The Greenhouse Jungle

This isn't Columbo's best, but it is still a well-plotted episode. I do agree it does focus too much on the secondary characters and I think Peter Falk and Ray Milland were more deserving of more scenes together. Still the plot is intriguing, the pacing is more playful than usual, the script is intelligent, the locations and photography are once again striking and the direction is good too. The acting is pretty much top notch, Peter Falk of course is exceptional, while Ray Milland gives one of my favourite guest performances on the show's run as he is suitably bolshy and calculating here. Overall, it is an enjoyable episode, even with its flaws. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is a very well written entry in Columbos second season. The guy writing the script was originally a pulp novelist(Jonathan Latimer) who then wrote 23 original Perry Mason series episodes among his television credits. His writing shows up well in this episode.

Ray Milland, an excellent actor definitely helps bring this show off too. Milland, a veteran screen actor from the 1950's turns in a fine performance and the support Faulk gets in this show is good as well.

The plot is about a husband living on a trust allowance plots with his Uncle who controls the trust to get $300,000 thousand dollars out of it. The Uncle then turns around & murders him, trying to throw Columbo off the scent only to trap himself.

Milland is excellent in this episode.

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.

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-

Considering the star power this episode had, including Ray Milland, Bradford Dillman, Arlene Martel, and the great William Smith, I feel it failed to deliver, mainly because the guilty parties act too guilty. As another reviewer mentioned years before, Milland seems to go way beyond what a guilty person would act like, and shows no remorse at all, which is unrealistic to me. Even though the story is very entertaining, including a hilarious fall down a wooded trail by Columbo, mostly everyone is unlikable, especially Cathy Goodland, played by an unimpressive Sandra Smith; her career lasted only a few years later, and that doesn't totally surprise me. The motive and crime seemed lazily put together, and the only redeeming aspect to me was the subdued performance by Smith, who usually plays a hood. As critical as I've been so far, let me add that this is still a fairly entertaining episode, minus any realism, but there are at least some laughs along the way.