Episode 29 – A Deadly State of Mind

The twenty-ninth episode of Columbo was titled A Deadly State of Mind and was the final episode of the show’s fourth season. A psychologist gets close to a patient and kills first to protect her and next to protect himself. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at the important evidence and Columbo’s unorthodox investigation.     There was a familiar face in the killer’s role for this episode as George Hamilton slipped effortlessly into the role of a charming professional with a personal interest in his patient. Dr. Mark Collier is an experimental psychologist using hypnosis and narcotics to help his patients (and provide the narrative for his latest book). When his affair with Nadia Donner (Lesley Ann Warren) is challenged by her husband, Carl (Stephen Elliott), he does stand up for her (after all, he has his book to think of) and when Carl attacks Nadia, Collier intervenes with a poker and inadvertently kills his rival.   Hamilton won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer in 1960 and has become almost ubiquitous since in a film career spanning 57 years and counting. This was the first of his two Columbo appearances which sandwich higher-profile appearances on Dynasty and in The Godfather: Part III. Some listeners may also remember Hamilton from his run on the ninth series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! reality show alongside Samantha Fox, Katie Price and snooker legend Jimmy White.   There were not many substantial supporting roles, but Karen Machon was entertaining as Collier’s colleague Dr. Anita Borden and Bruce Kirby returned as Sergeant George Kramer. Jack Manning and Fred Draper played brothers Daniel and David Morris who proved critical in catching the killer.   Harvey Hart‘s second of four directorial stints followed By Dawn’s Early Light from earlier in Season Four, while Peter S. Fischer was back as the writer in the fifth of his nine Columbo episodes. There is little to be said about this talented pair that we have not already covered in previous episodes.   If you have thoughts on any aspect of A Deadly State of Mind please share them below, or find us on Twitter at @columbopodcast.   The Columbo Podcast is widely available – on iTunes, Stitcher, tunein, Pocket Casts or pretty much wherever you choose to receive and manage your podcasts. If you enjoy the show it would be greatly appreciated if you consider leaving ratings and reviews on these sites – particularly iTunes – as that can make a big difference to growing the podcast’s audience.   A Deadly State of Mind was released in 1975. It is 70 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network.