Other mistake: Mrs. Petrie, Dr. Flemming's secretary, makes two phone calls to Joan Hudson. She dials seven numbers for the first call but only six numbers for the second call.
Columbo: Prescription Murder (1968)
1 other mistake
Directed by: Richard Irving
Starring: Peter Falk, Gene Barry, William Windom, Katherine Justice
Character mistake: After Fleming has murdered his wife, he warns his girlfriend not to touch anything in the apartment, but he hands her a drink which he already prepared for her. At his direction she also makes a telephone call, holding the receiver with a cloth he hands her, but dialling the number with her bare fingers. On top of that, he hands her a pair of gloves after she has made the call - she would have touched or handled all sorts of things in the room by then. Why didn't he hand her the gloves as soon as she stepped in the room?
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Suggested correction: This is a subtle hint that Fleming is preparing to frame his girlfriend for the murder. He would admit to having an affair with her (not a crime) but is going to deny any involvement in his wife's murder. (SPOLER ALERT!) Later he makes it clear that his girlfriend meant nothing to him and he didn't care that she had committed suicide (or so he thought).
Nowhere in the episode is this sub-plot explored or even mentioned.
Not only that, but the idea he was going to subtly frame his girlfriend doesn't make sense because he used her to establish his alibi. He tried to make it look like she was killed by an random intruder.
Lt. Columbo: There must be something wrong with me. I seem to bother people, to make them nervous.
Trivia: The first choice for actors to play Colombo was Bing Crosby.
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