June 6, 2025: Our Columbo rewatch continues with…Forgotten Lady!

This episode aired September 14, 1975.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were offered the roles of Henry and Grace Willis, but turned them down.

This was the last year of Peter Falk’s contract and the assumption at the time was that this would be the show’s final season.

According to Falk, this episode was a bit of a challenge: “We had all kinds of problems getting that one to two hours.”

The butler and maid are watching a 1975 episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. One of the guests being interviewed is Della Reese. This reminded me of a story Stargate director Peter DeLuise once told us about the time his father, actor-comedian Dom DeLuise, was booked on the Redd Foxx Show. Arriving on set, Dom met Redd and enthusiastically thanked him for inviting him to appear on his show. A bewildered Redd asked him who he was and when Dom replied “Dom DeLuise”, Redd angrily shouted back to his people: “Dom DeLuise?! I said get Della Reese!”

My thoughts on this episode in chronological viewing order…

I get the sneaking suspicion she resents her husband.

She reminds me of Nora Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Also Ida Lupino’s character in The Twilight Zone’s “The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine”.

The public will “learn to love her all over again.” Not sure if that’s how it works.

Uh oh. He’s refusing to bankroll her vanity project.

Love these old timey home theater experiences.

Ah, the timing comes down to the switching of the reels, thereby establishing an alibi.

The butler is three feet away in the screening room and has to use the intercom to talk to her instead of just poking his head around the corner.

Love how’s she’s dressed for the occasion as a cat burglar.

Gets the prints on the weapon and the powder burns on his hands. She’s smart.

And the locked bedroom door to make it look like a suicide.

She’s pretty spry for a woman her age, climbing down that tree.

She gets back just a little late and has to change the reel herself. Good thing Jeeves wasn’t on the ball.

Not sure what’s going on. Why is she burning the film?

They’re married, but sleep in separate rooms. How convenient.

That’s a very odd cut on them attempting to force open the bedroom door.

Given all the isolated shots of clocks, I know this one is going to come down to the timing.

Columbo looks like he just got out of bed.

Turns out he did!

Forgot his jacket, badge, and watch. “Lucky I didn’t show up in my pajamas.”

The butler has to loan him a note pad and mechanical pencil that Columbo isn’t quite sure how to use at first.

Love the butler also helping him out with that impromptu ashtray.

Why does a man who is about to kill himself bother taking sleeping pills? And isn’t it suspicious that he was so looking forward to his upcoming trip?

Cadaveric Spasm. Sounds like the name of a character from one of the Harry Potter books.

The butler nabs Columbo before he can make off with his note pad and mechanical pencil. I’m telling you, Columbo is a kleptomaniac.

Hmmm. Those suspiciously clean slippers.

This soundtrack is certainly whimsical. I feel like I’m watching a 50’s family sitcom.

She seems to be losing it a little, incapable of separating herself from her fictional character –
“Rosie was a character in a film.”
“There’s no difference.”
It’s an affliction that would later strike actor Steven Seagal.

You’re going to be the busiest girl around.
“You won’t even have time to go to the powder room.” Isn’t the powder room the bathroom?
“You won’t even have time to pee!”

I love this bit of Columbo promising Dog he’ll take him out for a hot dog and Dog responding enthusiastically.

The butler’s reaction “Not you again!” is great.

Columbo not so subtly listening in to the phone conversation. And then presents himself – starstruck. He’s a fan!

Ned Diamond’s response to Columbo asking him what he can do about having two left feet is pretty brilliant: “Become a critic.”

Columbo is also starstruck by Grace, which is kind of sweet.

“A light goes on out here and sometimes I can’t turn it off.” This line really sums him up.

This whole “Did he go out for the gun or have it with him?” is interesting. The smallest pieces of the puzzle coming together.

She’s been forgetful lately. Hmmmm.

Passes up on the opportunity to watch a surgery. I don’t blame him. My wife, on the other hand, would happily take the surgeon up on that offer.

Columbo hasn’t been on the gun range in five years!

“…then falls in love with a young exiled White Russian prince who happens to be a midget…” Who happens to be? Not exactly high-brow reading.

Aha. He purchased a book, no doubt planning to read it. So why would he commit suicide with such a fascinating novel on his reading list?

These guys dancing in top hats look like that gang from The Warriors. What were they called? The Top Hats?

She can’t remember Columbo’s name. Hmmmm.

The whole dog-eared and not dog-eared pages argument strikes me as kind of silly.

“People don’t usually forget to do the things they usually do.” Well said.

Not the kind of book you would read if you were going to commit suicide? Really? What kind of reading material would be more in line with someone wishing to commit suicide? The sequels to 50 Shades of Grey?

Who would want to kill him? Columbo doesn’t have an answer for that. Or does he?

This whole b story in which Columbo is hounded about failing to go to the gun range feels like padding. Is there a point?

Columbo on the flag flying at half mast: “Is this as far up as it goes?”
The butler indignantly replies: “There’s been a death in the family!”
Maurice Evans is absolutely brilliant as Raymond.

Whoa! Ned loved her and wanted to marry her. And she knew all along!

Dog gets his own ice cream. Glad he ordered the vanilla.

Now Dog has ice cream all over his face!

Love this beat of Columbo dancing up the stairs.

Also love this beat of Columbo eyeing the tree, looking very much like Mr. Bean.

What a great reveal out of the window of Columbo hanging from the tree branch, calling down to Dog who circles the ground beneath him.

What IS that outfit she’s wearing? What are those furry bell bottoms?

Columbo points out that if he could climb out the window, then anyone could.

He has to turn down her kind offer because he promised Dog he’d take him to the park. Love her incredulous reaction.

Columbo has to draft a buddy to take the gun test for him. Hmmmmmm.

This is a great scene of Columbo laying out his theory to Ned Diamond who refuses to believe Grace could be capable of murder.

Can I just say that Grace Wheeler is probably the most likable Columbo murderer since Carsini in “Any Old Port in a Storm”. She wants to make sure Mr. and Mrs. Columbo have a good time because they’re such big fans. And then has a very sweet moment with her maid. She’s very likable. A tragic figure.

Wow, Columbo cleans up well. He looks great in that tux. Distinguished and confident.

Why did the film take 15 minutes longer to run the night of the murder?

“You know who else likes champagne? Raymond.”

He’s testing her by breaking the film!

Holy plot twists! She’s suffering from a progressive memory disease that affects her short term memory. The clues were all there!

And another shocker! That’s why hubby didn’t want to bankroll her. Because he didn’t want to add pressure to her. He did it out of love! And she misinterpreted his actions and killed him for it.

She has two months at most.

“My problem sir, is that I don’t think she even remembers killing him.” Sad and tragic.

Ned selflessly takes the fall: “For you, Grace. For you.”

“It’s not going to take much to break your story.”
“Might take a couple of months.”
And, of course, that’s all she has.

And in that last lingering shot, she has already forgotten, lost in the film and visions of her past. Powerful.

Wow. That…was superb. I see a lot of Columbo aficionados critique the episode for its longer run time, but it doesn’t drag for me. The whole gun range b-story feels like pointless padding, but Mark Dawidiziak, author of the Columbophile, argues it parallels and foreshadows the main story, with Columbo finding someone to take the fall for him the same way Diamonds takes the fall for Grace.

This one had was equal parts comedy and tragedy, the more humorous moments (Columbo’s interactions with Dog and Raymond, dancing up the stairs, dangling off that tree branch) proving equally as memorable as the shocking reveals (Grace’s condition, Ned’s sacrifice, that final moment). And the performances were simply superb. I think Raymond the butler is probably my favorite supporting player to date.

There are a number of episodes I’m only watching for the first time and this was one. And it was great. How great? Well, this may shock you but here is my revised episode rankings: 1. Forgotten Lady, 2. Negative Reaction, 3. Any Old Port in a Storm, 4. Double Exposure, 5. A Friend In Deed, 6. Double Shock, 7. A Stitch in Crime, 8. Death Lends a Hand, 9. Suitable for Framing, 10. Publish or Perish, 11. Dagger of the Mind, 12. Requiem for a Falling Star, 13. Prescription: Murder, 14. Murder by the Book/Ransom for a Dead Man (tie), 15. By Dawn’s Early Light, 16. Swan Song, 17. Troubled Waters, 18. Lady in Waiting, 19. An Exercise in Fatality, 20. Etude in Black, 21. Playback, 22. The Most Crucial Game, 23. Blueprint for Murder, 24. Lovely But Lethal, 25. A Deadly State of Mind, 26. The Most Dangerous Match, 27. The Greenhouse Jungle 28. Dead Weight, 29. Short Fuse, 30. Candidate for Crime, 31. Mind Over Mayhem.

Finally, though a pointless exercise as Grace would never live to see trial, do we think Columbo has enough evidence for a GUILTY verdict or would Grace be looking at an ACQUITTAL? In this case, he’s got a fair amount of circumstantial evidence, but I honestly don’t think it’s enough to add up to a conviction. So, should a miracle occur and Grace survive the disease, then I think she bucks the odds again and dances off into the sunset. ACQUITTAL!

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