If badly bewigged men bellowing in monotone for 75 minutes is your idea of a good time, you’re gonna LOVE Greenhouse Jungle!
Yes folks, Season 2’s second outing hit the airwaves on 15th October 1972, following hot on the heels of the uber-popular Etude in Black. A tough act to follow, perhaps, but with Ray Milland leading the supporting cast, and Peter Falk now owning every inch of the crumpled mac, anything seemed possible.
Is Greenhouse Jungle a pathetic African Violet, or a $1200 orchid of an episode? Read on and find out…
Dramatis personae
Lieutenant Columbo: Peter Falk
Jarvis Goodland: Ray Milland
Sergeant Wilson: Bob Dishy
Tony Goodland: Bradford Dillman
Kathy Goodland: Sandra Smith
Ken Nichols: William Smith
Gloria: Arlene Martell
Directed by: Boris Sagal
Written by: Jonathan Latimer
Score by: Oliver Nelson
Episode synopsis – Columbo Greenhouse Jungle
TRUE IDIOT Tony Goodland needs cash fast to win back his cheating wife’s heart, so hatches a harebrained scheme with bellowy uncle Jarvis (Ray Milland, bewigged) to fake a kidnapping and nab a colossal ransom fee.
Heading out to a remote location, the pair fake Tony’s kidnapping by firing a bullet through the window of his much loved Jag, then pushing it over a ravine. Tony then goes into hiding in a woodcutter’s hut as part 2 of the plan kicks in.
Tony Goodland (background) has perfected the ‘out to lunch’ facial expression
This all-action opening sequence means that Lieutenant Columbo is on screen within 9 minutes, meeting up with the energetic Sergeant Freddy Wilson at the crime scene. Wilson is an officer of the ‘new breed’ – well versed in the latest crime-fighting techniques after 2 years away with Mahoney, Sweetchuck, Hightower and the rest of those lovable boobs at the Police Academy.
In what proves to be one of the single greatest TV scenes of all time Columbo plunges down the hill to the crashed Jag to cast an analytical eye over the scene, plucking a bullet from the head rest of the driver’s seat. Wilson then reveals that he has been assigned to work with Columbo on the case. The Lieutenant doesn’t seem keen, but a drop of flattery wins him over, Wilson revealing that Captain Ritchie has described Columbo as “fast becoming a legend in the department”. That’s what collaring a best-selling novellist, a concert maestro and a revered US war hero will do for you…
“I’ll show you the quickest way down…”
As Wilson heads off to the lab with the bullet, Columbo heads off to update Tony’s wife Cathy, who’s hanging out at home with Jarvis. Although hardly rolling out the welcome mat to Columbo, they do let him in on a little secret: they’ve received a ransom note demanding $300,000 for Tony’s safe release. Of course they don’t have that sort of money lying around – but they can get it by breaking Tony’s trust fund!
Columbo smells a rat. Any why not? Didn’t he bust open a similar scheme just a year before when besting Leslie Williams in Ransom for a Dead Man? The Goodlands evidently haven’t done their homework on the crumpled detective and his track record of excellence…
After securing the cash from the bank, Jarvis heads to his opulent mansion home, only to find the Lieutenant rummaging around in his solarium, which is home to a priceless collection of orchids. Columbo’s even brought a plant of his own with him – his wife’s ailing African Violet, which Jarvis quickly writes off as a ‘pathetic specimen’.
In one of the series’ most delightful put-downs, Jarvis describes Tony as “a wife-ridden weakling whom I’ve despised for years.”
Columbo has questions about the case, and it’s not long before Jarvis is bellowing away – even threatening to report him to his superiors as early as the episode’s 25th minute! But the heat finally goes out of Jarvis as he reveals his true feelings towards his nephew. In one of the series most delightful put-downs, Jarvis describes Tony as “a wife-ridden weakling whom I’ve despised for years.”
So, armed with the cash, Jarvis receives a fake ransom call (from Tony) and heads out to the drop-site – tailed all the way by Columbo and Wilson. At a distant location in the hills, the transfer takes place. Wearing a stocking over his face (but still 100% recognisable), Tony lollops down a hillside to snatch the bag from Jarvis, who drives off.
As the police photograph the switch site, Jarvis collects Tony on the other side of the hill. The floppy-haired fool folds himself into the car trunk and they ride off into the darkness, eventually returning to the hideout where Tony literally cuddles the cash in delight. His joy, however, is short-lived…
A buffoon and his money are soon parted. Permanently.
Now Jarvis has got what he wanted – the cash for himself – he’s able to finally put that imbecile Tony out of misery forever, gunning him down on the spot. Tony died as he lived – with a look of confused simplicity on his face.
Now it’s officially a murder case, Columbo’s suspicions are multiplying fast. How did the kidnappers know so much about Cathy’s spending habits and personality? How come Tony’s sports car was caught by a slower, heavier vehicle? And if they fired at Tony through the car window, how come he wasn’t killed outright as the trajectory suggests he ought to have been?
“Tony died as he lived – with a look of confused simplicity on his face.”
He also grills Jarvis about an incident in his solarium the year before, when he was required to fire upon an intruder. Jarvis missed, harmlessly firing into soil, and claims he can’t remember where he’s put the gun. He recognises that Columbo considers him a serious suspect, though, so enacts the next stage of his fiendish plan – framing Cathy.
In a scene of Hitchcockian splendour, Jarvis breaks into Cathy’s home, plants the murder weapon in her Imelda Marcos-rivalling shoe collection, then enters her bedroom as she tosses and turns to steal her own gun from a dresser drawer. How does he know she even kept it there? Not our problem, folks…
He turns over the ‘clean’ gun to the impressionable Sergeant Wilson, whom he coerces into conducting a search of Cathy’s house. The planted gun is (eventually) found, and before you can say “Step on it, Grover”, she’s on her way downtown. Jarvis’s hold on the $300,000 looks rock solid.
But wouldn’t you know it, he’s fallen into the time-honoured trap of underestimating the good Lieutenant. Returning home, Jarvis is disturbed by another commotion in his solarium. It’s Columbo again! He’s been waiting for Jarvis to return and has been indulging in a little modern policing himself.
“It’s going to be difficult for Jarvis to explain how the gun he admitted to firing in his own home ended up in Cathy’s bedroom.”
Redirecting a confused Wilson and resigned Cathy to join them, Columbo puts on quite a show. He’d borrowed one of Wilson’s ‘new fangled’ metal detectors to conduct a sweep of the greenhouse, eventually finding the bullet in the soil fired by Jarvis the year before. He’s had it run over to ballistics and has the report delivered to him live. And it’s a game-changer…
The bullet is a match for the one that killed Tony, and also the once taken from his car seat. It’s going to be difficult for Jarvis to explain how the gun he admitted to firing in his own home – now established beyond doubt as the murder weapon – ended up in Cathy’s bedroom.
Finally deflated, Jarvis knows he’s been outmanoeuvred. Flinging his wig to the floor and clip-clopping his furious hooves on it (dramatisation – may not have happened) he barely allows Wilson to escort him off the premises. Just before departing, Columbo remembers his wife’s African Violet. Now in full bloom, he lovingly scoops up the plant and turns to leave as credits roll…
“If I forget this my wife’ll kill me…”
Greenhouse Jungle‘s best moment – the hill fall
Peter Falk showed he’s an ace at physical comedy in Greenhouse Jungle‘s legendary hill fall scene. Directed towards the ‘quickest way down’ to the crash site by eager beaver Sergeant Wilson, Columbo’s perplexed look at the steep slope is hilarious in its own right, but it can’t compare to the mad capering that follows as the Lieutenant careers down the hill and ends up in a near neck-braking heap at the bottom. “I’ll tell ya – it was the quickest way down,” he concedes.
The film doesn’t appear to have been sped up, and the different camera angles in play clearly reveal that Falk did his own stunts. Whether this was another of his famous ad libs has never been made clear. Either way, what a performance! Not just the highlight of this episode, then, but one of the entire series’ standout moments. View it in all its glory below (if you’re impatient, skip straight to 1.00 mark).
My thoughts on Columbo Greenhouse Jungle
There comes a time when a man is at the absolute peak of their powers. In terms of his portrayal of Columbo, Greenhouse Jungle could represent Peter Falk’s very finest hour.
After a full season to flesh out the raincoat, Falk had now achieved mastery over every nuance of the character. It makes Greenhouse compelling viewing for the serious fan – even if it is one of the weaker mysteries the series has delivered up to this point.
“After a full season to flesh out the raincoat, Falk had now achieved mastery over every nuance of the character.”
Unlike Etude in Black, which took itself perhaps a shade too seriously. Greenhouse delivers just the right mix of humour to make the most of Falk’s comedic talents. Giving Columbo a sidekick was a flash of inspiration. Being shackled to the keen yet green Sergeant Wilson (played by one of Falk’s best pals, Bob Dishy) allows Falk ample opportunities to exercise his funny bone – and he does it brilliantly.
From their first moments together, where Wilson speaks at Columbo for several minutes before the Lieutenant even asks him his name, to his pleasure at being described as a ‘legend in the department’, and his appearing to feel ‘past it’ as Wilson whips out the latest equipment and talks up the hottest Academy techniques, Falk’s performance is SOLID GOLD!
Dream team? Wilson and Columbo are chalk and cheese
The partnership between Columbo and Wilson is an intriguing one. In many ways it mirrors that of Jarvis and Tony Goodland: a superior mind being encumbered with a lesser one, whom they just want to be rid of. Only Columbo manages the process in a much more humane way.
He gives Wilson just enough leeway and rope to hang himself, but at least he makes it a learning experience for the young rookie, and gives him credit where it’s due along the way. It’s Sherlockian in a way. Holmes often needed Watson as a foil to draw out his best thinking. Columbo employs just such techniques here to crack the case.
“Bob Dishy is delightful, too. His Sergeant Wilson is as keen as a puppy and pretty impressed with his own abilities.”
What’s most interesting is that Falk, along with co-producers Richard Levinson and William Link, had railed against giving Columbo the human sidekick that the studio was baying for. And yet with Dishy as his foil, Falk delivered his finest performance to date. I’m sure the irony wasn’t lost on the studio, who would have to wait 3 seasons for the return of Wilson.
Dishy is delightful, too. His Sergeant Wilson is as keen as a puppy and pretty impressed with his own abilities, especially when Jarvis stokes his ego and sends him off to search Cathy’s house. Wilson’s sense of shame when he realises he hasn’t got his woman is palpable. His best bit, though? Tough-talking the bumbling Sergeant Grover, who has fobbed off checking all of Cathy’s shoes with the metal detector – missing the gun in the process. Which brings us to…
New game: Blame Grover!
Grover (pictured) is clearly a liability at any crime scene. So any time there’s an incident in Columbo where the policework appears sloppy, it can be blamed away on the hapless Grover.
Who checked the equipment sheds at Bo Williamson’s horse track and missed the dead body? GROVER!
Who failed to notice the exceedingly visible carnation on the floor of Jennifer Welles’ house? GRO-VER!
Who neglected to look up the chimney in the Sigma Society where the umbrella was hidden? GRO-VEEEER!
The shame appears to have worn Grover down to the extent that he changed his name by deed poll to ‘Vernon’ by the time we meet him again in Candidate for Crime. He was, however, still bungling, as proved by the fact he failed to notice the gun in Nelson Hayward’s jacket as he thoughtfully hung it up in a closet. Oh, Grover…
Back to business!
Apologies for that aside. Where were we…? Ah yes, let’s talk about Ray Milland. If you’ve read my article on the best ever Columbo guest star appearances, you’ll know that I rate his turn as media mogul Arthur Kennicut in Death Lends a Hand extremely highly. There he delivered power, vulnerability and subtlety to a role that could have been one-dimensional. Yet his Jarvis Goodland is a cardboard cut-out.
His default setting is angry bellowing and if looks could kill, everyone within a 20 yard radius of him would keel over within miliseconds. He may be the basilisk of Columbo bad guys, but there’s not enough depth of character to make him a truly memorable adversary. All he does is shout in monotone. His talent is wasted.
And is it me, or do Columbo and Jarvis not get nearly enough screen time together? There’s some nice interplay in the solarium, and when Columbo shoots some pool on Jarvis’s table, but they have scant time to build the sort of rapport that we see in the very best episodes.
Ray Milland rather ‘dialed in’ his performance as Jarvis Goodland *guffaw*
Plot-wise, Greenhouse Jungle is choppy. Tony is far too stupid to be believable. Just how did he think he’d be able to keep hold of the cash after the fact and not arouse his wife’s suspiscions – or avert a jail sentence for fraud? How did he not see his own demise coming when it was so clearly signposted? And why on earth did he autograph a photo of himself for his own wife? He’s a special kind of weird, so no wonder Jarvis would want shot of him. I find him one of the most deserving victims of all.
Similarly, Cathy Goodland is an odd character. She’s confident and unrepentant despite playing around with lover boy Ken Nichols, but she treats Columbo icily throughout for no good reason – as if she’s daring him to disapprove of her lifestyle. He’s just doing his job, ma’am.
With Jarvis hating on both Tony and Cathy, we have an important trio of characters that don’t evoke any sort of viewer sympathy. I couldn’t care less what happens to any of them. On the plus point, this frigidity does give Milland the opportunity to deliver some nice put-downs at their expense – usually about Cathy’s spendthrift ways, and Tony’s weakness of character.
“With Jarvis hating on both Tony and Cathy, we have an important trio of characters that don’t evoke any sort of viewer sympathy.”
Elsewhere in the cast, Arlene Martel is cute as Gloria, Tony’s sort-of love interest, who runs Ray Milland close in the worst wig stakes. And ‘professional sunbather’ Ken, as the hunky love interest of Cathy, beefcakes about until Columbo drops him in it by mentioning he was willing to take $50,000 from Tony to disappear.
Presumably Cathy ditched him 5 seconds after Columbo left, as he was last seen on Bicep Beach, trying to pick up chicks and having his style cramped by the Pink Panther (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, visit YouTube and see for yourself).
After Tony Goodland, beefcake Ken’s next love rival was the Pink Panther…
I also have a problem with the crucial clue. Yes, there’s good detective work from Columbo to find the bullet in the soil to tie it to the murder weapon, but it’s a clumsy clue overall – almost desperate, in fact. It isn’t nearly damning enough either, so makes for an anticlimactic gotcha – as we can see from this transcript from the subsequent court case:-
- Lawyer for the Prosecution: Mr Goodland (smug voice), how do you explain the murder weapon appearing at Cathy Goodland’s house?
- Jarvis Goodland: Well my good man (fixes with withering stare, starts bellowing), I lent it to that wife-ridden weakling Tony, who was worried that a muscular ski instructor was going to steal his wife away. When he returned it a fortnight later, he must have given me the wrong gun!
- Lawyer for the Prosecution: Ahhhh… ummm… errrrrm…
- Jarvis Goodland: *nearly pops eyes out they’re staring so hard*
- Lawyer for the Prosecution: (weakly) No more questions your honour.
- Judge: Mr Goodland, you’re free to go!
And one more criticism… I’m unsure of Jarvis’s motive. Columbo, as a show and a character, is big on motive. I can see why Jarvis would want to bump off his dolt of a nephew for the good of humanity, but why bother when he could just ostracise him instead? Jarvis clearly wants the $300k, but it never appears like he needs it. He lives in a giant mansion with a greenhouse full of priceless orchids – hardly an indication that he’s short of a bob or two.
It would have been easy to fill this motive gap – just a throwaway line or two about how Jarvis has gone broke through his orchid obsession would’ve done nicely. The lack of a clear motive would give old Jarvis yet more wriggle room in the court of law.
And if all this frivolity makes it appear I’m not taking this episode seriously, please forgive me. Rather like Etude in Black, this is an episode I want to like more than I actually do. The saving grace is that Falk’s performance goes a long way to compensate for the episode’s shortcomings.
So even if Greenhouse Jungle is Columbo not quite hitting all the right notes, it’s still better than most TV you’ll come across, and every watch offers up something more to treasure in Falk’s performance. As a result it really stands up to repeat viewing – and will always retain a special spot in my heart.
PS – it also includes this wonderfully melodious jazz-infused theme by Oliver Nelson. One of the best and most recognisable of all Columbo themes – so check it out now!
Did you know?
Greenhouse Jungle was the first episode in which Columbo appeared before the murder was committed. Although infrequent, this also occurred in several other episodes for various reasons, including Candidate for Crime, Troubled Waters, Case of Immunity and Make Me a Perfect Murder.
How I rate ’em so far
The strength of Falk’s performance elevates Greenhouse Jungle beyond the sum of its parts and above classic outings Blueprint for Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man, although at this early stage in the series’ lifetime it still only finds itself mid-table. Certainly not a pathetic African Violet, then, but not one of Jarvis Goodland’s very best orchids, either.
- Suitable for Framing
- Murder by the Book
- Death Lends a Hand
- Lady in Waiting
- Prescription: Murder
- Etude in Black
- Greenhouse Jungle
- Blueprint for Murder
- Ransom for a Dead Man
- Dead Weight
- Short Fuse
How do you rate Greenhouse? Let me know in the comments section below, and if it’s your numero uno, do vote for it here in the favourite episode poll!
Next up in our trek through Season 2 is The Most Crucial Game, which can be summed up in four key words: Robert Culp. Handlebar moustache. Can’t wait…
Read my take on the top 5 scenes from Greenhouse Jungle right here.
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Until next time, smoke ’em if you got ’em…
I cannot believe I missed that tumble down the hill, having watched it recently, its hilarious. Sadly watching it on ITV 4 is crap because of the adverts and when its schedules, I get round it by recording it and whizzing through so many adverts it would be unwatchable otherwise.
Jarvis’s motive is that he’s broke. Here’s the moment that establishes that:
JARVIS [in his usual shrill, combative voice]: Well I must say Catherine, our kidnapper, whoever he is, is no piker… they demand a ransom of $300K. Well…I’ll wager a week’s here and there [?? unclear] even YOU don’t spend that sort of money.
CATHY: [Contemptuous] Don’t you ever stop, Jarvis?
JARVIS: However, leaving our personal affection aside, you must realize that my situation is such that even I couldn’t pour even the smallest drop into such a huge bucket… even though I’m not a weakling with a spendthrift wife.
CATHY: Oh, shut up, Jarvis. [Goes to answer the door.]
Cathy’s face doesn’t register the slightest surprise or disbelief when he announces his dire straits, so it seems she does realize it, or has been convinced it’s true. If he just wanted to off his annoying nephew for being annoying, he could pay himself for the deed by footing the ransom, retrieving it, and then laundering it away. But he’s careful not to pay a cent, and his straits seem to be credibly known to members of his family.
Exactly. There is the line CP was looking for.
I do like columbo falling down the hill mind .
This episode just docent do a lot for me it wouldn’t make my top 20 maybe not even my overall top 30 .
I do love the scene in which Wilson says, there are three coffee cups, three different types of cigarettes in the ashtray, it’s obvious there were three kidnappers. Columbo pauses and says, yeah, awfully obvious.
I think this is a great episode and so does my sister. We laugh our ***** off every time we watch it.
Chaplin or Keaton would have been proud of that Hill fall!
Other than that though, it’s probably the poorest episode up to that point. Millands performance is a complete let down, possibly due to those amateurish facial expressions he seems to pull
I think no you’re right about Chaplin and Keaton! And also about this not being Milland’s finest hour. There’s not much depth to his portrayal.
I don’t enjoy this episode much ill be honest and say its a bit of a dud compared with a lot of other 70s episodes .
I was looking at a review of one of my favorite Perry Mason episodes, The Case of the Crying Cherub, and I saw that the writer, Jonathan Latimer, who wrote over 30 Perry Mason episodes, also wrote one Columbo episode, this one, The Greenhouse Jungle.
I just watched this and I think it has one of Columbo’s best Sherlockian deductions. When Sergeant Wilson explains that he bought the ‘Starlight’ lense with his own money and Columbo says that Wilson must be a bachelor.
watched this episode on Sunday , enjoyed first 15 minutes liked the columbo falling down the hill scene but I don’t enjoy this episode much I find it one of the more forgettable columbos of the 70s very similar to lovely but lethal and requiem for a falling star.
never rated this episode I consider it one of the poorer ones of season 2 in fact I wold say the poorest so far course that’s just me id prefer short fuse and even dead weight.
Whatever else you think of this episode, what Jarvis said before killing Tony was arguably the most awesome sentence in Columbo history (‘What a waste. No Tony no, the time has come for me to explain phase 3’).
Jarvis has some killer lines (excuse the pun), which are deliciously delivered by Milland. None better in my opinion than when he describes Tony as a ‘wife-ridden weakling’. What a phrase!
At The very start, the threatening phone call to Mrs. Woodland is so obviously a very hammy Ray Milland, it’s laughable. Milland’s silver Mulliner-bodied continental Bentley is a high-point on a show that reveled in glam autos. Note the dents on this then de luxe now almost priceless conviance.You could do a thread on the cars of Columbo. The worst being Louis Jordan’s ultra-tacky Stutz Blackhawk, Elvis had one.
You mention motive …. Columbo quite distinctly makes the point of the orchids being extremely expensive in their first meeting in the greenhouse
The above discussions as well as Columbophile’s reviews make these shows even more fun to watch. I agree that Ray Milland is doing his standard expressions and inflections which are still better than most, but his heart might be lacking a bit; and that its one of Falk’s effortless superb outings. Still very watchable.
i watched this episode in full for the first time last Sunday and i have to say i dint like it that much .i was a little dissapointed i found it dull, humorless , couldn’t quite understand the motive , didn’t enjoy the clues much . started okay but never really enjoyed it i found the murderer a big turn off like he was a grumpy old man who hated everyone and just depressed me. the columbo falling down the hill is funny but not that funny and this do-sent have a memorable ending.
i agree with columbophile its better tan some but he rates it over blueprint for murder which i do not.
I’m afraid I have to disagree about Jarvis Goodland. Your earlier comment about the comic side of this episode made me think you saw how Milland was playing him as a pompous clown in a ridiculous toupee. (Can even hear him saying that.) I have a harder time with Cathy, who’s so obnoxious the Lt finally has to spike her relationship with Studly McDude.
This is my favorite episode. Wilson is always funny trying to solve the case and falling for every trick and the solving is my favorite, Ray Miland really thought he had outsmarted everyone than came the look of oh crap! it was great!
Whose orchids were they?
these are great reviews to read as I rewatch, please keep them coming. oh, and one more thing….
Thank you! I’m a bit behind schedule on the reviews but the write up of Most Crucial Game has begun.
Who checked the equipment sheds at Bo Williamson’s horse track and missed the dead body? GROVER!
Who failed to notice the exceedingly visible carnation on the floor of Jennifer Welles’ house? GRO-VER!
Who neglected to look up the chimney in the Sigma Society where the umbrella was hidden? GRO-VEEEER!
Wasn’t in any of these episodes.
Just a joke to highlight police oversights…
Ah.
I thought it seemed like Columbo suspected Kathy at first before he suspected Jarvis.
Anyway i enjoy this episode. Milland was great fun and seems to be enjoying himself in the role. Are there better episodes than this? Sure there are, but there are plenty worse too!!
Question, answers appreciated. In the episode The Conspirators, when Columbo is in the hotel room of the dead man, why does the killer come into the hotel room, being that unless he was involved, how would he know that a crime was committed in that room?
I think it’s the old Columbo staple of having the killer re-appear at the crime scene as a plot device to drive the episode onwards, rather than there being a logical reason for it happening. Same goes for Etude in Black. No real need for Cassavetes to return to crime scene, except to incriminate himself!
Actually in Etude, him going back for the flower is not a plot point, but could have been traced back to him. Benedicts error was putting it on again instead of just putting it into his pocket.
Bob Dishy’s character’s name was changed for the later episode Now You See Him to John J. Wilson, from Greenhouse Jungle’s Frederic Wilson. Anybody know why? (Other than the obvious answer: the writing staff forgot the character’s name between one episode and the next.)
I’ve never heard why they changed the name. I’d be surprised if they forgot only 3 years on, so perhaps an in-joke no-one shared with the audience.
…and then he played Sgt Norris in a 1979 episode of Mrs Columbo…
Quite elementary. Clearly, he was renamed “John Wilson” because it better befits his sidekick role to the real detective. I recall that the killer even facetiously refers to him as “Dr. Watson” in Now You See Him.
Beefcake Ken was played by veteran tough-guy actor William Smith, who was then getting more into movies after a long stretch in television. Rockford Files, Clint Eastwood films, Red Dawn, blaxploitation pictures, even a cameo as Conan the Barbarian’s father (who else could play it?). I always love seeing Smith’s name in the credits; he can elevate even the smallest role.
That’s another really entertaining and insightful review. I have always enjoyed The Greenhouse Jungle, it’s a fun episode, although not one of the very best for all the reasons stated in the review.
I’m pleased you mentioned the score, it is one of my favourites.
I think a deliberate attempt was made to make Ray Milland’s appearance and manner different to his appearance the previous year in Death Lends a Hand. Hence the rather obvious wig! The same can be said for the inclusion of Robert Culp’s massive handlebar mustache in The Most Crucial Game.
A couple of further pieces of information: The writer of The Greenhouse Jungle Jonathan Latimer wrote many of the Perry Mason episodes in the 1960s. Ironically if Perry Mason was defending Jarvis Goodland in court I’m sure he would be free in no time, based on the weak crucial clue and gotcha at the end. The director Boris Sagal (who also directed Candidate for Crime in Season 3) was sadly killed by a helicopter rotor blade in 1981 while filming mini-series World War 3.
Ah, but Perry would never have defended Jarvis. He would never take a guilty client.