Troubled Waters (9 Feb. 1975)

Lt. Columbo takes a trip to Acapulco, but finds himself on a new case when a used car dealer commits murder on the cruise ship.

Director:

Ben Gazzara

Writers:

William Driskill (teleplay), Jackson Gillis (story),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Robert Vaughn, Jane Greer

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Robert Vaughn	...	Hayden Danziger
Jane Greer	...	Sylvia Danziger
Dean Stockwell	...	Lloyd Harrington
Bernard Fox	...	Purser Watkins
Robert Douglas	...	Dr. Frank Pierce
Patrick Macnee	...	Capt. Gibbon
Poupée Bocar	...	Rosanna Wells
Susan Damante	...	Melissa
Peter Maloney	...	Artie Podell
Curtis Credel	...	The Magician

Storyline

Hayden Danziger is on a cruise with his wife Sylvia, who is older than he and much, much richer. Rosanna Wells is on the same ship as a singer. Rosanna and Hayden are lovers and Rosanna blackmails Hayden, but he has decided to kill her and has planned the perfect crime. Or so it seems since Lt. Columbo is cruising on that same very ship and the Captain asks for his help.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | cruise | murder | cruise ship | affair | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1975 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Sun Princess Cruise Ship, Priness Cruise Line, Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 98 min (dvd release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The magician's box of props is labeled with the name of the actor playing the magician, Curtis Credel.

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Goofs

When Vaughn runs downstairs to commit the murder he passes the same stairwell twice, judging by a sign and a trolley with plates.

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Quotes

Hayden Danziger: [to Rosanna] You're sticking it to the wrong guy. I spent twenty years building up my business and no smart little broad from Pittsburgh is going to take it away from me!

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Crazy Credits

We gratefully acknowledge the co-operation and courtesies furnished by Princess Cruises and the offices and staff of the Sun Princess.

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Connections

Referenced in Columbo: A Matter of Honor (1976)

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Soundtracks

"This Old Man"
(uncredited)
English children's marching song
[sung and vamped by Peter Falk]

User Reviews

The old detective and the sea

This time around has Columbo on a cruise, as this was filmed on a real one, and he ends up having to investigate a murder anyway, as the lounge singer was murdered by the slick Hayden Danzinger, played smugly and effectively by Robert Vaughn. There's some familiar faces you may recognize, such as a bushy haired Dean Stockwell(monster eyebrows), Patrick Macnee, and Bernard Fox, and this makes for a very entertaining episode. A funny gag running throughout is whether Columbo mixes up a boat with a ship, and at the end he says, "the hell with it!", as Peter Falk is clearly on top of his Columbo game here, and the rest of the cast seems to be having a good time. We never get to see Columbo's wife, who's on board with him, and when he gets a knock on his door awakening him, he tells the crew member that his wife likes to have a good time, as he's unaware the person is there informing him of a murder aboard the ship; another funny moments has the detective getting his pants wet when looking at a pool's filter for evidence. Columbo also shares his fingerprint technique he learned at the academy, although he says it's not widely used anymore, and he always made a mess of things. For several episodes that are otherwise very well done, the conclusion leaves me wanting more, and that's also the case here. Danzinger executes(no pun intended)a solid plan of murdering the singer, who's killed because she threatens to tell his wealthy wife of the affair, and considering that Lloyd(Stockwell)once dated this woman, and now she wants nothing to do with him, Lloyd makes for a logical suspect, and Danzinger does his best to frame the depressed man. I thought it was too convenient that Danzinger eventually confessed to the murder, considering how cool and calm he is through most of the cruise, and barely put up a fight to Columbo. This is still a highly entertaining episode, with solid actors and a neat location instead of the usual wealthy folks in their glamorous mansion, and I would easily recommend it to any fan Columbo fan or a fan of solid writing as well.