Lady in Waiting

Episode aired Dec 15, 1971
TV-PG
1h 15m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

3.5K

YOUR RATING

Peter Falk, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Anderson, Susan Clark, Joel Fluellen, and Jessie Royce Landis in Lady in Waiting (1971)

Cop Drama Police Procedural Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

A young woman who feels oppressed by her successful brother kills him in cold blood and pretends she thought he was a burglar. Lt. Columbo unravels her defense.A young woman who feels oppressed by her successful brother kills him in cold blood and pretends she thought he was a burglar. Lt. Columbo unravels her defense.A young woman who feels oppressed by her successful brother kills him in cold blood and pretends she thought he was a burglar. Lt. Columbo unravels her defense.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

3.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
This was Jessie Royce Landis' final acting role before her death on February 2, 1972 at the age of 75.

Goofs
Although Bryce is shot three times in the chest, no blood is seen on the body or the carpet after he is dragged across the room.

Quotes
Hostess: Ah, Lieutenant. Your cigar?
Columbo: What about it?
Hostess: Uh... Well, the fragrance is not, um... compatible.
Columbo: That's a shame. I just lit it.

Soundtracks
Love Theme from 'Red Sky At Morning'
(uncredited)
Composed by Billy Goldenberg
Heard during the bar scene

User reviews47

Featured review

6/10

A horrid murderess in this early Columbo outing

LADY IN WAITING is a solid early episode of the COLUMBO TV show, but not one of my favourites and the reason for that lies in the character of the murderess, as played by Susan Clark. Clark starts out as a mildly sympathetic character at the beginning but undergoes a transformation into one of the most repulsive and annoying characters in the whole COLUMBO canon. I ended up gritting my teeth every time she came on screen - which is a lot - which takes away from the enjoyment a bit.

Otherwise, the mystery is a simple one for Columbo to solve. Clark murders her controlling brother and pretends that she mistook him for a burglar, but her deed doesn't go exactly to plan and Columbo soon smells a rat. Peter Falk is on excellent form here and the scenes in which Clark belittles him are particularly fine. The direction has dated a little, with some cheesy dream effects and overuse of the zoom lens, but the production benefits as a whole from featuring a typically Leslie Nielsen in support back when he was playing it straight.