Corrected entry: When Columbo has Galesko at the station, Galesko picks a camera off the shelf and opens up the back to show that the original negative is still in there (as proof of his innocence). But since none of them are in a dark room, opening the back of the camera would damage the negative, something Galesko should know since he's a professional photographer.
Factual error: Probably an in joke - the wheels of the "airliner" shown landing at LA international airport are those of a B52 bomber. They are very distinctive and look nothing like those on any airliner ever made.
A Deadly State of Mind - S4-E6
Trivia: Unusually enough for a television show devoted to a homicide detective and the way he unravels the plans of cunning murderers, the fact is that Columbo has nothing to do in this episode. Doctor Collier is seriously assaulted by Carl Donner who then goes on to violently attack his wife. Use of deadly force to prevent such an attack is allowed in the United States. Collier does not commit murder; he doesn't even commit a crime. You'd think such a hightly educated man would know enough to keep his head, call the police and explain what had happened. He wouldn't even be charged.
Question: Why was Columbo never promoted, given that across the whole show he solves all the murders in such a spectacular fashion?
Answer: In the show, he was already a Lieutenant. A promotion would put him in the next rank up, which for the L.A.P.D. would be Captain. However, some of a Captain's duties would be overseeing other officers and ensuring they're compliant with policies, regulations, and standards. It would also most likely take him out of the field. This is something Columbo has no desire for as he rarely goes to police HQ's. Nor does he show interest in compliance and standards (for example, not going to his semi-annual evaluation at the firing range). However, he could still be assigned to a higher pay grade based on expertise, which is a form of promotion that does not include rank advancement. This would be going from Lieutenant I to Lieutenant II. I don't believe in the show it's ever started what his pay grade is. Although, in s02e01 (I believe) he mentions making $11K a year. Whether or not this was a true statement on his part, if you could find pay scale information for an LAPD Lieutenant in the 70's, it could give you an idea of his pay grade.
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Correction: The film has already been developed and printed - Columbo has a huge blowup of the print. It cannot be further damaged by exposure to light. In fact the whole scene is nonsensical - there is no camera in the world which retains the film strip in the way shown here, and there is absolutely no reason for anyone to put the film back into the camera either - and no easy way of doing it. A professional photographer would know that.
The camera is an old Polaroïd of the 60s (model 800). The film used consists of two rolls : the positive one and the negative one. After taking a picture, the photo is extracted and the negative part may remain in the camera.