Lady in Waiting

As people know, I love Columbo and consider it one of the best detective shows ever even with one or two lacking episodes later on. Lady in Waiting is a very interesting episode in many respects. And it isn't just because it features the first female killer.

The episode is a little slow occasionally, and I felt the final solution could have been expanded a little more so that the evidence had more time to unfold.

That said, like all the Columbo episodes I was impressed with how it looked. The episode with its clever use of photography and striking locations and costumes does look great, while the music is quite effective and doesn't intrude with the tone of each scene. The writing is good and the story is clever and makes the most of a great idea.

The acting is fine. Peter Falk while more subdued(more to do with how Columbo is written than Falk himself) is still brilliant in the title role, staying true in character and delighting us once more with that quintessential catchphrase. Susan Clark is excellent as well, and I was further impressed with how she was developed in Lady in Waiting, she starts off as someone you sympathise with and are touched by and then quite suddenly she is like a different person, more ambitious and ruthless. Leslie Nielson is good in a different role to what I am used to seeing him in, but supporting wise Jessie Royce-Landis was the standout being wonderful as the domineering mother.

In conclusion, an interesting episode mainly in the show's first female killer and how she is written. 8/10 Bethany Cox

PLOT: The repressed and overprotected sister (Susan Clark) of an ad agency executive murders her brother (Richard Anderson) and stages it as a mistaken burglary. This takes place right after he threatens to fire her fiancé who works for the company (Leslie Nielsen). She then morphs into a startlingly confident and ruthless power broker.

COMMENTARY: Clark is excellent as the stifled wallflower turned murderess with a semi-mad gleam in her eye while Nielsen is just as good in a convincing serious role. The intriguing plot is original (for Columbo, at least) and the way the rumpled gumshoe pesters the woman with details, even after an inquest declares the killing accidental, is gripping drama. So "Lady in Waiting" is on par with the stronger Columbo outings. But there are glaring plot holes that lower my grade...

Why is there no trace of blood on the floor where her brother falls on the floor? After all, she shot him three times. And why is there no line of blood leading to where the body is dragged, keeping in mind that she had zero time to clean anything up?

Furthermore, since when are American detectives allowed to freely march into a citizen's abode in the middle of the night and confront a suspect in her bedroom? Officers must knock before entering a home, declare their presence, and wait for the inhabitant to come to the door. This is called the "knock-and-announce" rule. The reason for this rule is to allow people a chance to respond so that violence can be avoided and privacy ensured, otherwise police can waltz right into any abode and watch individuals having sex, bathing or going to the bathroom.

Also, do detectives continue pursuing cases after the suspect has been declared innocent by a court of inquiry? Are they paid to keep harassing the individual or do they do this on their free time?

And doesn't Columbo take a great risk at the climax? After all, this woman has proven that she's a little sociopathic (to put it nicely) and more than willing to murder someone in cold blood. Yes, he takes a similar risk in "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine" (1989), but he was much older then and confident of his conclusions on the suspect's character based on decades of experience.

"Lady in Waiting" is an entertaining episode, but there are too many blatant plot issues.

GRADE: B-/C+

Very enjoyable early Columbo with good location and stars, especially the lead actress. Nice fashion too.

When the story begins, you see that a rich woman (Susan Clark) is struggling with a very controlling jerk of a brother (Richard Anderson)....who wants to micro-manage her life. However passive she seems, however, apparently Beth Chadwick has had enough...and soon she hatches her evil plan. She kills the brother and then pretends she shot him because she thought he was a burglar! Can she get away with it? And, does anyone care if she shot the brother?! I was actually rooting for this--especially after seeing her mother!!

Apart from the excessive use of weird electronic music throughout the episode, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The story was mostly good, though the villain was a bit dumb later in the film....and did a lot to make herself look guilty. Still, an exciting story and well worth seeing.

LADY IN WAITING is a solid early episode of the COLUMBO TV show, but not one of my favourites and the reason for that lies in the character of the murderess, as played by Susan Clark. Clark starts out as a mildly sympathetic character at the beginning but undergoes a transformation into one of the most repulsive and annoying characters in the whole COLUMBO canon. I ended up gritting my teeth every time she came on screen - which is a lot - which takes away from the enjoyment a bit.

Otherwise, the mystery is a simple one for Columbo to solve. Clark murders her controlling brother and pretends that she mistook him for a burglar, but her deed doesn't go exactly to plan and Columbo soon smells a rat. Peter Falk is on excellent form here and the scenes in which Clark belittles him are particularly fine. The direction has dated a little, with some cheesy dream effects and overuse of the zoom lens, but the production benefits as a whole from featuring a typically Leslie Nielsen in support back when he was playing it straight.