"The Mysterious Re-Appearing Cigar" and other "Columbo" Goofs and Flubs

Every television show or movie has its share of technical and continuity errors. 
They range from real embarrassments like overhead microphones looming into view, to subtle discrepancies like half-filled glasses that spontaneously re-fill and
drain again.

"Columbo" is remarkably free from these flubs -- but nobody's perfect.

So here are a few goofs we've found:

The Re-Appearing Cigar Trick



The Most Crucial Game Columbo is sitting in his car, listening to the Rockets game
on the car radio.

Watch his cigar: the ash falls on his raincoat, and we see the size of his stubby
stogie - - it's barely a  butt.  Mere milliseconds later, we see the cigar again, and it has magically regenerated,  grown back to almost full size.

The Silver Tray



Thanks to Kathleen O'Regan for contibuting this goof.

Forgotten Lady:  Soon before his wife kills him, Dr Willis (Sam Jaffe) retires to
do some reading in bed. The butler brings him a distinctive silver tray with
a glass of milk, which the butler places on the nightstand. The nightstand was
empty at the time.

But if you notice, right before the butler comes in, there is a shot of Dr. Willis
reading in bed -- and we can see that the tray and glass of milk are already on the nightstand, before the butler brings it. The tray magically disappears as the butler enters, and moments later it is replaced.

The Chalk Circle



Thanks to Kathleen O'Regan for contibuting this goof.

Fade In To Murder: There is a scene where Columbo has Ward Fowler (William  Shatner) draw a circle with chalk  on the back of his raincoat while Columbo's arms are raised -- he is demonstrating that the bullet holes in the back of  the victim's clothing and in her back prove that she was shot   with her arms  fully raised, and therefore that she probably was not running away.

Well,  there's an earlier scene, when Columbo meets the victim's ex-husband near the "Jaws" exhibit at Universal Studios.  When Columbo turns to look at the shark, the chalk circle on the back of Columbo's  raincoat can already be seen -- long before it was drawn.

Name Change



Now You See Him: When we see the outside of the magic club where Santini is
working, the sign says it is "The Cabaret of Magic" -- which is also the name mentioned by the emcee introducing Santini.

But if you look closely at the letter written to the Department of Immigration by club owner Jesse Jerome (Nehemiah Persoff),   Jesse refers to his club as
"The Magic Circle Club".

Incidentally, the club is somewhat based upon "The Magic Castle," the legendary
Los Angeles magic club co-managed by illusionist Mark Wilson, who served as technical advisor for this episode. See Magic Info

Name Change II



The Greenhouse Jungle and Now You See Him:  When we first meet Sgt. Wilson (Bob Dishy), the earnest young officer with interest in modern police methods and technology, his name is Frederick -- Columbo calls him Freddie.

In a rare lapse of continuity, when we see Sgt. Wilson again in "Now You See Him," he is clearly the same character, but his name is John -- John J. Wilson.

Probably the best known goof in "Columbo" history. 

The Tire Change
 
Dagger Of The Mind

When Detective Chief Superintendent Durk starts to drive Columbo to the
murder scene, the tires on his car have flashy white sidewalls...


Special Thanks To Allen Bishop for spotting this goof.

...but by the time they arrive at their destination, the tires have changed
to plain black. (Later, they turn white again.)


Wrong Directions



In Candidate For Crime, when Columbo gets stopped for a roadside inspection of his car, he asks one of the officers for directions to "Ridgeway Drive".  The officer responds with directions instead to "Ridgewood", and nobody seems to notice the difference.

(Thanks to Allen Bishop for spotting this goof)

Rain or Shine



In Columbo And The Murder Of A Rock Star, Columbo enters the murder house through
the front door, in a pouring rainstorm. His pants are wet, and he's wearing a hat and using an umbrella. While he is inside, we hear thunder.

Then, Columbo steps out the back door, and into bright sunshine.

Perhaps it could be argued that the abrupt change is consistent with Los Angeles weather patterns.  But this would not explain how there is no rainwater anywhere on the deck, on the garbage cans, or in the sand.

(Thanks to Annie for spotting this goof)

The Backward Fountain



Near the beginning of It's All In The Game there's an establishing shot of the mansion where Lauren (Faye Dunaway) is throwing a party.  The camera appears to zoom in on the house -- but the footage was actually shot zooming away from the house. The film is played in reverse, producing a weird-looking goof.  Watch the fountain -- the water defies gravity, cascading in reverse, running up from the pond and back into the nozzle.

(Thanks to Chris Dawson for spotting this goof.)

The Blinking Corpse



Later in It's All In The Game Lisa Martin waits with the corpse, which is covered with an electric blanket.  Notice the corpse's face -- a few seconds after the doorbell rings, the dead man dramatically blinks his eye. The camera angle and the actor's heavy eyelids create a startling effect as he bats his lashes.

Apparently the actor's eyes are open except for the blink, which is puzzling since we earlier saw the dead body with his eyes closed.

(Thanks to Kimberley Dawson for spotting this goof.)

Changing Choppers



When Deputy Commissioner Mark Halpern (Richard Kiley) goes on helicopter
patrol in A Friend In Deed his helicopter actually changes type twice during the flight.  First we see a Bell 206 JetRanger, which then turns into a Hughes 369 before reverting back to the Bell 206.   Commissioner Halpern is then seen climbing out of the Hughes 369 to drag his wife's body out of the pool.  The two helicopters are very different, even to the untrained eye.

(Thanks to Chris Dawson for spotting this goof.)

The Most Mutating Shoes



The Most Dangerous Match As killer chess-champ Emmett Clayton steps into
an elevator at the hotel, his shoes are light tan loafers, suede-looking, almost matching his suit.When he gets off the elevator, his shoes have been transformed to shiny black leather, with silver buckles.

(Thanks to Steve and Gina Carvin, for spotting this goof.)

The Vanishing Sodas



Murder, Smoke, And Shadows:  Columbo spots a couple of ice-cream sodas left on the counter in Alex Brady's office, known as his "boys' club". One glass is almost full, the other about half-full. Not only can we see this, but Columbo comments on it at length, theorizing with uncanny accuracy how the full and the half-full glasses show what happened earlier, when the victim was visiting Brady's office.The moment Columbo leaves, Brady rushes to the soda glasses, to destroy the evidence.  Inexplicably, he finds both glasses are now empty except for a milky residue.

(Thanks to Steve and Gina Carvin, for spotting this goof.)

Mustache Mystery

In Butterfly In Shades Of Gray As radio commentator Fielding Chase, William Shatner wears a pencil-thin mustache, so wispy and light that it's barely visible even in most close-ups.

Except while he is talking to Columbo at the murder scene, when the mustache is suddenly, dramatically darker brown. Part of his disguise at the murder scene? Not likely, since the mustache was lighter during the murder itself, and is already back to its light and thin appearance when Fielding brings Columbo into his home afterward.

(Thanks to Steve and Gina Carvin for spotting this goof.)

A Murder Next Door Maybe?

In "Make me a Perfect Murder", the image of Columbo's car, sitting in the parking lot, can be seen reflecting off the glass of the CNC building as Kay enters it -- BEFORE she commits the murder!

(Thanks to "The Imposter" for spotting this goof.)

“Just in the Neighborhood”?

“Columbo Cries Wolf” features a similar pre-mature appearance by Columbo’s car – it’s under the opening titles, before Columbo is introduced and before the story even begins. Look closely, and you will notice the familiar Peugeot making a U-turn behind the white limo, probably a filming crew error.

Thanks to Stephane Douchain, from France, for spotting this Goof!

Name Change III

(Thanks to Lissy Friedman for contributing this goof.)

The Leaping Paintings

In the opening scene of "Suitable For Framing," we see Dale remove several paintings from the wall. Then, when Tracy enters, we see her admire the paintings still on the wall -- including two of the paintings that Dale had taken down already.

(Thanks to Lissy Friedman for spotting this goof.)

Self-Straightening Sleeve

"Double Shock": When Columbo helps Dexter in the cooking show, watch his shirt sleeves: Columbo rolls up his left sleeve, then his right.

(Thanks to Linda Miller for spotting this goof.)

Alternating Ashes

"Agenda For Murder": In the scene where Columbo leans into Oscar Finch's car, Columbo's cigar ash switches back and forth from long to short.

It's short when we see Columbo from the front, then long each time we see Columbo from behind.

(Thanks to Royal Berglee for spotting this goof.)

No Sweat

In An Exercise In Fatality When Columbo is speaking with Milo Janus in his office after he's been doing exercise his track suit is all sweaty, but when they meet in the corridor a moment later it is clean.

Sent to us by Vergara from Spain

Mystery Belt

In "Blueprint For Murder," Goldie asks Columbo to turn around while she puts on her robe -- "Lieutenant, I don't want to corrupt you." As Goldie ties her belt, we clearly see the belt go across her back, and around her waist.

Moments later, and for the rest of the scene, Goldie's belt is no longer around her waist -- it is just tied at the front.

Thanks to Tony Molinaro for spotting this goof.

Slippery Spectacles

In "Candidate For Crime," we see Chadwick the tailor (Vito Scotti) put his glasses on; then in close-up, the glasses have disappeared. Returning to the long shot, the glasses reappear on Vito's nose.

Thanks to Franck Vandystadt for spotting this goof, and for the pictures.

Identity Crisis

In "Blueprint For Murder,", the killer is approached in his car by a motorcycle cop, because of a flat tire. When the motorcycle cop asks for the killer's license and registration, the killer gives the cop Lieutenant Columbo's police license -- the same photo ID that Columbo always flashes. The cop tries his best to conceal the picture with his finger, but to no avail -- to fans who have seen Columbo flash that ID many times, Peter Falk's picture on the license is quite obvious. Since Peter Falk directed this episode, it is possible that when a license was needed for this shot, Peter Falk simply provided Columbo's own.

Thanks to Nick Dimeo for spotting this goof.

Persistent Painting

In "Prescription: Murder", the reception room at Dr. Fleming's office features a distinctive painting, of trees and white houses with red roofs, which is prominent in several scenes.

This same painting later appears in "Suitable Framing", as part of the art collection sliced and stolen by Dale Kingston.

In its return appearance, this painting is also part of a "Columbo Goof" because it magically mends itself and returns to the wall, after it was vandalized and removed.

Thanks to Lissy Friedman for spotting both this "Flashback" and the "Goof"!