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"Columbo" Double Exposure (1973)
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| Index | 16 reviews in total |
17 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Sublime entry in the TV series!!, 24 June 2003
Author:
The Welsh Raging Bull (leighton.phillips@sihe.ac.uk) from Port Talbot, South Wales, UK
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.
17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
One of the Best Ever, 14 August 2005
Author:
sunshineplays from United Kingdom
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.
15 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
One of the very best Columbo-episodes, 21 December 2000
Author:
Jan Willem Wilkens from Alkmaar, Netherlands
"Double Exposure" is one of the best in this long running series that peaked in the 70's to my opinion. As these films are no whodunnit's, the detective's opponent needs to be a strong character. You bet Robert Culp is one.And he is in top-form as Bart Keppel with his 'subliminal cuts' in advertisement. I think I've seen this one about ten times now and it's still very good entertainment. Note : Culp is also in one or two other episodes, notably in 'The Most Crucial Game'. Brilliant cat-and-mouse-play.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Great storytelling, 11 September 2003
Author:
emjbf from Los Angeles
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.
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Can subliminal advertising help you commit a murder? Find out on today's episode of "Columbo"!, 11 January 2007
Author:
J. Spurlin from United States
Dr. Bart Keppel (Robert Culp) styles himself as a "motivation research
specialist," and it's true he has written several books on marketing
and made a name for himself on the subject of "subliminal
advertising"—which involves inserting frames of an advertised product
into the reels of a film. The frames go by too fast for the conscious
mind to note them; but subconsciously the mind picks them up and makes
the viewer crave what is pictured. But this advertising expert's more
lucrative sideline is blackmail. He takes secret pictures of his
married clients with a girl hired to tempt them. His latest victim, Vic
Norris (Robert Middleton), balks and wants to turn in Dr. Keppel (don't
call him Mr. Keppel) to the D.A. The blackmailer prevents this by
murdering Norris during a screening of a promotional film. He finds a
clever alibi and an even cleverer way of tempting his victim into the
wrong place at the wrong time. But his projectionist (Chuck McCann)
finds out and blackmails the blackmailer. It's up to our rumpled Lt.
Columbo (Peter Falk) to use subliminal tricks of his own to unmask the
killer.
This enjoyable "Columbo" episode, directed by Richard Quine from a
script by Stephen J. Cannell, bears resemblance to "Columbo: Death
Lends a Hand," which also featured Robert Culp as a killer who
blackmails one victim too many. The subject of subliminal advertising
is amusing, though I think the idea was discredited at some point. The
last I heard of it was when some Japanese animators innocently inserted
frames of American flags into episodes of the TV cartoon, "Alf." There
was an uproar, but the idea of hypnotizing people with frames of film
came to look silly. Still, give this episode your willing suspension of
disbelief, and you'll enjoy it.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
The Columbo Story With The Subliminal Images, 20 April 2007
Author:
ShootingShark from Dundee, Scotland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Dr Bart Keppel is a media consultant who uses subliminal images in a
marketing film to engineer the murder a blackmailed client threatening
to go public. When Columbo is assigned to the case, he decides to use
Dr Keppel's own methods to ensnare him ...
This is one of the most interesting Columbo stories - the one where the
victim is plied with salty caviar and then shown a film with subliminal
images of cool drinks, causing him to go out to the water-font in the
lobby and get shot. This main conceit - and Stephen J. Cannell's entire
script - is a bit silly (there's even a moment where Columbo leaps out
from behind a bush to catch the crook in the act), but it's chock-full
of nifty ideas and amusing developments. The moment where Culp asks
Falk which way to the murder scene, the
projectionist's-penny-on-the-floor idea, and the entire golf-course
sequence are all priceless, and Falk and Culp are both sensational. I
guess I'm a sucker for any movie that uses subliminal images (The
Exorcist, They Live, From Dusk Till Dawn), which were a big advertising
concern at the time. This isn't one of the most plausible Columbo
stories but it's undeniably fun.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
One of the most interesting Columbo episodes, 13 March 2011
Author:
TheLittleSongbird from United Kingdom
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
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A Subliminal Cut! You used a Subliminal Cut!, 31 July 2006
Author:
sol1218 from brooklyn NY
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
(There are Spoilers) Lt. Columbo, Peter Falk, is far more in charge and
less bumbling and fumbling in this movie then he usually is. The L.A
detective comes straight out and confronts the murderer of an ad agency
president Victor Norris,Robert Middleton, without his usual bumbling
and fumbling act. Columbo has no trouble at all confronting Well known
motivation expert Dr. Bart Keppel, Robert Culp,and telling him that he
knows that he's the killer but at the same time doesn't have the
evidence to arrest or have Dr.Keppel convicted in a court of law.
Dr. Keppel uses underhanded tactics to blackmail people, who he feels
are a threat to him, plants the false story that Victor Norris is
having an affair with an employee of his the very attractive Tanya
Baker, Arlene Martel. Dr Keppel is caught red-handed by Norris in an
effort to blackmail him by trying to get is wife Mrs. Norris, Louise
Lathan, to think that Tanya and Victor are fooling around with each
other. Norris confronts Dr. Keppel at a movie house playing Dr.
Keppel's motivation film to a number of potential clients. Told by
Norris he'll report him to the police the doctor, unknown to Norris,
had already set him up for the kill.
Having the very rotund Norris stuff himself with globs and globs of
very tasty but highly salted caviar and then sublimity splicing into
the movie a cold drink against a dry and hot desert scene was all that
Dr.Keppel needed to get Norris to walk out into the lobby. I's there
that Dr. Kepple blew him away as he was taking a cold cold drink from
the water fountain. while all this was happening Dr. Keppel was, or
made like he was, back in the theater narrating the movie that gave him
a perfect alibi in Norris' murder.
Let. Columbo put on the case is baffled to why anyone would murder
Norris under the conditions that he was done in. Leaving the theater
for just a moment to take a drink. Let. Columbo feels that Norris'
killer had to be someone at the theater who did it since he must have
known that Norris would be alone at the very moment that he murdered
him but who?
Talking with the projectionist Roger White, Chuck McCann, Columbo finds
out that there's a TV/Video monitor in the lobby that could have well
recorded the killing but was mysterious turned off at the time. White
is smart enough to realize that Dr.Keppel may well have murdered Norris
because he caught him fiddling around with the TV monitor just moments
before he was murdered.
White is a bit on the dim-witted side in trying to blackmail, which is
Dr.Keppel's specialty, Keppel into giving him $50,000.00 to have him
keep his mouth shut. All this leads to White being shot and killed by
Dr. Keppel who tries, for some strange reason, tries to make it look
like he was killed by Mrs. Norris at his moon-lighting job at the
Magnolia Theater.
The scheming Dr.Kepple tricked White into believing that he'll come up
with the 50 grand only to have him put his guard down and end up with a
bullet up his chest. What Dr. Keppel didn't know is that White told
Det. Columbo a little trick of his that he uses on the reels of film to
alert White when to change them, with a nickel, that in the end helped
cooked the not so clever Dr. Keppel's goose.
Columbo on to that Keppel is a double murder, of Middleton & White, is
still out in the cold in getting evidence to arrest him. During the
rest of the movie Let. Columbo harasses the doctor to the point of even
interrupting him in a very important game of golf, that so unnerves
him, causing Dr. Keppel to miss a number of critical shots. Columbo in
the end uses the very tactics that Dr. Keppel used to set up and murder
Norris, a subliminal cut in a movie, to trap him. This flash on the
screen, subliminal cut, gets Dr. Keppel himself to lead Columbo to the
evidence that would finally convict him and Lt. Columbo does it with
his usual pizazz.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
very solid, 13 July 2010
Author:
stones78 from United States
I usually watch Columbo for the guest villains/murderers, and this episode stars the arrogant Robert Culp, who's in my opinion second only to Jack Cassidy as far as great guest stars/killers go. Culp perfectly portrays Dr. Bart Kepple, a research specialist who's responsible for this new fangled gizmo called subliminal messaging, and he's a very proud and confident man. The method of the murder is quite original, yet very risky, but Culp makes any routine murder that much more interesting. Kepple naturally underestimates Columbo, and tries to outsmart him, even though Columbo is adept at playing dumb to the arrogant suspect. Speaking of dumb, that award goes to the film projectionist, who stupidly blackmails Kepple and practically asks to get himself killed, in which Kepple obliges. Lastly, the conclusion is better than many other episodes, as Columbo uses Kepple's technique against him.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Above average entry., 19 August 2007
Author:
Robert J. Maxwell (rmax304823@yahoo.com) from Deming, New Mexico, USA
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This is the one in which Robert Culp is a murderous motivational
research scientist who uses subliminal cuts in an advertising film to
lure his victim, Robert Middleton, out into the lobby of the screening
room. It's pretty good too. Culp is a cool, thoroughly organized
killer. He's more amused by Columbo's antics than irritated by them --
except when they screw up his golf game.
And it has two truly likable supporting players: Chuck McCann and
Louise Latham. McCann is intrinsically funny. There's something about
his clown-like smile and the blubber that surrounds it that evokes
smiles in his audience. He had a children's TV show in New York that
was so outrageous that, even as an adult, I caught it whenever I could.
Louise Latham will be immediately recognizable. She's not at all
unattractive although her eyes almost meet each other, separated only
by the thin bridge of her nose. As an actress, she's hard to beat. Her
range is from mean and Southern to vulnerable and appealing, as she is
here.
I hope no one takes this subliminal motivation business too seriously.
The impact is debatable but no one has claimed it can be used in a
conspiracy to corrupt the population or get everyone to rush out and
buy Nokia. I used a tachistoscope in some studies at Cornell and the
results were minimal -- probably real for some people, but not very
important. If you want to change someone's attitudes towards things or
thoughts, there are more efficient ways of doing it.
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