Title: A Trace of Murder
Directed by: Vincent Mc Eveety
Written by: Charles Kipps
Air Date: May 15, 1997
Previous: Strange Bedfellows
Next: Ashes to Ashes
Guest Starring: David Rasche, Shera Danese, Barry Corbin
"A Trace of Murder" is a 1997 Columbo TV movie.
Clifford Calvert (Barry Corbin) is a loud, macho Texas businessman. He apparently isn't a very ethical businessman, as one Howard Seltzer is accusing Calvert of misleading him into making bad investments. Seltzer lost lots of money and is threatening to sue Calvert, which could lead to all of Calvert's other investors suing him, which could leave him ruined.
Clifford has a second problem that he doesn't know about. His Trophy Wife Cathleen (Shera Danese) has a lover, Patrick Kinsley (David Rasche). Cathleen's pre-nuptial agreement means she gets nothing if she leaves Clifford. Cathleen raises the idea of murder, but Patrick correctly points out that if her husband is murdered the cops will come right after Cathleen. Cathleen then suggests a more clever idea: they murder Howard and frame Clifford for it.
So they do. Patrick bluffs his way into Howard's house on the pretense of needing to make an emergency call, and after talking with him for a few minutes, shoots him dead with Clifford's revolver. He leaves a tip from one of Clifford's cigars, and collects hair and fiber evidence from Howard's house that he has Cathleen plant on Clifford's suit. They time the murder for a moment when Clifford will have no alibi, because he's driving to a wedding.
Lt. Columbo takes the case. He is drawn to Clifford because of Clifford's motive, Clifford's lack of an alibi, and Clifford's inability to produce his gun (Patrick threw it away). Columbo is assisted in the investigation by the head forensic analyst at the LAPD crime lab... Patrick Kinsley.
Seventh and last Columbo episode directed by Vincent McEveety. Sixth and last Columbo guest appearance by Peter Falk's wife, Shera Danese.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – Law and Artistic License – Law Enforcement
- Columbo filches a butt from Clifford's ashtray for comparison to the cigar end found at the crime scene. It isn't the first time Columbo has snatched evidence without a warrant.
- Before accusations are actually filed, all a lawyer can do is contest warrants and advise his client when talking to the police. Suspects have no legal basis whatsoever to attempt independent testing of the evidence at this stage, much less demand samples.
- While the District Attorney's office would be consulted regarding whether sufficient evidence exist to attempt a case, they can't just unilaterally decide to launch an indictment until the police investigation has culminated into a formal arrest, which clearly hasn't been the case by the time Columbo butts into the DA meeting with Calvert.
- You also obviously can't offer a plea deal before the indictment even happens, because no charges exist that Calvert could plead guilty to begin with to at that stage.
- Bluffing the Murderer: Once he figured out what happened, Columbo gets Cathleen to confess with the old police trick of pretending that the other conspirator has already confessed.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- A photographer is snapping pictures while Clifford and Cathleen dance at the wedding. Sure enough, that throws a wrench in the Frame-Up when photos show that the cat hair on Clifford's suit didn't appear until after he started dancing with Cathleen.
- Howard had a cat which darts out right after the murder. The cat managed to carry away the cigar end that Patrick had left at the scene to incriminate Clifford.
- Establishing Character Moment: The very first shot has Clifford, wearing a cowboy hat indoors, drinking at the bar and complaining loudly about how the local airport wouldn't give him permission to land his private plane. We pretty much learn everything about him in an instant.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Columbo has a "Eureka!" Moment in which he realizes that Patrick and Cathleen know each other. Just what it was isn't explained until the end: when the coffee comes, Patrick unconsciously withdraws the cream and passes the artificial sweetener to Cathleen, because that's how she takes her coffee.
- Foreshadowing: "The only thing that can hurt us at this point is us." Patrick's not wrong, they are their own undoing, as their unwitting hints that they know each other tip off Columbo. This leads to him feeding the two false information, and their turning on each other.
- Frame-Up: Cathleen and Patrick attempt to kill two birds with one stone by simultaneously getting rid of Howard's lawsuit and sending Clifford to jail for murder. It falls apart when Clifford unintentionally gives himself an alibi by stopping off to buy cough drops at a drug store, and later, a wedding photographer's pictures show that Clifford didn't have that cat hair on his suit when he arrived at the wedding.
- Glass Eye: This episode contains the only hint in the entire Columbo canon that Lt. Columbo, like Peter Falk, has a glass eye. When he invites Patrick to tag along on the investigation, Columbo says "Three eyes are better than one!"
- Hired to Hunt Yourself: Patrick sets the scene up to point to Clifford and then winds up working with Columbo on the case.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: "I need a drink, dammit!", bellows Clifford at Cathleen, after he opens his desk to give his gun to Columbo and discovers that it isn't there.
- Instant Death Bullet: Howard gets shot once and falls over dead in typical Columbo style, but it's quite glaring in this instance as he was shot in the stomach. There's basically no way to die instantly from a bullet in the gut like that, although one could bleed out in a few minutes if the bullet hit an artery.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Howard keeps a cat and he's much nicer than the average Columbo murder victim. He earnestly tries to help Patrick and chats freely with him after that.
- Ms. Fanservice: Cathleen in a Sexy Backless Outfit, Cathleen in a nightie, Cathleen wearing nothing but a towel... notice a pattern?
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Howard behavior towards Patrick when he came was the paragon of hospitality. He let him in on the whim he had an emergency, he let him use his phone, he made small talk. If he was any kinder to him, he would've given him a million dollars and cookie. Too bad he was Patrick's intended target to frame Clifford.
- No Honor Among Thieves: When Columbo feeds each party false information that each one ratted the other out, Patrick and Cathleen both are all too quick to believe either one of them is a "Son of a Bitch" who really would throw the other under the bus. The news even reports how the lovers turning on each other is a testament that their "love" was no less superficial than Cathleen's marriage to Clifford.
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: Cathleen says "The house is on fire" and "They just found the Lindbergh baby." All Clifford does is grunt.
- Pet the Dog: Clifford being nice to anyone is no small feat. His default mode is to either insult them, belittle them or beat them up. In the least, when he learns Columbo shares his love of cigars, he teaches him the best way to smoke one (if only because he finds it preferable to watching Columbo "chew it like a beaver").
- Plot Hole: There's no reason in the world why Columbo would ask a forensic tech to accompany him to interview Cathleen Calvert. No reason, but he has to, because Cathleen and Patrick have to be together for Columbo to have his "Eureka!" Moment and realize that they know each other.
- Though it was suggested that Patrick also had some training in psychological profiling.
- Pun: Columbo makes one while telling Clifford how busy he is. In context and with his smirk, it's a veiled threat.Columbo: You know, the first day of a homicide investigation, you wouldn't believe it. It's murder.
- Trust Password: Howard resets the alarm after letting Patrick in and gives the correct Trust Password to the alarm company when they call to make sure everything is fine. That fixes the time of the murder to between 6:19 and 6:24 when someone (Patrick, as it happens) hit the panic button on the alarm.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: This being 1997, Patrick can trick his way into Howard's house by claiming that his car phone went dead and he has to make an urgent call to the hospital.
