Columbo establishes two of his most famous trademarks by needing to borrow a pencil and, just before leaving the psychiatrist's office, by saying, "There's one more thing . . . ".
At the time, this was designed as a one-off television movie. Peter Falk was more interested in pursuing feature film opportunities, so it would be another three years before he returned to the character.
As this is a pilot film for the Colombo character, Peter Falk is noticeably less disheveled than he will be in later episodes.
The reception room at Dr. Flemming'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 for Framing (1971) as part of the art collection from which two paintings were stolen by Dale Kingston.
Audiences lapped up this first appearance of Columbo, making it one of the top-rated TV movies of the period.