A Trace of Murder is the eleventh episode of the tenth season of Columbo and the sixty-sixth episode overall. Billed as the "25th Anniversary Movie," it first aired on May 15, 1997 and was directed by Vincent McEveety in his final contribution to the series, having directed a total of seven episodes. In addition to Peter Falk at Lieutenant Columbo, the episode stars his real-life wife Shera Danese in the last of her six appearances on Columbo, as well as David Rasche, Barry Corbin and Raye Birk.
Summary[]
Cathleen Calvert (Shera Danese) and her lover, crime scene investigator Patrick Kinsley (David Rasche), are weary of having to see each other on the sly. She will not divorce her husband, rich businessman Clifford Calvert (Barry Corbin), due to their prenuptial agreement. So the lovers scheme to get him out of the way by killing Howard Seltzer (Raye Birk), an investment broker who is suing him, then framing Clifford for the murder. To do so, Patrick drives to Seltzer's house and tricks Seltzer into letting him inside by claiming that his car phone has died and that he has to make an urgent phone call. Patrick then shoots Seltzer and plants evidence to suggest that Clifford was responsible. Columbo's work is cut out for him, because Patrick is on the team handling the investigation. In this episode, it is implied that Columbo only has one eye, as of course Peter Falk has.
Clues[]
Columbo realizes that Kinsley knows Cathleen very well when Kinsley - without being asked too - gives Cathleen milk for her coffee! Later seeing Kinsley open the front door of a car for Cathleen instead of the back door, Columbo realizes that despite their claims otherwise, the two knew each other. If they had never met, as they claimed to Columbo, Kinsley would not have known that Cathleen prefers the front seat because she easily gets car sick when sitting in the back. A wedding photographer's shot of the Calvert couple dancing also helps reveal that the cat hair found on Clifford's suit jacket was planted by Cathleen.
| Columbo (season 10) |
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| 1."Columbo Goes to College" 2."Caution: Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health" 3."Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star" 4."Death Hits the Jackpot" 5."No Time to Die" 6."A Bird in the Hand..." 7."It's All in the Game" 8."Butterfly in Shades of Grey" 9."Undercover" 10."Strange Bedfellows" 11."A Trace of Murder" 12."Ashes to Ashes" 13."Murder with Too Many Notes" 14."Columbo Likes the Nightlife" |