Goofs

When Columbo is snooping in "L. Dunstan's" medicine cabinet, there is a small gray plastic box of some sort, then a white dental floss container, then a tubular travel toothbrush which Columbo is interested in. The camera angle changes to show Columbo getting some tissues. During this camera change, the inside of the cabinet still can be seen, and the gray box and dental floss container have switched positions.

When Frank places books that came in the miniature military figurines box on the shelf, there is a closeup shot of him placing civil war books on the right side of the shelf. The books are numbered 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. After placing some books on the left side of the shelf, he then places more books on the right side of the shelf, and book 9 from the earlier shot is missing. Later, when the miniature battlefield is revealed to the general, book 9 is back on the shelf.

When Brailie visits his "L. Dunstan" apartment, he first gets his mail from the outside mailbox. The closeup of the mailbox shows the name "L. Dunstan" label in large block letters just above the apartment number, just like the other mailbox name labels. The next shot is farther back, and when the box door is closed, the name label is smaller and below the apartment number, just like all the other mailbox name labels.

After Columbo removes some books from the right of the shelf, a few adjacent ones fall over, but those at the left end of the shelf remain upright. Moments later, the books on the left also have fallen over, and moments after that, they return to being upright.

When the secretary removes the green and red folders from the safe, she leaves the door of the safe open. She then joins Columbo outside. Moments later, as she walks back through the room, the door to the safe is closed.

When referring to I Ching, the characters incorrectly pronounce it as "EYE Ching." The correct pronunciation is "EE Ching."

Around 13:30, the Sgt. Major tells the troops about the pits with white line circled around them. Then the following explosion is explained as mortar fire, however it is obvious that it's not "incoming" but that it's an explosive charge buried in the pit to kick dirt into the air. If it were an actual mortar, it wouldn't have been able to land in the circle, and the Sgt. Major would have been killed by shrapnel.

In the funeral chapel with Colombo, Master Sergeant Tanzer is wearing two Expert marksmanship badges on his Class A uniform jacket, which is never done. If he wears any marksmanship badge at all, it would be only a single Expert badge with two weapon bars hanging beneath it.

However, this is not a Goof as the unit is not an actual military unit; it is a private pseudo-military outfit. While they may use the same names and symbols as the actual military, they are under no obligation to do so. They may use their own uniforms, ranks, insignia, etc.

There are multiple errors with Tanzer's military uniform. He is a master sergeant as indicated by the rank on his sleeves, but his name tag says "SGT TANZER"; it should say "MSG TANZER". It wouldn't though, as name tags do not have rank inscribed on them, only the last name. Tanzer also mentions he is in military intelligence, but the medallion on his lapel appears to have two crossed rifles, and he's wearing a Combat Infantryman Badge, both of which mean he would be infantry.

However, this is not a Goof as the unit is not an actual military unit; it is a private pseudo-military outfit. While they may use the same names and symbols as the actual military, they are under no obligation to do so. They may use their own uniforms, ranks, insignia, etc.

When Columbo looks at the body of Sergeant Major Lester Keegan, he can be seen to be blinking.

It seems that the Civil War books are supposed to be brand new. However, close inspection when the books are being unboxed reveals that there are used books in with the new ones.

Columbo twice procures evidence without a search warrant (i.e., travel toothbrush and Special Projects report) and without following any chain of custody. This especially contrasts to the theatrics he went through when the flashlight was found at the crime scene.