The Greenhouse Jungle

A kidnapping proves to be a cover for a man and his uncle to make a quick buck by splitting the ransom money. Things are going along smoothly until the uncle decides to change the plan from a kidnapping to a murder. Columbo is on hand (with a partner) to solve the case with his own unique style.

This may be my favorite of the Columbo episodes that I've seen so far. Ray Milland makes an excellent adversary for Columbo. In The Greenhouse Jungle, he proves he could chew the scenery with the best of Hollywood. Columbo's "partner", Sergeant Wilson (Bob Dishy), is one of the few comic relief type characters I've ever seen that is really funny. The rest of the supporting cast is also quite good.

But the thing that makes this one of my favorite Columbo is the mystery itself. The way Columbo solves the murder in this one is truly surprising. Even though the clue that leads to the resolution of the murder is in plain sight, I didn't realize what it was or even why it was in the movie. It's a notch above the normal Columbo fare.

To anyone unfamiliar with Columbo, this would make a great place to start.

I like some episodes better than this one, but I'm a huge fan of the series.

In "Greenhouse Jungle," the villain here is nasty Ray Milland as Jarvis, who arranges with his nephew Tony (Brad Dillman) to break Tony's trust by pretending that Tony was kidnapped. We can infer that the plan was that Jarvis would get some of the money. Tony wants it because he believes if he has it, he can keep his straying wife (Sandra Smith) at home. She's currently involved with a ne'er do well (William Smith).

Jarvis, of course, has no intention of giving his nephew anything and kills him.

One question I had about this episode was why Columbo was put on the case, since he works in homicide, and there wasn't one until later.

It's an enjoyable episode, with light-hearted performance by Dillman and Bob Dishy as an ambitious new police detective who uses state of the art equipment. I found Milland's performance without nuance and terribly abrasive.

Peter Falk, as usual, was great.

Enjoyable episode, if not the best.

This slick early Columbo story is slightly above average for its type, although not one of the very best the series has to offer. Certainly all of the right ingredients are present and correct , it's just that they're all quite familiar to fans of the show and the whole 'fake kidnapping' thing has been done elsewhere and better.

The guest villain is none other than Ray Milland, a true Hollywood great, who immediately raises the interest and doesn't disappoint with his insufferably stuffy turn. There are supporting turns from cult favourite William Smith and a briefly-seen Bradford Dillman, but the most interesting role goes to the frustrated wife, played nicely by Sandra Smith. Bob Dishy is very good as the green sergeant, and would later return in NOW YOU SEE HIM.

Peter Falk is on good form as per usual for this series, although comedy surrounding his character is in short supply, aside from that hillside tumble early on in the proceedings. The greenhouse angle of the story is an odd one as it only provides a backdrop to a couple of scenes, whereas the other themed episodes (medical, magic, etc.) had more of a relevance to the storyline. Still, this is a perfectly reasonable episode of the show, and there's nothing to dislike here.

PLOT: A cantankerous uncle (Ray Milland) and the nephew he loathes (Bradford Dillman) execute a successful scheme to get $300,000 from a trust fund via a fake kidnapping of the latter, but one of them has his own malicious objectives. Sandra Smith plays the cold wife who's having an affair with a musclebound gent (William Smith). Arlene Martel is on hand as the nephew's lady friend.

COMMENTARY: The way this one mixes up the formula is refreshing, but it's really not that altered in view of the big picture. Some people pan the episode on the grounds that the characters are unlikable but, really, it's just the arrogant uncle who's relentlessly cranky while the wife is simply not close to her husband and openly fulfilling her womanly needs through another man. The nephew's amiable enough despite his greedy scheme and his female friend is certainly agreeable.

The orchid conservatory is a notable setting while the greenhorn partner is a nice addition (Bob Dishy). Note how Columbo zeroes-in on his attributes and speaks well of him behind his back despite his rookie ineptness. This tells you something about the rumpled detective's character. I also enjoyed the attractive Star Trek alumni, Arlene Martel and Sandra Smith.

GRADE: B+/A-

When Mrs Goodland gets a call late at night that implies he has been kidnapped, she immediately rings round his usual haunts but, failing to locate him, she turns to the police and Columbo gets involved. Unbeknown to him though, is the fact that Tony has not been kidnapped but has staged the whole thing with his Uncle Jarvis as a way of making money. Things go smoothly at first but then Jarvis betrays Tony, killing him and keeping the money for himself. With so many clues Sergeant Wilson thinks it will be very simple but Columbo smells a rat.

As with many TV film series (such as Perry Mason), if you like one or two of them then you'll pretty much like them all. This entry in the Columbo series pretty much follows the usual formula – we know the killer and the "perfect" plan but then watch Columbo follow his hunch and gradually starts to pick holes in the story he is told before eventually finding enough to prove his suspicions. Saying this is not a spoiler – it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually down to several factors whether or not the Columbo film stands out or if it is just average. Here we don't have a murder until have way through and, when we do it appears all clean cut until Columbo starts picking away at it. It is all pretty much to formula, although the additional twist of the faked kidnapping does make it feel different and quite fresh. The investigation is good, although it is not as enjoyable as usual because Columbo does feel a bit internalised by the way the script lets him give Wilson the reigns; the ending didn't impress me that much as it seemed to come out of nowhere despite being quite clever.

The addition of Wilson to the mix allows Falk to play his underdog role in a different way but he is as enjoyable as usual. Although Wilson does take away from the amount of time the film has for cat'n'mouse stuff, Dishy is still enjoyable because, like the killers, he too underestimates Columbo and he carries this character off well – taking him from awe, to near distain and arrogance at some points. Milland is enjoyably bolshy and, as such, I would have liked him to have had more time with Falk to bounce off one another. He didn't but he was still good value. Support from Dillman, Smith and Martel is all good and Sagal draws good performances from all involved.

Overall, a slight change to the formula that reduces the cat and mouse stuff a bit but still turns in an enjoyable entry in the series that is up to the standard we expect. The performances are good and the changes from formula (the kidnapping aspect and Wilson) tend to add more than they detract.