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1973 - COLUMBO: A Stitch in Crime
Dir.: Hy Averback
Writer: Shril Hendryx
Lt. Columbo: Peter Falk
Dr. Barry Mayfield: Leonard
Nimoy
Marcia Dalton: Nita Talbot
Dr. Edmund Heidemann: Will Geer
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Two Cardiologists, Dr. Heidemann and
Dr. Barry Mayfield,
are working together on a scientific medical project. Dr. Heidemann, the elderly leader of the
team accepts the institution's suggestion that the newly developed medicament needs still some
more test. Very much for the dismay of Dr. Mayfield, who wants to bring it onto the market
before other competitors do so.
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But Dr.
Heidemann
is not to be convinced. He wants to take the
time to develop a save medicament. When a valve of Dr.
Heidemann's heart needs to be replaced,
Dr. Mayfield intends to replace Dr. Heidemann by using self – destructive suture while
operating on him. Some days after the operation the suture would dissolve, the valve detach
and Dr. Heidemann die of a heart attack.
Sister Sharon, who knew about the dispute of the two doctors and who does not feel happy
about Dr. Mayfield doing the OP, discovers pieces of the self – dissolving suture when
cleaning up. Under the watchful eyes of Dr. Mayfield her reaction does not stay unnoticed.
She contacts a firm to get the pieces of suture tested and gets an appointment for another
day. She does not make it there because Dr.
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Mayfield awaits her at her car to smash her
head with an iron bar.
Columbo arrives at the scene. When he enters Dr. Mayfield's room, Dr. Mayfield is sitting
on his desk phoning and adjusting his clock while he gets the news about Sister Sharon's
death. Columbo mentions this, officially admiring his capability of concentrating at the
clock while getting such news and he wonders about the motive. Now Dr. Mayfield has to take
the keys he's taken from Sharon's bag, enter her flat just after her roommate, Marsha,
has left and hides morphine in her bathroom. He messes up the flat to pretend that something
has been searched for.
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As the police finds the morphine Columbo does not swallow the
addiction story. Now Dr. Mayfield phones Marsha, whom he knew before.
She's flattered to get the doctor's attention. He mentions a former friend of Sharon's, Harry Alexander, who had been addicted to drugs and arranges a meeting with Marsha at the beach to comfort her because of the loss of her roommate. Martha hopes to get more of his attention and she takes the suggestion seriously to inform the police about Harry. It is quite interesting for Columbo to learn that she got the call and the visit and the idea from Dr. Mayfield.
Columbo visits Dr. Heidemann in his hospital room. Dr. Mayfield tries to get
Columbo out, but Dr. Heidemann is)
enjoying Columbo's cigar as
"the only human thing in
here since days". Of course, Columbo by the way mentions that Harry Alexander is
clean. This makes Dr. Mayfield break into Harry's apartment,
wait for him to come and drug him unconscious and then inject him an overdose morphine.
Harry gets delirious and falls down from the first floor.
He's dead. Columbo, always
on Dr. Mayfield's heels, visits him at a party in his home. After filling his
plate with an enormous amount of different kinds of food, pretending to need
Dr. Mayfield's advice and help to explain certain coincidences which simply do
not match, he feeds Dr. Mayfield some information. Wondering why a left handed man like
Harry injected the fatal shot into his left arm. He
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devours the heaps of food
while feeding Dr. Mayfield the information he wants him to have. In the end he asks
him for a pill against stomach ache wondering where it comes from. Dr. Mayfield stays
cool and gets him a pill.
In the hospital Columbo learns about the different kinds of suture.
He also learns that Dr. Mayfield had had the notice for Dr. Heidemann from the
institute long enough in his hand to read it by himself – knowing further delay
for the presentation of their medicine would be ahead. Columbo combines the facts and
(in this episode) tells the murderer that he knows he's done it. Dr. Mayfield stays
cool and laughs at him loudly clearly)
stating that this will be impossible to prove.
A very angry Columbo announces that an autopsy will be done on Dr. Heidemann in case
he suddenly dies because of a heart attack. Dr. Mayfield is not fond of that idea
and tampers with Dr. Heidemann's medicine to cause a severe reaction which makes an immediate
operation necessary.
He replaces the self dissolving suture with real suture.
Immediately after the op is over, Columbo, who has been watching him all the time
from a window above, storms in with policemen searching everything for the suture.
An outburst of anger explodes over Columbo when Dr. Mayfield pushes him angrily
because he feels wrongly accused.
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Everything is searched. No suture found. Nothing.
Columbo admits his defeat in Dr. Mayfield's office and leaves, leaving his theater
coat in the office.
A very relieved Dr. Mayfield takes a deep breath... until Columbo breaks in again. He grabs his theater coat and finds the suture in a pocket showing it to Dr. Mayfield: "It struck me when you pushed me in the theater. You always stayed cool and self controlled except then. I could not explain the outbreak until I knew: You left the suture at the only place which was not searched: Me." A hint of admiration accompanies Dr. Mayfield's raised eyebrow.
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