We all know Columbo gets mad at least twice...Milo Janus and Dr Mayfield.
Apparently Levinson did not like these scenes...but Falk wanted actor "moments".
I have to agree with Levinson..every time I watch the scenes I tend to feel uncomfortable..lol...it's just not Columbo.
I find these scenes to be the opposite of what Falk may have wanted...
I get far more enjoyment watching him play the subtle stuff...I don't want the Oscar (well...Emmy) moments...

My question is this or these
How do you feel about those scenes...do you experience same feeling I do.
And...if Columbo were to act this way...were Janus and Mayfield the two most deserving of his anger...and if not...who would be and why.

Certainly Jack Cassidy could play the most pretentious and condescending characters ever seen on screen...

Strangely enough, the scene with Dr. Mayfield is one of my favourites, especially the way he slams the desk. You don't expect it from Columbo, nor does Dr. Mayfield, but I was so happy he did that because Dr. Mayfield is laughing in such a condescending way, that he deserves someone to put him in his place. I think in both cases, with Dr. Mayfield and Milo Janus, the uniqueness about Columbo getting mad is because he wants to stop both suspects from causing another death - in Mayfield's case, he knows that Mayfield is going to try to kill Dr. Hidemann (in a sneaky medical way), and that Milo is bringing Ruth Stafford to the brink of self destruction. So they are unique in that Columbo is dealing with two people that he's struggling to make sure stay alive. So I like both scenes, as they highlighted Columbo's state of frustration with these two selfish, self-absorbed and arrogant killers.

By the way, one other character that immediately comes to mind that he got uncharacteristically mad at was Dr. Borden in A Deadly State of Mind. He was very frustrated with her dismissive attitude in helping him convict someone who just caused the horrific death of a patient who trusted him. Again, I didn't mind his approach. I found it logical because he hadn't slept all night, and he knew proving Nadia Donner's death was murder was going to be extremely difficult. He needed all of the help he could get and Dr. Borden didn't seem to care.

I understand what Stefan means, and actually the scene with Dr. Borden is still one of the trickier ones for me to watch. If she had known or suspected something, he would've been kind of right to get mad, but in that scene she isn't doing any kind of actual covering up or protecting (except maybe the doctor not being very informative when another doctor is in trouble kind of protecting). So it makes it harder for me to watch than the Milo Janus or Dr. Mayfield scene. Or in a way, even the Joan Hudson scene!

wow Irene...you're good...and you're right...he does get mad a third time at her in the hallway of the "hospital" setting.

you know...I had never thought of it that way...that he was maybe attempting to "save" two lives...hence the anger level rising...never made that connection.
so..in that sense...it WAS justified...duly noted

Personally I appreciate the scenes in which Columbo gets mad. As mentioned he showed real anger to Dr. Mayfield and Milo Janus. Mayfield was laughing at him, and in Exercise Milo caused, or at least Columbo thought he caused, an attempted suicide or at least an accident.

From what I see in Columbo I get the impression that in general Lt. Columbo does not anger easy. I infer that he does not curse or use his finger when cut off in traffic or get upset when someone in his family makes a mistake, and is patient with his colleagues. He is the quintessential good person.

But he is human. We have to assume he does not particular care for the killers, and is at least somewhat mad at all of them. (There are some murderers who are excruciatingly rude to him. Personally I would give it right back to them but Columbo just takes it.) Maybe he hides the hate/anger very well as part of his investigation methods. Could the gentle approach be staged to put murderers off guard?

One other time Columbo shows at least annoyance is in College - when he says very funny or something like that when the murders/students are imitating him.

all very good comments...which is why I love this forum...real FANS of the greatest show ever....I suppose my main point was that Dick Levinson commented on not liking Columbo lose his cool...ever..I thought it was an interesting observation by the show's co-creator....also didn't like when the humour was too broad (hokey)..and wasn't crazy about tight shots of Columbo's facial reaction to things...

Although he wasn't as angry as in "Stitch in Crime" or "Exercise in Fatality", he was quite clearly annoyed with Mark Halperin in "A Friend in Deed". The line where he said "I'm sure Mr. Caldwell will help fill in the details, once he understands the situation" could have been delivered with a knife.

One of the times he resists getting mad is in BLUEPRINT, when Elliott tells him he'll have a statement to make to the reporters after all that digging. His only answer is "Well, maybe I'll have a statement to make myself."
It makes sense that he leaves it at that, especially the way that scene ends.

I agree that someone else's life on the line in addition to the murders in "A Stitch in Crime" and "An Exercise in Fatality" contribute to Columbo's anger. Cleverly, both fits take place in a hospital--where Columbo is uncomfortable to begin with, as clearly stated in "A Stitch in Crime".

It seems that Columbo should have become more annoyed and/or angry with Jarvis Goodland in "The Greenhouse Jungle". He was probably the most miserable of the murderer characters. Sometimes holding in anger on the part of Columbo makes for a more rewarding ending, depending on the subtle cleverness of the final clue.

One of my favorite scenes of all-time in Columbo series was the Dr Mayfield scene. It is precisely because he rarely gets angry that the scene is so jarring. I would like the anger scenes less if he did it all the time. In fact, I can only think of three scenes where he lost his cool in the entire series.

Two of my favorite scenes are the scenes in a Stitch in Crime and Exercise when he loses his cool. If he got angry on a regular basis these scenes would not have stood out. Hey give the guy a break, he is a homicide detective in what was then the third largest city in the US. Not an easy occupation and one that was filled with a great deal of stress. He is entitled to show anger especially when two individual's lives are in peril.
I think that many of us would have "lost it" much worse than Columbo when dealing with slime like Mayfield and Janus.

There are a small number of times that he at least gets inpatient (not furious) with someone who isn't the killer or connected with the killer. Like Richard Stahl's travel agent character in MOST CRUCIAL GAME. Of course, there's the little sub-plot that his feet are giving him trouble, so that explains it.

I like the roommate in A Stitch In Time: "She was other-directed I was inner -directed and I selfishly enjoy being with upper middle class people", etc. Columbo hasn't slept well and he's exhausted and the roommate is going a mile a minute.