Prescription: Murder
A wealthy, sophisticated middle-aged couple celebrates their 10th wedding anniversary with a well-to-do party of society's elite. Senators, judges, assistant district attorneys, and successful doctors.His wife, Carol Flemming (Nina Foch) brings out the cake, and just as the party's getting started - Dr. Ray Flemming (Gene Barry) is called away, ostensibly to respond to patient having an anxiety attack.Dispite wife Carol's angry protests - Ray leaves kissing her on the cheek.However when Ray arrives at the West LA apartment - his "patient" is his sexy young mistress - an unknown bitpart actress named Joan Hudson (Katherine Justice). Jumping out of the swimming pool she greets him in a string bikini, wrapping her arms & legs around him as she giggles.When Dr. Flemming returns home, his wife Carol tells him that she's fed up with his "extracurricular activities", that she wants a divorce, and that she will ruin him financially.To calm Carol's fury - Ray says that he's been preparing a second honeymoon in Acapulco, Mexico. Carol is overjoyed now. As they prepare their luggage, and are about to leave, Ray kills Carol in his apartment.He breaks a window, staging it to look like she was killed during a burglary. Joan arrives, and disguises herself as Carol Flemming for their trip to the airport.Once they've boarded the plane, the couple stages an argument so his mistress (still disguised as Carol Flemming) can return to the Flemmings' luxurious condo where she leaves Carol's dress in the laundry bag outside their door.Meanwhile in Acapulco - Ray Flemming has a wonderful time on his own, fishing and chilling out with the locals. While on one of his many fishing trips, Dr. Flemming throws the two heavy candle-holders and the "stolen property" into the ocean, and a box with compromising objects.Dr. Flemming returns home where's he's greeted by Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) who walks out of Flemming's master bedroom. Columbo takes out his notebook and begins his inquest by asking Ray Flemming if he can borrow a pen.Columbo tells him that Carol is at hospital, in a coma. At that moment Joan phones trying to tell Ray that Carol is in a coma but alive. Ray blows off the call, but Columbo smells something fishy.Ray goes to Foundation Hospital to see Carol, but the doctors and the main nurse (Ena Hartman) will not allow it.The hospital administrator is a personal friend of Flemming's, and grants access. But when Flemming & Columbo approach the door to his wife's room - they're blocked by a uniformed LAPD officer. As the cop explains why they cannot enter - the doctor emerges, announcing Carol has died.Ray tries to keep appearances up, especially with his closest friend Burt Gordon (William Windom), a prominent district attorney. Burt promises that he'll ask somebody important to take Columbo off his back, but the lieutenant will only find this more reasuring, telling him that if somebody is getting nervous that's only because he's on the right track. Nervous, Joan cannot wait to meet Ray.Suddenly Columbo tells Dr. Flemming that the culprit has confessed. An oddly behaving military veteran "Tommy" (Anthony James) confesses that he broke in and killed Carol Flemming, as he didn't expect anybody home. Ray says that he doesn't believe Tommy's confession: he must be a weirdo who gave false confession for any number of reasons; as Dr. Flemming says - "maybe he's crazy, maybe he just wants his name in the paper".Joan Hudson has found a good acting job, but can only see her lover sparingly, posing as a patient. Columbo visits her on the studio. She doesn't want to answer his questions and asks for a legal counsellor. Columbo says he knows she was an accomplice to the crime, and that he will follow her everywhere until she breaks down and confesses. She tries to look self-assured, but is very nervous.Soon afterwards, Dr. Flemming is told that Joan Hudson has commited suicide. When he goes to see the dead body at the swimming-pool, he sees a red-headed woman (presumably Joan Hudson) wearing the familiar green bikini she wore at the beginning of the film.Columbo presses him again, but Dr. Flemming tells him that this is no proof of Flemming's culpability. Flemming tells Columbo that he thought that Joan was dumb, and that he didn't love her at all, but she was "available" so he took the opportunity of using her. To his surprise - the real Joan Hudson (alive and well) hears him, enters the room heart-broken, and tells Columbo that she is going to confess.
murder