Old Fashioned Murder is the second episode of the sixth season of Columbo and the thirty-ninth episode overall. It first aired on November 28, 1976 and was directed by Robert Douglas. Joyce Van Patten, who memorably played the nun in the Season 4 episode Negative Reaction, plays the killer opposite Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo. The supporting cast includes Celeste Holm, Jeannie Berlin and Peter S. Feibleman who wrote the episode from a story by Lawrence Vail.
In Old-Fashioned Murder, a middle-aged spinster murders her brother when he reveals plans to sell the family-owned museum that she has devoted her entire life to.
Cast[]
- Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo.
- Joyce Van Patten as Ruth Lytton, an aging spinster who has dedicated nearly her entire life to the Lytton Family Museum. So when her life's work is under threaten of sale by her uncaring brother, Ruth is forced to take murderous action.
- Celeste Holm as Phyllis Lytton-Brandt, Ruth's self-centered sister, a shallow socialite with a penchant for fainting. Ruth despises her for stealing away Peter Brandt, maybe the only shot Ruth ever had at happiness.
- Jeannie Berlin as Janie Brandt, Phyllis' daughter by Peter and Ruth's beloved niece. In fact, she seems to be the only member of the family that Ruth can stand.
This could be because she's probably actually Ruth's daughter. - Tim O'Connor as Edward Lytton, Ruth's older brother who wants to close the museum and sell off all of its assets, apparently unaware that Ruth would kill to protect the only thing she's ever cared about.
- Peter S. Feibleman as ex-con Milton Shaeffer, the museum security guard who is easily roped into Ruth's scheme by the promise of a clean slate. He isn't counting on a double-cross, being gunned down by Ruth alongside her brother in a scene arranged to look like the two men killed each other.
- Anthony Holland as Darryl, a fabulously flamboyant hairstylist who cut Shaeffer's hair on the day of his death. He even gets to tackle Columbo's moptop!
- Jess Osuna as Dr. Tim Shaeffer, Milton's brother.
- Jon Miller as the creatively named Sergeant Miller.
- Mike Lally appears as a policeman alternatively identified throughout the episode as being either Sergeant George Carter or Sergeant Shaw.
| Columbo (season 6) |
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| 1."Fade In to Murder" 2."Old Fashioned Murder" 3."The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case" |