Murder, She Wrote Season 2, Episode 22
"If the Frame Fits"
Original Airdate: May 18, 1986
Writer: Philip Gerson
Director: Paul Lynch
Cast: Angela Lansbury, Deborah Adair, Christopher Allport, John de Lancie, Cliff Gorman, Gordon Jump, Norman Lloyd, Audrey Meadows, Andra Millian, Aubrey Morris, Anne Schedeen
Tonight on Murder, She Wrote, we honor the late Norman Lloyd (1914-2021), one of the longest-lived, longest-working Hollywood actors. His feature film credits span from Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942), when he was 28, to Judd Apatow's Trainwreck (2015), when he was 101. During the latter half of that 73-year run he appeared in three episodes of Murder, She Wrote.
"If the Frame Fits" is the first of those, and I remember it for a show-stopping performance from one of Lloyd's fellow Star Trek: The Next Generation guest stars, John de Lancie. Q himself!
Given his nature as a nigh omnipotent extradimensional imp, one could easily headcanon Q's first canonical appearance here in the guise of a mortal high society trickster, rather than 1987's "Encounter at Farpoint." Such is the pull of art thief Binky Holborn, one of Murder, She Wrote's most alluring one-off characters. Charismatic, buoyant, and unflappable, Binky would've made for an unforgettable recurring player. If you ask me, he's far more compelling than dry old jewel thief Dennis Stanton, who we'll meet in season 5.
Best not dally too long in the preamble though. We could go down a rabbit hole with this week's other guest stars, which include a Honeymooner (Meadows), a guy who nearly played Han Solo (Allport), the gravedigger from The Wicker Man (Morris), and ALF's long-suffering surrogate mom (Schedeen).
The Fine Art of Murder
Jessica is in cushy Cedar Heights visiting an old friend, Lloyd Marcus (Lloyd), who probably shouldn't have quit his day job in advertising to try his hand at mystery writing. Though he never outright admits it, it's pretty clear from the outset that this manuscript his "friend" in "Tibet" "wrote" is actually his own first stab at fiction. Jessica — garbed in what appears to be the same outfit worn by Mike Meyers and Jamie Foxx in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Django Unchained, respectively — looks for any opportunity to dodge giving her feedback, if only to spare Lloyd's feelings.
Luckily, this uncomfortable workshopping session is preempted by the realization that a canvas from Lloyd's hideous collection has been stolen. We actually get a few POV shots from the thief stalking around the periphery like a slasher in a Home Goods.
We're joined by this week's colorful local constable, Police Chief Cooper (Gorman), an NYPD transplant weighing his brother-in-law's offer to join his plumbing business. I swear, the writers' room must've had a fishbowl filled with off-kilter character traits for each new detective, just for something to do while Jessica solves the case. This is just the latest in a string of art thefts in the area, we learn.
The next morning Lloyd takes Jessica to the country club to meet the high society of Cedar Heights, including the Tilleys. Frank Tilley (Jump) is the mayor, but also involved in insuring all the paintings gone missing of late. Mildred is Audrey freaking Meadows with that indelible vocal sneer, perfect for playing a snob. She conveys much of the gossip Jessica needs to crack this whole thing wide open.
Jessica endures another in a long line of uncomfortable brunches, skillfully blending into the wallpaper as Lloyd's daughters Julia (Schedeen) and Sabrina (Millian) play tug of war with Julia's husband Donald Granger (Allport). Turns out Sabrina, who's wearing a splatter painting of her own, met Donald on a ski trip only for Julia to scoop him out from under her. It can not be stressed enough that all of these people are extremely unpleasant. Julia in particular is outwardly bitter, unhappy in marriage, and ordering booze for breakfast.
That makes the ebullient Binky Holborn, piloting his golf cart like Luigi spinning out on a banana peel, all the more enchanting. With him is country club staffer Ellen Davis (Adair). The implication is meant to be that these two are involved, but it's quickly apparent that they each function as beards for the other; Ellen is ultimately revealed to be having an affair with Donald and Binky … is Binky. More than just Q-coded, Binky is arguably queer-coded.
Brett can correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a suave, sophisticated bachelor in 1986 primetime, and Murder, She Wrote tends to positions its implied gays in the art realm. [Editor-in-chief's note: I mean ... he's wearing a purple dinner jacket and ascot.]
Jessica jumps at the chance when Binky suggests a dinner party at his home that night, even better when all the other rich people decline the offer. Just Jessica, Lloyd, and Binky then. We learn that our host was the first alleged victim of the art thief. Convenient since it turns out to be him in the first place. Lloyd wonders if the three of them can convene to talk about the manuscript. Jessica says she left her copy with her notes back at his place, but Lloyd won't take no for an answer, volunteering to go and fetch it and be back in ten minutes. It takes closer to 45. Binky and Jessica bond over Lloyd's purple prose.
The Frame Up
Judging by his sheepish face on the ride home late that night, they must've given him a thorough raking. But as they reach the street Lloyd shares with Julia, he realizes his daughter's front door is standing open. They decide to investigate and find Julia dead on the floor. It looks as if she's been garroted. Chief Cooper arrives immediately. They discover a monogrammed button clasped in Julia's hand. D for Donald. Did she tear it off in a struggle? When the man in question arrives home, Lloyd lunges at him, convinced he's responsible. Further inspection of Donald's closet shows a jacket with a missing button.
Donald's alibi for the supposed time of the murder falls apart, though a witness can place him and a pretty brunette at the seaside shanty, a restaurant we sadly never get to see because everybody really plays it up as this tawdry dive frequented exclusively by cheaters. Lloyd's other daughter, Sabrina, remains Donald's stalwart, pointing out that an ironclad prenuptial agreement means Donald stands to gain nothing from Julia's death. But she's not aware of the life insurance policy that comes to light later.
It doesn't take long for Jessica to unravel the first layer of mystery. Lloyd's ugly paintings have been rearranged since she first arrived. Not only that, but one that was originally in his house is now next door in Julia's. Add that with Lloyd's delay in returning to Binky's and Jessica comes to the sad realization that Lloyd framed his son-in-law. He didn't murder Julia either, but when he actually discovered her body — when he first went home alone for the manuscript—he stumbled on a very different scene.
The painting above her mantle was missing. It was obvious that Julia had walked in on the burglary in progress and the thief killed her. If he'd called it in then and there, the real killer might have gotten away with it, but Lloyd seized on an opportunity to get back at Donald for ruining his daughter's life. He planted the button in her hand and swapped out the paintings to eliminate the mysterious art thief as a suspect. He returned to Binky's as if nothing had happened. When he brought Jessica home, he feigned surprise at the scene awaiting them.
Okay, But Please Tell Me Binky Didn't Do It…
He didn't! Well, not the killing part. Binky was indeed the art thief. He's practically tickled when Jessica and Chief Cooper show up at his door with the accusation. Jessica put it together when Cooper said one of the missing paintings turned up in Scotland and Ellen mentions that Binky holidays there a few times each year. They knew it had to be someone with an intimate knowledge of the community's social calendar, burglarizing respective homes when the owners were off at some event. Binky, it turns out, is a bit of a Parasite, in the Bong Joon Ho spirit, climbing the society ladder while feeding on their trust. Again, he's positively delighted when someone as charming and renowned as J.B. Fletcher finds him out. More than a means to wealth, this was all a grand game. He knew it had to end sometime.
Binky turns over his latest acquisition, a canvas rolled into a tube. He transports them in his golf bag. We know from earlier he can't putt for his life; it's just part of the grift. But when Cooper suggests Binky used a pizza cutter to remove the paintings from their frames, he chafes. He uses a straight razor. He doesn't think he's ever eaten a pizza.
But the killer didn't know that when he dressed the scene. Turns out Donald did kill Julia. He staged it so it would look like the burglar did it, even strangling her with the wire from the back of a painting. He planted the pizza cutter. Then when Lloyd found the body, he re-staged it to look like Donald did it. What a great twist!
We end on a sobering note as Jessica comforts a devastated Sabrina. The poor thing really believed Donald was innocent and was actually hoping to start a new life with him now that Julia is gone. Maybe talk to Binky about whatever Edinburgh art dealer he was working with, flip some of those abstracts to cover a lifetime of therapy? Yeesh.
Next week, we head to the circus.
