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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 275172" data-attributes="member: 23">Suitable For Framing continuedI’m a bit torn with this episode. It was very watchable and had some nice twists. But at the same time, a couple of elements (the glamorous assistant; the double murder) felt a little like reprises of what’s come before. Which is the nature of the beast, I suppose. Had this aired before, say, Murder By The Book, the second murder twist might have been more impactive. The cat and mouse between Columbo and Kingston was enjoyable, and I really liked the spoilt child element to Kingston, the whole scheme having come from his uncle’s will being changed and him having a tantrum over not inheriting the art. His scheme to frame his aunt for the crime, which would mean the art going to him as next of kin was enjoyably cold. It was like a mini Kind Hearts And Coronets. In terms of small moments for Lt. Columbo, there’s not a “tie in the tomatoes” moment. No chilli and crackers or that kind of thing. But his initial conversations with Kingston over art, with Kingston wondering who the hell he was can’t be watched without raising a broad smile. There’s also that cracking scene mid-episode where Kingston arrives at his home with the stolen paintings only to find Columbo asleep in the chair (he’d earlier given him the key in a moment of bluster). Peter Falk is brilliant here, with Columbo evidently dazed, disorientated and more adorably sleepy than usual (or is he?). <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F66.media.tumblr.com%2F19347b6ac612add8a567561ef6fd975a%2Ftumblr_inline_p9lmhlhEiy1qju3o3_540.gif&f=1&nofb=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 453px" /><img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F66.media.tumblr.com%2F78ad4cf206e292b9a3eeecf08f606062%2Ftumblr_oncf5fH2Fr1ql2w65o5_r1_400.gif&f=1&nofb=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />There follows a little suspense for the audience, because we know Kingston has the stolen paintings and if Columbo sees them it’s game over. Columbo casually asks what Kingston is carrying, and is told - almost as casually - that it’s just a couple of old prints. Columbo asks to see them, reaching into the bag as he does so, but Kingston pulls them away and, after the phone rings, manages to tuck them away behind some other paintings. It’s a brilliant moment in and of itself. But there’s also a payoff as it sets up a truly terrific “gotcha” moment at the end. One of the best so far, and perhaps even the best. In fact there were a few little gotchas scattered throughout the episode as Lt. Columbo laid his trap. Like asking for Kingston’s opinion on an artist and being told it’s rubbbish, only to reveal it’s by the artist he’d given a such a favourable review. The denouement’s king of all gotchas came with the framing of Aunt Edna when the police descended to search her house at Kingston’s insistence (ostensibly to prove her innocence and rule her out as a suspect). With the planted paintings discovered, it looked as though Edna was about to be arrested, only for Columbo to direct the men to fingerprint the frames. Kingston, naturally, insisted that his fingerprints would be all over the frames anyway, but then it was pointed out that they were looking for Columbo’s prints from when he’d reached into the bag. Kingston protested that he’d been set up and Columbo had planted his fingerprints just that very minute only for the Lieutenant to remove his hands from his pockets and hold them up to reveal he’s wearing gloves. <img src="https://i2.wp.com/columbophile.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/suitable-gloves-2.jpg?fit=496%2C371&ssl=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> It’s very nicely done and it was right under our nose. Without the need of the killer’s monologued confession the episode wisely ends exactly there.</blockquote>

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