This afternoon I was watching the 1982 TV movie "Rehearsal For Murder" which Levinson and Link wrote together, and for the first time I realized that the two of them partly recycled a bit of "Death Lends A Hand" (which they had also written) in the movie's twist-turned climax. At the risk of spoiling the movie's twist for those who haven't seen it, they basically in the climax recycled a key part of Leonore Kennicutt's bold speech to Brimmer before she gets accidentally killed when he goes into a rage, in which she reveals she's going to tell her husband everything and that maybe he'll forgive him, and maybe he won't but "at least it's time I was honest with him." Since this means she can't be blackmailed any longer and the blackmailer faces ruin, he flies into a rage and then accidentally kills her. The *same* scenario plays out at the end of "Rehearsal For Murder" when we see what happened to murder victim Lynn Redgrave and how she really met her demise (which fiancee Robert Preston is spending the entire movie trying to figure out).
"Rehearsal For Murder" has had a low-budget DVD release where you can find it for under $10 and it's well worth getting if you're a fan of "Columbo" and the mystery genre in general.
Re: "Death Lends A Hand" and "Rehearsal For Murder"
In that regard, if you ever get the chance, try and catch: "Murder By Natural Causes"(1979).
Another made-for TV movie, it's Levinson and Link at their very best, and stars Hal Holbrook, Katherine Ross, Richard Anderson, and Barry Bostwick.
You see, an adulteress and her lover(s) try to plan a
fast one, and BOY does it backfire! The results just don't get any better than this -- especially with this cast.
It received very little fanfare, but I attribute that to the heavyweights of the time. I mean, TV was really entertaining audiences in those days.
I just happened to catch (and record) it one afternoon on TBS about ten years ago, but haven't seen nor heard anything about it since. I wouldn't hold my breath, but you might make a mental note of it.