Goofs

Janus' secretary gets a phone call from Mrs. Stafford. She turns on the tape recorder and starts talking. She says, "Mrs. Stafford?", then a moment later, there is a dial tone, indicating that Mrs. Stafford has hung up. She then plays the tape recording of the conversation. This time, the dial tone begins before she says, "Mrs. Stafford?"

When Janus offers Columbo the carrot juice, the glass is full. The next shot shows only half a glass; later it is full again.

When Columbo is speaking with Milo Janus in his office after he's been exercising, his tracksuit is all sweaty; when they meet in the corridor a moment later, it is clean.

When Columbo finishes walking on the treadmill at the gym, he enters the office to talk to Milo Janus. Just before he leaves the office, he borrows a pencil from a black box on the desk. When the camera switches from Columbo to Janus, the number of pencils change from three to one, and they also are pointing in a different direction. When Columbo puts the pencil back in the box, there are two pencils, but the next angle shows three pencils as Columbo is heading toward the door.

In the beginning Gretchen Corbett wears the same chunky white platform sandals worn by Vera Miles in a previous episode.

The bar used in staging the "accidental" bench-press is not a pressing bar, but a bent "curling" bar. That type of barbell is used only while standing and curling the bar, underhanded, to build biceps. It is too narrow for use in bench-pressing movements, overhanded, which should have been an additional "flag" for Columbo. The wrong bar is never mentioned as a clue. Milo should have realized that this was the wrong type of bar as well.

At the beginning, the secretary turns on the recorder to "record", but the red button must be pressed to put it in record, otherwise it's in playback.

After Columbo is informed that Lewis Lacey has been terminated by the receptionist, he calls the contact number, and the answering machine states that he is away from his desk. This is unlikely to be the recording on a home answering machine.

Milo places a barbell on Stafford's neck which is supposed to appear as the cause of death. Columbo says that the barbell weighs 180 pounds and Milo doesn't question him. However, that type of barbell weighs no more than 120 pounds.

When Columbo sits in the waiting room at the hospital, there is a man at his side and a woman in a separate chair. After the harsh exchange with Milo Janus, the camera opens and shows another man who wasn't there before.

However, this is not a continuity goof as there was ample time between the larger shots for someone to simply go and have a seat on the couch.

When Columbo is running on treadmill, Janus leaves saying he "has paperwork to take care of". The door he enters is labeled "PING PONG" and a shirtless dude has just left the room a few moments prior.

It's obvious that Janus was just making up an excuse for Columbo.

When Mrs. Stafford goes to her apartment door to open it for Mr. Lacey, there is a "T" made from two pieces of black tape on the floor. This is the actress's mark for where she is supposed to stand.

The floor when Columbo goes to find Mr. Lewis at the elevator is continuous from the office into the elevator revealing it is not a real elevator as there would be no way for it to move.

(at around 1h 25 mins) When Columbo describes what was on the tape, the phrase "Mr. Stafford two months ago" is clearly dubbed.

When Columbo gets off the elevator at Tri-Con, a woman wearing a green shirt and a brown coat steps out in front of him, and a younger woman walks in as if she is leaving the floor. While he waits for information on Lewis Lacey, these two women (together with two men) keep passing behind him in alternate directions, sometimes even changing clothes, to give the impression of a crowded room.

When Milo starts the film at his house, most of the movie is on the take up reel (the back reel); the front reel should have been full.

When Milo (Robert Conrad) was fast-winding the tape of phone conversations, the sound was that of a tape running much too slow. It should have sounded higher pitched like "chipmunks".

Columbo putting down his pencil on Janus's desk is heard twice (shown first then only heard in the next shot).

(at around 37 mins) Gene's wife says "... weight falling on him or something". The next shot shows Columbo and a faint "...or som'thing" can be heard before he answers.

(at around 18 mins) Just after Columbo arrives at the crime scene, on his way to to Stanford's office, he walks down a corridor. In the end room, a chair is visible in the distance. Somebody is hiding behind it and ducks down as Columbo approaches.

When Milo opens the door of his Rolls Royce, the film crew is reflected in the door.

When Gretchen Corbet playing Jessica Conroy is playing the piano, she stands up to open the door. A long the way there is a marker that is visible on the carpet.

Columbo leaves the precious printed paper with Lewis's information in the telephone booth.

(at around 1h 20 mins) While not impossible, it seems highly implausible that a detective on the Los Angeles police force would not know how to spell Pasadena.

Probably about the same odds that an actor living in Hollywood would not know how to spell Pasadena.

Milo Janus indicates that he will get away with "2,000,000 French francs" from his scheme. However, that would be only about $350,000 US dollars, hardly an astronomical amount suitable for retirement in style. [Note: adjusted for inflation, in 2024 that equate to about $2.2M.]