The Greenhouse Jungle

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.

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.

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-

In the course of the Columbo series there are some perpetrators you feel sorry for and some you truly hate. Ray Milland in this episode falls into the latter category. He's a cynical and manipulative sort who really does think he's smarter than everyone else. He even tries to play off Bob Dishy making the first of two appearances as an earnest young police sergeant against Peter Falk at one point as Falk zeroes in on him.

The orchid growing Milland has a rather worthless nephew in Bradford Dillman and he administers with the bank a rather stringent trust with a strict allowance for him. He wants his hands on the money and there is an emergency clause to get some more out. They fake a kidnapping with a ransom demand of $300,000.00 and then Milland kills Dillman.

The beauty for Milland is that Dillman had a cheating wife in Sandra Smith who is prime for something like this. She also has a boyfriend in William Smith who casts well as a villain in any number items he's been part of the cast. But of course it doesn't fool Peter Falk who Milland thinks is dumb. The fate of all villains in this show.

I wish Bob Dishy had been cast in more than two of the Columbos. I like him here almost as much as a good defense lawyer in Law And Order. He and Falk work well together.

This most manipulative of villains gets his just desserts, but you have to watch to see how.

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.