The Greenhouse Jungle

Episode aired Oct 15, 1972
Not Rated
1h 14m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

3.1K

YOUR RATING

Peter Falk in The Greenhouse Jungle (1972)

Cop Drama Police Procedural Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

Columbo is assigned to a kidnapping case that turns into a murder investigation. Everything seems to be related to a trust fund managed by the horticulturist uncle of the victim.Columbo is assigned to a kidnapping case that turns into a murder investigation. Everything seems to be related to a trust fund managed by the horticulturist uncle of the victim.Columbo is assigned to a kidnapping case that turns into a murder investigation. Everything seems to be related to a trust fund managed by the horticulturist uncle of the victim.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

3.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
When Columbo walks down a steep, grassy hill to inspect the wreckage of the Jaguar, he loses his footing and stumbles, taking a big fall and landing on his back. This wasn't staged; it was Peter Falk, not a stuntman.

Goofs
Columbo is supposed to be very observant and into details, yet when Tony's body is discovered, Columbo doesn't notice that Tony is wearing the same clothes as the masked man who picked up the ransom from Jarvis.

Quotes
Sergeant Frederic Wilson: J'ever see one of these before, Lieutenant?
Columbo: Uh... no, not sure I have. It, eh, looks kind of familiar, though.
Sergeant Frederic Wilson: It's a camera-mounted starlight scope. They used 'em quite a bit at Berkeley for night work.
Columbo: You mean that takes pictures in the dark?
Sergeant Frederic Wilson: Yeah. I bought this one myself.
Columbo: You used your own money?
Sergeant Frederic Wilson: Well, I wanted to have the best equipment for the job, sir.
Columbo: You must be a bachelor.

Alternate versions
This episode is out of sequence and is seen as S2E1 on Tubi in 2024.

Connections
Referenced in The Six Million Dollar Man: Population: Zero (1974)

User reviews43

Featured review

8/10

My favorite Columbo

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.