On February 11th, 1973, the 6th episode of Season 2 premiered. A Stitch in Crime starred Leonard Nimoy as Dr. Barry Mayfield, an opportunistic surgeon who didn't mind killing 2 people (and trying to kill a 3rd) to advance his career.
Anne Francis makes her second Columbo appearance, this time as Nurse Sharon Martin - the compassionate nurse that Dr. Mayfield bashes over the head with a tire iron to keep her quiet about his attempted murder of Dr. Hiedeman.
Kindly Will Geer plays the aforementioned Dr. Hiedeman.
What to watch for
Things I found interesting or notable in the episode.
Looks familiar
The emergency room exterior of the hospital in the opening sequence looks a lot like the emergency room entrance in Emergency! They were both being filmed around the same time so it's likely they used the same location - it's even possible that the ambulance pulling in is stock footage that both shows used.
Also...I'm pretty sure the ambulance would have backed into the spot.
Not standard procedure
I'm pretty sure that when you bring in a cardiac patient you don't awkwardly wrestle him off the gurney to his feet so he can walk to his own hospital bed.
Like that operating room?
You'll see it again. It's the Beauty Mark lab in season 3's Lovely but Lethal.
Clean operation
Columbo has always been an extremely clean, almost sterile, show. Part of that was the 1970s sensibilities and part of it the desire to make the show about the intellect and not about action or gore. Dozens of people got murdered on that show over the years and you rarely saw even a drop of blood.
This one might take the cake. Dr. Mayfield does a heart valve operation on Dr. Hiedeman and at the conclusion his hands, sleeves, and gown are completely clean. No blood at all.
How you have your hands inside a man's chest and don't get any blood on them...well, it's TV magic. :-)
How you have your hands inside a man's chest and don't get any blood on them...well, it's TV magic. :-)
Pretty trusting for 1970s Los Angeles
Mayfield goes to nurse Martin's apartment to plant the drugs and fake-sack the place. He parks across the street and takes an gutsy chance that her roommate won't notice him sitting there in his Mercedes when she walks out.
Maybe the bigger chance he takes is when he gets out of the car, he leaves it unlocked and with the driver's window down.
I guess we don't see if the car was still there when he got back.
Too much frame
As is often the case in Columbo, the killer goes too far in trying to set up an alternate story. Breaking into her apartment, planting the drugs, the prompting of the roommate. I suppose it was all important to give Columbo something to grab onto, but it was foolish and unnecessary.
Mayfield: "Do you think Marsha knows more than she's telling?"Columbo: "Actually I think she knows less than she's telling."
No prints?
One thing that may have piqued Columbo's suspicion was that there were no prints found on the little bottles of drugs that Mayfield hid in Sharon's apartment. At least Sharon's prints should have been found if she hid them there. Who wears gloves to hide stuff in your own home?
Harry's OD
As part of that frame Mayfield ambushes and basically murders Harry. He's taking a chance, though, because he doesn't give Harry enough of the drugs to kill him, just enough to make him woozy and disoriented so he falls down the stairs. He's taking a chance because he's assuming Harry will go outside and fall down, as opposed to just collapsing on his apartment floor and sleeping it off.
I suppose you could argue that it wasn't necessary for Harry to die, just him being found to have relapsed with the same drugs that Sharon supposedly had could advance him as a suspect. But if he survived he might have testified that he was attacked and injected against his will, which of course would set off a lot of alarm bells with Columbo.
I suppose you could argue that it wasn't necessary for Harry to die, just him being found to have relapsed with the same drugs that Sharon supposedly had could advance him as a suspect. But if he survived he might have testified that he was attacked and injected against his will, which of course would set off a lot of alarm bells with Columbo.
The clue about Harry being left-handed is a nice touch.
Losing his temper
One of the things Columbo fans often comment on with this episode is Columbo losing his temper with Mayfield and slamming down the pitcher.
It is a nice moment, and one of the rare times that Columbo lets his act down with a suspect.
Just a few more things...
- Peter Falk and Anne Francis share a birthday: September 16th. Falk is 3 years older. Francis was born in Ossining, NY, and Falk grew up there.
- Majel Barrett is the voice of the hospital announcer. She was Nurse Chapel on Star Trek with Leonard Nimoy.
- Nita Talbot is the only member of the main cast who is still alive (as of this writing). She's 94 years old, and retired from show business.
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