The Greenhouse Jungle

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.

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.

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-

Stemming from an enjoyably sarcastic, no-nonsense characterisation and a hammy performance from Ray Milland as the murderer and a plot which is reasonably fresh and original, this second season episode is deceptively entertaining.

Perhaps there is too much focus on the secondary characters, especially Sergeant Wilson (who is assigned to the case to help Columbo and who would make a further appearance in the series some 4 years later in "Now you see Him"), but it is not burdensome in the extreme and there are some typically choice moments of humour - nb: Columbo's fall after trying to negotiate his way down a steep hill.

Certainly not as intelligently conceived and executed as the vintage episodes in the series; the pacing is more playful than frenetic and the scenes between Falk and Milland are too few and far between. Nonetheless, above-average stuff and pleasing viewing.

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.