This episode aired February 11, 1973.
This was Shirl Hendryx’s sole writing credit on the show – which is a damn shame.
This episode was directed by Hy Averback who also directed the equally memorable “Suitable for Framing”
Majel Barrett, the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, provided the voice of the hospital announcer.
Leonard Nimoy, who played the part of Dr. Barry Mayfield (and is, no doubt, best known for his portrayal of Spock on the original Star Trek) reflected on his Columbo experience: “I had a great time working with Peter Falk. I found him a challenging and delicious actor to work with. Playing opposite a good performer, you play your top game. It’s a challenge that makes you rise to the occasion.”
This episode includes one of the few instances where Columbo loses his cool, actually snapping at a suspect. Series co-creator, Richard Levinson, did not like the scripted outburst: “I think Peter wanted his moment as an actor. And I thought it was a mistake. Peter pointed out that we had Columbo lose his temper in the pilot. He seemed to, but he didn’t really. That was an act calibrated to get a red iron.”
Peter Falk, however, defended the moment: “A little more of that might not have been bad. That grounds him and makes him human.”
My thoughts on this episode in chronological viewing order:
Doc Hidermann sprung back from that heart attack pretty quickly. Spry old gent!
Is that monkey in the cage an experiment or a pet?
Nurse Martin is worried. She clearly knows what Dr. Mayfield is capable of.
Uh oh. She’s on to him! Zeroing in on that suspicious suture.
Double uh oh. The deserted parkade!
Terrific reveal of Mayfield stepping out of the shadows and lifting the tire iron.
Because his wife was sick, Columbo presumably had to make his own breakfast – so he’s peeling hardboiled eggs at the crime scene. Reminds me of someone I know who attended a film screening and had to sit through the movie with the guy seated beside him peeling and eating hardboiled eggs.
Him breaking his egg on the murder weapon feels a little…ridiculous.
Columbo once again lets himself in unannounced.
Lighting up a cigar – in the doctor’s office no less.
Mayfield resetting his clock upon receiving the news of Sharon’s death is the first tip-off, like Ken Franklin checking his mail.
Is Columbo lying about feeling queasy in a hospital setting? Judging from his reaction to the crime scene photos in the previous episode, I’d guess not.
I like nurse Dalton, lamenting the fact the only single men who visit her work are the ones who come in for face lifts.
Aha! No fingerprints on the bottle of morphine.
Love this sequence of Columbo at the buffet, helping himself off Mayfield’s “Gathering evidence, detective?”, then grabbing a few olives (“They look very good.”) before wolfing everything down while asking questions.
Mayfield feeding Marcia a potential theory about Sharon’s suspicious ex-boyfriend. He is truly a worthy adversary.
Poor Marcia really thought she had a chance with Mayfield.
Not sure what’s going on with the sneezing. This doesn’t really tie in anywhere – or am I missing something?
Should Columbo really be bringing a cigar into the hospital room of a patient recovering from heart surgery? At least the nurse lets him have it.
Nimoy is fantastic, playing the role of the ruthless killer with all of the distant coldness of a homicidal Vulcan.
Harry doesn’t seem all that upset by the news of his ex-girlfriend’s death. Usually, this is something Columbo would glom onto.
Boy, the cleaning lady is really polishing up that decorative plastic brain.
Hmmm. The fact that Columbo assumes MAC, in all caps, is a name rather than some sort of acronym makes him look a little dumb here.
“You’re right about that,”admits Columbo. “No motive at all.” The game’s afoot!
Nimoy does the eyebrow thing in the scene out. Nice.
Now that is one easy-peasy break-in.
Boy, this is one coldhearted killer. That’s 2.5 murders (He left HIdemann half finished).
Casually walking about with his black medical bag.
Aha! Harry was left-handed!
“Oh, actually I think she knows less than she’s telling.” Great line.
The Marcus and Carlson Supply Company. Of course!
“You ask tough questions, doc,”says Columbo, to which Mayfield replies: “So does the jury.” The game of cat and mouse continues!
“When the suture dissolves the valve would separate” A line so important they had the actor repeat it.
Columbo slamming his hand down on the desk briefly rattles the good (bad) doctor.
Columbo sets this up beautifully, promising an autopsy should Hideman die, forcing Mayfield’s hand. But Mayfield has one more card up his sleeve – or, in this case, Columbo’s pocket we will learn.
The normally queasy Columbo toughing out the operation.
Columbo storms into the operating room in scrubs and a mask. I’m surprised he isn’t smoking his cigar.
The search for the sutures comes up empty. This is a true battle of wits.
With minutes left in the episode, Columbo admits defeat and leaves – only to re-enter seconds later to deliver the coup de grace. “I mean there was only one thing we didn’t search. You know what it was? Me.” And he produces the suture.
That nod of acknowledgement from Mayfield – brief and perfunctory – is the perfect out. Very well done.
Wow. This was a fantastic episode. Finally, a worthy adversary for Columbo who comes very close to being outwitted, losing his cool along the way. Nimoy is brilliant as the brilliant Dr. Mayfield and the other guest stars are all very good, especially Nita Talbot as the delightfully loony Marcia Dalton. Tight script and inspired direction vaults this one into first place for me.
My revised rankings: #1 A Stitch in Crime #2 Death Lends a Hand, #3 Suitable for Framing, #4 Dagger of the Mind #5 Requiem for a Falling Star #6 Prescription: Murder, #7 Murder by the Book/Ransom for a Dead Man (tie) #8 Etude in Black, #9 Lady in Waiting, #10 The Most Crucial Game, #11 Blueprint for Murder, #12 The Greenhouse Jungle #13 Dead Weight, #14 Short Fuse
Finally, let’s consider the evidence Columbo has gathered and decide whether our murderer is looking at a GUILTY verdict or an ACQUITTAL. Alas, there’s insufficient evidence tying him to the murders of Sharon Martin and Harry Alexander. The best they can hope for is a guilty verdict on the attempted murder of Dr. Hidemann. So, specifically to the charge of murder (much less double murder): ACQUITTAL!
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Agree with all your observations. I’ll add my 2 cents:
Why does a heart surgeon have a brain on his desk? All the docs I’ve seen usually have a model of their own specialty on their desk.
Those white puffy things in the nurse’s apartment looked like tribbles.
The egg cracking was ridiculous. I know DNA wasn’t a possibility but still, just sloppy.
That was a great line: “Oh, actually I think she knows less than she’s telling.”
Why does the suture in Columbo’s pocket (at finale) not look used? I’ve cut lots of suture from wounds (external/internal). This was just a wad of suture w/o any knots tied or cut. It usually has noticeable blood, too. I don’t know how suture was packaged back then but now, it’s in little packs (like bagged tea). That’s just me being picky.
Back then, everyone smoked nearly everywhere. Even with O2 being flammable, I remember people still lighting up near a canister. I’d lay bets a few surgeons smoked during surgery back then. I’ve come to realize that smoking addiction must be a mental illness.
When Columbo was chowing down on his food, it looked like he was really eating. I thought actors just moved food around on the plate or nibbled? Anyway, it reminded me of a scene in Firefly when Kaylee made a beeline for the buffet and said “How will I know if I don’t interrogate them (the strawberries)”.
I’d have to go with an acquittal, too. A good lawyer would suggest that Columbo brought the suture in himself.
How did crimes get solved w/o DNA in the past?
It was great seeing Nimoy in this! He was so handsome and a good actor.
Please say Hi to Ponytail from us!
Good point about the sutures.
The egg cracking was especially ridiculous since there could well have been blood and brain matter on that tire iron!
Yes, indeed, it did look like he was really eating. It reminded me of Dark Matter when Anthony Lemke (THREE) would eat his favorite raisin oatmeal during mess hall scenes. One episode, he requested a lamb shank, so props provided one. ONE. After numerous takes, he was just gnawing on a bone.
I haven’t watched this one in ages, so I will have to get back with my comments after a while. Why haven’t I watched this one? I’m disturbed by the second murder (well, both, but especially the second one). Maybe this go round it won’t bother me as much, but I need to be in the right frame of mind for it.
How’s everything with you, Joey? I’ve been juggling a lot, and now with mom in rehab I am surprised with how much time I DON’T have – lol. I just still have so much to do, and some medical things coming up that I am NOT looking forward to (ya know the one – it involves a prep. Mebbe they’ll find worms! Last time, the doc told me he found Jimmy Hoffa… 😀 ).
I’ll keep ya posted!
das
Well, family first. Take it easy and catch up at your own pace.
This is my favourite episode so far!
It was great to see Leonard Nimoy as not Spock. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything other than Star Trek.
Also great to see my teenage crush, Anne Francis, again. Although she met her end rather quickly in this one!
Even though the egg cracking was silly I still laughed.
Columbo mentions that he has a search warrant. The first mention of such a thing so far, I believe.
And Mayfield mentions a jury, the one thing that would save many Columbo defendants, I suspect.
I figured it would be dissolving sutures pretty early on. Mayfield goes got the slow kill. But surely they would have done an autopsy even if foul play wasn’t suspected? Or would his known heart problems negate the need? It feels like a risky plan to me.
I found the planting of the morphine and the subsequent killing of Harry the ex-junkie was also a risky plan. Why not just steal Nurse Martin’s purse and be done with it? The police could chalk it up to a robbery or assault gone wrong. But ransacking her apartment and then the police finding the morphine at her house just makes them investigate things deeper forcing Mayfield to even more extremes and take more risks.
Harry being left handed is irrelevant. Junkies will use whatever vein is available. But I was surprised that Harry regained consciousness long enough to get outside and fall down the stairs. Surely Dr Mayfield should know the correct dosage of morphine to cause an overdose. What junkies are obtaining and shooting up medical grade morphine anyway?
I was worried this was going to end with another “Columbo plants fake evidence to obtain a confession”. So it took me a second to realise that Mayfield actually planted the sutures on Columbo during his outburst in the operating room. Mayfield was doomed either way. If he didn’t operate Hideman would die and an autopsy would reveal his guilt. If he did operate Columbo would immediately know why and he’d reveal his guilt. He did his best to hide the evidence but not good enough. The sudden ending was a shock! I was expecting a confession scene like usual.
Great episode. I’m on the fence about Mayfield being found guilty or not guilty. I think the deaths of Sharon and Harry are too suspicious to be left unsolved. A good prosecutor should be able to build a case to convince a jury . . . but a good defender might be able to rebut it. I’m going to err on the side of justice and declare him GUILTY!
Yes, agree with some of your minor bumps, but absolutely loved Columbo boxing Mayfield in, literally forcing his hand at the end.
That was a good observation about the junkie getting back up. Maybe, the junkie’s tolerance level is higher than the dr thought?
Yes. I wondered about that too. It initially seemed like Mayfield had misjudged the dose.
Okay, watched it. Yes, it is a technically good episode, but is it one that the average viewer will love? Not so sure. It’s certainly not my favorite episode due to Harry’s murder. It was unnecessary, and heartbreaking. Here’s a guy who’s getting his life together, only to lose it for no good reason at all. I agree with Line Noise – why not just leave it at the parking lot assault on Nurse Martin and write it all off to a totally random killing? It happens all the time. It would have been case closed. Everything else after that was a bit much, too ‘staged’.
Therefore, I feel that the killing of Harry (all all the misdirection that lead up to it) was an unnecessary replacement death for the doctor surviving the operation. Just my feelings. In effect, that makes Harry’s murder more important than that of the nurse, and the attempt on the doctor, because, without Harry’s death Columbo couldn’t deconstruct the chain of events back to the surgery. It’s actually the thing that connects it all together. The more complicated Mayfield made things, the more it made Nurse Martin’s furrowed brow seem very important, which made her death seem less and less random, which made it easier for Columbo to see through the smoke screens. If there’s one thing Columbo is good at, it’s detecting BS when he smells it. 😉
Do you understand what I’m saying? Had Mayfield stopped with the nurse, the case would’ve been closed quickly, and the GOOD doctor would have died without anyone to question it. However, by staging the break-in at Martin’s place, and planting evidence, it kept the police involved, poking closer to home. NOW Mayfield (the BAD doctor) needs to come up with an alternative suspect. Enter Harry. BUT it’s Mayfield that’s creating this scenario, not the police, so of course it makes him look guilty as hell. How many real life murderers have aided the police with ‘helpful’ clues or information? Yeah, the ones that think they’re too clever to get caught. So, no one would have thought about or even remembered poor Harry had it not been for Mayfield. That, in turn, makes Harry’s death suspicious, and Columbo even more suspicious of Mayfield since he’s the one who first brought up the name. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy Mayfield., just like your monkey research and your attempted murder of the Good Doctor (not to be confused with the tv show of the same name).
There’s little I can add to the excellent comments and observations already given by Tam, Line, and you, Joe. I’m just still pissed off that he murdered Harry, just as PO’d as I was the first time I watched this episode. It’s why I avoid it when I want to relax. It also almost made me hate Mr. Spock, but I was able to separate character from character, and realize that Spock would never have been as sloppy as Mayfield. 😉
And oh, he will be found guilty. While it’s all circumstantial at this point, save for the sutures (not concerned there – they certainly weren’t going to show bloodied, used sutures on camera), now that the dots are in line, a good prosecutor will be able to connect them. It’s early stages yet. And I hope Dr. Mayfield rots in jail.
Yeah, I did not like him at all. Not at all. Is that good writing? Good acting? Or viewer manipulation by killing off the two most sympathetic characters in the episode? There are others I mourn, too, like Jim Ferris, and the parrot in Etude in Black, but this one hurts the most.
My rankings (I’ve changed a couple around as I reflect on how often I actually watch the episodes):
#1 Requiem for a Falling Star
#2 The Most Crucial Game
#3 Suitable for Framing
#4 Prescription: Murder
#5 Lady in Waiting
#6 Blueprint for Murder
#7 Murder by the Book
#8 Etude in Black
#9 Dagger of the Mind
#10 Death Lends a Hand
#11 Ransom for a Dead Man
#12 Short Fuse
#13 A Stitch in Crime
#14 Greenhouse Jungle
#15 Dead Weight
das
You make a compelling argument, Das. Still, I think it goes to Mayfield’s arrogance. He out-clevered himself.
Some may argue that a doctor would never commit such blatant murder, but since this WAS my doctor…
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/april-kauffman-doctor-james-kauffman-murder-charges-new-jersey-linwood-egg-harbor/202720/
das
Wut?
Yeah, he was a real jerk, too. He actually ‘fired’ me as a patient about a year before this all happened because – get this – I told him I was hesitant to take a certain medication because of all the Big Pharma reps that were always hanging about, and I didn’t want a pharmaceutical company determining my treatment. He must’ve thought I was onto the whole drug scheme thing he was running, but I didn’t have a clue about that. I just figured he was one of these doctors getting nice perks from the pharmaceutical companies for prescribing new, pricey medications.
Good thing I didn’t keep picking at that scab like Nurse Martin or maybe I would’ve met with a similar fate. 😛
Hunh!
Also, the coward hanged himself in jail. Or…did someone else hang him…?
One of my doctors think he was taken into witness protection, but I doubt it. He didn’t have anything to offer that they didn’t already know, so he was of little value to them by then. Still…I do wonder…
Nah. He gone.
das