I am new to this message board and I am glad to see there are people who revere this show as much as I do. Being of Italian extraction, having similar hair, the same first name and an absolute love for detective shows, I was drawn to this show when it became a series in the early 1970's. It was my favorite of the Sunday Night Mystery series. Have been a fan of Falk and the show for 40 years. Every time I watch it I am transported back in time to the 1970's. I even found an episoe with Jamie Lee Curtis as a waitress. I am sure this must have been posted before, but you all know Columbo almost never lets on when he suspects who the murderer is until late in the show. Question of pure speculation: was he ever fooled by the villain until the very end?
In ETUDE IN BLACK, he might not have been fooled by the killer himself, but that moment when Audrey points out Paul instead of Alex really throws him. In fact, there probably aren't a lot of scenes where he looks MORE "thrown."
I can think of two....where he thought he may have been wrong til the very end...Swan Song....when Johnny Cash flies away on a plane ...and Stitch in Crime when they do not find dissolving suture in the O.R....