Double Exposure

Classic episode. Cannell's script is spot on with great Columbo traits and dialogue. Holds up thirty yeas later as good as any writing currently on TV. Culp is well cast and has the right amount of smugness--"Dr. Keppel" is the type of character you love to see foiled by his own invention.

PLOT: An arrogant motivational research specialist (Robert Culp) uses subliminal cues in a short film to murder a nemesis (Robert Middleton).

COMMENTARY: This was Culp's third and final appearance as an antagonist in the 70's run, but he would return for "Columbo Goes to College" (1990) as the father of the murderer. By this point Falk and Culp are very familiar with each other and work well together, which is reflected in the interesting interactions of their characters. Indeed, this installment features the best "I know you know I did it, but you can't prove it" interplay since the pilot "Prescription: Murder" (1968).

There's a long grocery store sequence in the middle and an amusing golf course segment in the last act. While I don't buy the reliability of the subliminal images, it makes for a good story.

A mysterious woman named Tanya Baker is mentioned several times, but she's curiously never shown or heard. The end credits list hottie Arlene Martel as the character, but the part was obviously cut. The fools.

GRADE: B

Most of the 1970s Columbos are excellent and "Double Exposure" is one of the very best. The motivational psychology angle works well and offers Columbo some intriguing research to do. The villain is played by Robert Culp and this is his third and last appearance in 1970s Columbo. (He would return as the father of a villain in a 1990s episode - "Columbo Goes To College".) Culp is a class act and he brings the right balance of arrogance and likable roguishness to the part. Falk clearly loves playing against Culp and as a result he raises his game giving one of his most grounded performances as the detective. The interaction between the two is a joy and look out for Columbo's "you can't win them all" line which is the climax to some verbal jousting between him and Culp. Overall, this would be in my top 5 Columbos of all time.

A Season 3 Columbo episode that is particularly underestimated for its engrossing qualities, which are facilitated by a very tightly-structured plot and script with very few secondary characters, brisk pacing and an enormous amount of screen time between Columbo and villain.

Robert Culp makes his third and final appearance as a Columbo villain, playing a motivational research specialist whose blackmailing scheme, involving his potential (married) business clients and a model he is using for the advertising campaigns, is threatened to be exposed by one of his clients...

Quite possibly this is Culp's best performance of the three; remarkably calm, assured and purposeful throughout despite the increasingly intrusive nature of Columbo's questioning. There are some great scenes between the two in a supermarket and (even better) on a golf course.

The quality of the episode is all the more remarkable given the moderate quantity of circumstantial clues, yet the basic murder set-up is really quite ingenious, particularly as the murderer is able to hide the murder weapon in a very clever and almost foolproof manner. This accentuates the lack of predictability in this story as Columbo has to be really smart to uncover the truth: the finale is superbly ironical and the elements of smartness possessed so markedly by the villain in the preceding sequences are wonderfully transferred to the dogged and ultra-persistent hero.

Addicts may also note that Columbo mentions the "Hayward case" early on in this story, which interestingly refers to the previous episode entitled "Candidate for Crime."

An undoubtedly solid episode, which is precise in its intentions and very competent in its delivery.

I don't put Double Exposure up there with the very best of the Columbo episodes, but it is one of the better and more interesting ones. While the episode does start off a tad slow, where Double Exposure interests most is in the subliminal images/cues which are very well-done.

Visually, once again Double Exposure looks great with fine photography, lighting, costumes and locations, and the music both adds to the atmosphere and fits well with the 1970s period. The story has very rare a dull moment, has some great interaction between Falk and Culp, has some decent clues and a well thought-out ending where Culp's character is at his most interesting, while the script has its funny and thoughtful moments as one would expect.

The cast do very well and are helped by some good direction. Peter Falk is stellar as always, and Robert Culp is also rock-solid and delightfully snotty. Overall, very interesting, well thought-out and beautifully played. 8/10 Bethany Cox