Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Richard Irving

Writers:

Richard Levinson (teleplay) &
William Link (teleplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 February 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A psychiatrist uses a patient he is having an affair with to help him kill his wife, but his perfect alibi may come apart at the hands of a seemingly befuddled LAPD lieutenant.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Psychiatrist | Alibi | Investigation | Detective

Cast

Peter Falk	...	Lt. Columbo
Gene Barry	...	Dr. Ray Flemming
Katherine Justice	...	Joan Hudson
William Windom	...	Burt Gordon
Nina Foch	...	Carol Flemming
Virginia Gregg	...	Miss Petrie
Andrea King	...	Cynthia Gordon
Susanne Benton	...	The Blonde
Ena Hartman	...	Nurse
Sherry Boucher	...	Air Hostess
Anthony James	...	Tommy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Creech	...	(uncredited)
Clark Howat	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Don Stewart	...	(uncredited)
Tom Williams	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Irving

Writing credits
Richard Levinson		(teleplay) &
William Link		(teleplay)
Richard Levinson		(play) &
William Link		(play)

Produced by
Jerrold Freedman	....	associate producer
Richard Irving	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Ray Rennahan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard G. Wray

Art Direction by
Russell Kimball

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.		(as John McCarthy)
James Redd		(as James S. Redd)

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Edward K. Dodds	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Bisk	....	assistant director

Sound Department
James T. Porter	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burton Miller	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Robert Brower	....	color coordinator

Music Department
Stanley Wilson	....	musical supervisor

Production Companies

• Universal TV (as A Universal Production)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• DeAgostini Japan (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP)  acknowledgement (as AMPTP)

Also Known As:

Columbo: Prescription Murder

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2004) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Police Department - 464 N Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

The house with pool used in the final scene is the same house and pool used in "The Rockford Files: Backlash of the Hunter (#1.0)" (1974) (The Rockford Files (1974) (TV)) and later in "Columbo: The Most Crucial Game (#2.3)" (1972).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: You can see stage lights shining on the view from the balcony, also revealing the balcony view as a backdrop.

Quotes:

Lt. Columbo: What'd you say, Doc?
[pause]
Dr. Ray Flemming: [laughs] You're a very funny man.
Lt. Columbo: I wasn't trying to be funny.
Dr. Ray Flemming: But you are, and more than you know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971)

Columbo still refining his technique

This is a fascinating early outing for one of the greatest TV characters ever created. Filmed about three years before the great man was given a regular series, in an uncanny way it both stands alone and acts as a guide to what was to come.

The Columbo formula is in place: immediate suspicion leads to the hounding of the suspect until Columbo's psychological pressure is too much to bear and the victim is helplessly trapped.

I like to think that Columbo spent the years between 1968 and 1971 refining his methods, becoming subtler and more suggestive in his probing while letting his appearance become dowdier and even less threatening. Certainly this is one of the few occasions when he loses his temper on a case. Even when Columbo loses his temper, he is generally working to provoke a reaction.

There are some nice directorial touches here, too, particularly a cut based on the murderer's hands, a hand hitting a piano keyboard with a discordant 'plunk' (very Hitchcock) and Columbo's reflection materialising in a broken mirror.

After years of watching Columbo I am surprised anyone in Los Angeles even thinks about committing a murder. Surely the man is a legend in the local media? What do you mean: 'He's not real'?