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Storyline
A psychiatrist who is married, is having an affair. His wife threatens to divorce him and take him to the cleaners if she ever catches him. So along with his mistress he plans to kill her and make it seem like she was killed by an intruder. He goes out of town as part of his plan and returns to find the police there investigating and the man investigating is Lt. Columbo. Columbo is a little odd and he asks the man some questions that he finds intrusive. Columbo continues to question him and the man's friend an ADA warns Columbo to watch his step. But Columbo goes on.
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
The perfect crime had one flaw.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
To appear much taller than Peter Falk, Gene Barry wore lifts on his shoes during the scenes they had. In real life, Falk was 5 feet 4 and Barry was 5 feet 8.
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Goofs
At 20:43 Mrs. Flemming, now lying on floor has her face turned on its side away from the camera, her features barely visible. At 23:00 when Miss Hudson rings the bell, Mrs. Flemming's head is now turned up toward the ceiling with her facial features forehead, eyes, and nose clearly visible. Additionally, Mrs. Flemming's applied a heavy application of hairspray. It barely moved as she moved. When she fell to the floor her hair should have still been in place but it wasn't. It was spread out flowing on the floor above her head like freshly brushed hair with no hairspray.
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Quotes
Lt. Columbo:
You know what I think the problem is? I think I'm too suspicious. I don't trust people. That's my trouble. For instance, when I get taken off a case, right away I figure somebody put the pressure on. Right away I ask myself why. What do you think, Doc?
Dr. Ray Flemming:
I think you'd better get out of here.
Lt. Columbo:
Beg your pardon?
Dr. Ray Flemming:
Columbo, you're a public servant. You say you've been taken off the case, fine. Bother me again, and I shall have to talk to your superiors.
Lt. Columbo:
You've been talking to a lot of people these days, ...
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Crazy Credits
The beginning credits feature a series of brightly colored animated splotches. The splotches were meant to resemble the ink blots used in a Rorschach test, as the villain in this movie was a psychiatrist.
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Connections
Featured in
Peter Falk versus Columbo (2019)
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42 years ago, NBC aired a "movie of the week" featuring entitled "Prescription: Murder," a tight and engaging film that starred Gene Barry, Katherine Justice, William Windom, Nina Foch, and Peter Falk as "Lt. Columbo." Little did the producers or the actors know that this would be the film that would introduce one of television's most enduring characters.
Fans of the long-running series will notice a marked difference between Falk's Columbo in this film and his subsequent incarnation. In "Prescription" Falk is relentless, at times abrasive, and missing his trademark raincoat. That said, he still delivers and is equally matched by the suave and calculating Barry as the murderer.
Justice is effective as Barry's mistress who is the weak link in his murder of wife, Foch. Foch is also very good as the victim, showing why she had a long career in film and as an acting teacher. Windom plays Barry's best friend who threatens Columbo for the detective's pursuit of Barry.
Also, veteran character actress Virginia Gregg - who provided one of the voices for "Mother" in "Psycho" as well as gave life to "Tara" on the animated "Herculoids" series - has a small part as Barry's receptionist.
The jazzy Dave Grusin is another plus in a film that is a cut-above the norm of the period and stands as great television viewing, then and now.