Columbo: Inculpé de meurtre

Original title: Prescription: Murder

TV Movie
1968
TV-PG
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A psychiatrist uses a patient he is having an affair with to help him kill his wife, but his perfect alibi may come apart at the hands of a seemingly befuddled LAPD lieutenant.A psychiatrist uses a patient he is having an affair with to help him kill his wife, but his perfect alibi may come apart at the hands of a seemingly befuddled LAPD lieutenant.A psychiatrist uses a patient he is having an affair with to help him kill his wife, but his perfect alibi may come apart at the hands of a seemingly befuddled LAPD lieutenant.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Top cast22

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Peter Falk

Lt. Columbo

Gene Barry

Dr. Ray Flemming

Katherine Justice

Joan Hudson

William Windom

Burt Gordon

Nina Foch

Carol Flemming

Virginia Gregg

Miss Petrie

Andrea King

Cynthia Gordon

Susanne Benton

The Blonde

Ena Hartman

Nurse

Sherry Boucher

Air Hostess

Anthony James

Tommy

Frank Baker

Man in Park
(uncredited)

Michelle Breeze

Party Guest
(uncredited)

Jim Creech

Policeman in Hospital
(uncredited)

Ed Haskett

Party Guest
(uncredited)

Robert Hitchcock

Pilot
(uncredited)

Clark Howat

Doctor
(uncredited)

Jeff Lawrence

Party Guest
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Columbo establishes two of his most famous trademarks by needing to borrow a pencil and, just before leaving the psychiatrist's office, by saying, "There's one more thing . . . ".

Goofs
The outline of Carol Flemming's 'body' is on the floor, but since she survived the attack and died later in the hospital, (unless that was a ruse to trip-up the suspect) there would not have been a reason to mark off where the first responders found her, since injured people are removed and transported quickly to save their lives, and not subject to being traced before they are moved. Additionally, the location of the tape was not a match to where she was initially on the floor.

Quotes
Lt. Columbo: But one thing bothers me, Doctor. This man that we're talking about has taken a human life. Now wouldn't you say that he was insane?
Dr. Ray Flemming: Why? Because he committed an immoral act? Morals are conditioned, Lieutenant. They're relative, like everything else is today. Our murderer may be as sane as you and me. Killing may be repugnant to him, but if it's his only solution, he uses it. That pragmatism, my friend, not insanity.
Lt. Columbo: Tell me, Doctor, how do you catch a man like that?
Dr. Ray Flemming: You don't.
Lt. Columbo: You're probably right. He sounds just too clever for us. What I mean is, you know, cops, we're not the brightest guys in the world. Of course, we got one thing going for us: we're professionals. I mean, you take our friend here, the murderer. He's very smart, but he's an amateur. I mean, he's got just one time to learn. Just one. And with us, well, with us, it's - it's a business. You see, we do this a hundred times a year. I'll tell ya, Doc. That's a lot of practice.

Crazy credits
The beginning credits feature a series of brightly colored animated splotches. The splotches were meant to resemble the ink blots used in a Rorschach test, as the villain in this movie was a psychiatrist.

Connections
Featured in Peter Falk versus Columbo (2019)

User reviews65

Featured review

10/10

Columbo still refining his technique

This is a fascinating early outing for one of the greatest TV characters ever created. Filmed about three years before the great man was given a regular series, in an uncanny way it both stands alone and acts as a guide to what was to come.

The Columbo formula is in place: immediate suspicion leads to the hounding of the suspect until Columbo's psychological pressure is too much to bear and the victim is helplessly trapped.

I like to think that Columbo spent the years between 1968 and 1971 refining his methods, becoming subtler and more suggestive in his probing while letting his appearance become dowdier and even less threatening. Certainly this is one of the few occasions when he loses his temper on a case. Even when Columbo loses his temper, he is generally working to provoke a reaction.

There are some nice directorial touches here, too, particularly a cut based on the murderer's hands, a hand hitting a piano keyboard with a discordant 'plunk' (very Hitchcock) and Columbo's reflection materialising in a broken mirror.

After years of watching Columbo I am surprised anyone in Los Angeles even thinks about committing a murder. Surely the man is a legend in the local media? What do you mean: 'He's not real'?