MovieChat Forums > Prescription: Murder (1968) Discussion > Good film but crap ending

Good film but crap ending

posted 11 years ago by Authorised-User
6 replies | jump to latest

I felt let down with the way in which he got caught at the end, the last five mins seemed to be thrown together.

[–] jfbarela 11 years ago

The ending was contrived alright; a real artificial TV ending. I think had Dr. Fleming not "cooperated" with his own self-satisfied statements and implied threat to his female accomplice, Columbo would have been highly embarrassed at involving so many police officers, ambulance staff, "victim," in his scheme.

As the ending drew near and no new evidence implicating the Dr. was coming, I figured the female accomplice had to be "the key." A more realistic ending would've involved a non-dramatic plea deal where she exchanges info - with her attorney's guidance - for immunity.

But this was more fun.

[–] davebuffalo (3013) 3 years ago

Dr. Fleming will plead innocent, so ultimately in the end (not shown), her plea deal is exactly how this will end.

But she loved him and was already guilty of being an accomplice, so her caving into a plea deal wasn't going to be easy. She had a lot to lose. The trickery was necessary, because all of the evidence was purely circumstantial, and thus no case.

There are only a few murders in Columbo with two suspects. Columbo also pits a couple against each other (Kinsley and Cathleen) in A Trace of Murder.

[–] davebuffalo (3013) 3 years ago

I thought it was a great ending, one of the best of the 69 episodes I've watched. It's especially satisfying because Columbo used Dr. Fleming's exact strategy in the ruse. "Make them see what you want them to see."

[–] Wuchak (8100) 3 years ago

It is easily one of the best Columbo episodes ever (actually TV movies). The script, cast and acting are of top caliber, which makes the story gripping despite the fact that it's all drama and no violence beyond the original murder. It helps that the antagonist is a psychologist because he accurately psychoanalyses our beloved expert sleuth and by the end we feel we know and understand the Lieutenant, which lays a strong foundation for the forthcoming series. Katherine Justice is a winsome beauty and a highlight.

[–] davebuffalo (3013) 3 years ago

I did love how Dr. Fleming summarized Columbo's personality and strategy perfectly. Having seen most of the later Columbo episodes before watching this one, I was amazed at how accurately this pilot portrayed the Columbo that would follow, for 68 more murders.

[–] [email protected] (5497) a year ago

I also thought it was a great ending. Dr. Flemming was a brilliant judge of character. But so was Columbo!

Columbo had him pegged as a total egomaniac. I think the detective was sure that the self-serving doctor would never allow himself to look like a loser in the end. Sure he "lost" the girl. But his pride and ego wouldn't allow him to leave Columbo with the wrong impression, i.e., that he had loved and lost. He was too proud to allow the detective to gloat, however erroneously, that Dr. Flemming had ultimately lost after all his scheming to win.

But if he had kept quiet, he would have won!