plays Jarvis Goodland, a horticulturist who cooks up a fake kidnapping scheme with his nephew (Bradford Dillman). The nephew cons his wife (Sandra Smith) and his bank into taking $300,000 out of a trust fund to pay his "kidnapper" – and steal the money for himself and his uncle. The scheme goes off perfectly, but Goodland adds his own little twist. He shoots and kills his nephew and takes all the money. Too bad for him that our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) has been investigating this kidnapping – and will now move on to his specialty: homicide.

Nearly all the "Columbo" episodes give us the illusion of watching a real human being desperate and diabolical enough to commit murder. The fun is in watching Columbo unnerve his opponent until he's caught him. Not so here. Milland does a bad imitation of himself doing a bad drawing room comedy. With his series of overstated wisecracks, he seems better suited to a "Hart to Hart" episode. And what drives his character to commit all these crazy acts? Unless I missed something, it's to pay for his flower hobby.

Vivid supporting characters are another "Columbo" strong suit. Again, not so here. Columbo is saddled with an irritating, hero-worshiping underling. Bob Dishy does what he can with the role, but his sycophantic sergeant just gets in the way of the fun. Other characters make little impression. The part of the nephew's mistress should have been amusing, but Arlene Martel is not particularly deft in her role.

This episode is watchable enough and has a satisfying twist ending. Otherwise, it's one of the rare "Columbo" clunkers.