Columbo was in exulted company on 7 October 1973, as the second episode of Season 3 pitted him against his most highbrow opponent yet: wine connoisseur Adrian Carsini.
It’s a true fans’ favourite, but under critical analysis is Any Old Port in a Storm truly a vintage episode, or is it comparative swill? To put it another way, is it a Ferrier Port, or a Marino Brothers carbonated rosé? I can’t wait to find out…
Dramatis personae
Lieutenant Columbo: Peter Falk
Adrian Carsini: Donald Pleasence
Ric Carsini: Gary Conway
Karen Fielding: Julie Harris
Joan Stacey: Joyce Jillson
Maitre D‘: Vito Scotti
Billy Fine: Robert Walden
Directed by: Leo Penn
Written by: Stanley Ross and Larry Cohen
Score by: Dick De Benedictis
Episode synopsis: Columbo Any Old Port in a Storm
Winemaker extraordinaire Adrian Carsini is hosting an intimate Sunday shindig at the family winery for three highbrow cohorts. After some pleasantries, Adrian ducks out to fetch a bottle of fine claret from his office. Ear-wigging in via intercom, he overhears his fellow connoisseurs confirming that they’re about to name Carsini as the Wine Society’s ‘Man of the Year’.
The wind is taken out of his sails, however, when he’s confronted in his office by hedonistic half-brother Ric. Polar opposites in every way, Ric is sick of Adrian’s pursuit of wine perfection over financial gain. He’s come to Adrian seeking a $5000 loan so he can jet to Acapulco to get married for the fourth time.
There’s no love lost between the Carsini kids…
Adrian is unimpressed and the two trade barbs before Ric slips in the sucker punch: he’s planning to sell the land the winery is built on to mass-market wine producers, the Marino Brothers!
Adrian is livid! The prospect of losing the one thing that has meaning for him stings him into action. He snatches up a heavy object and smashes Ric over the head. Ric is out cold, but alive. Showing remarkable composure, Adrian gathers the claret and heads back to his guests.
He receives another surprise, though, as officious secretary Karen Fielding is outside his office prepping for the pair’s looming wine-buying trip to New York. She’s seen Ric’s car outside, but before she can ask too many questions Adrian shoos her off home to pack some ‘splendid gowns’ for the trip. He then finally returns to his guests who ‘surprise’ him with news of his impending accolade.
“Adrian and co are soon chilling in the cabin of the airliner as a comely hostess delights onlookers with a fine performance on an electric piano.”
The happy quartet then engage in the most mean-spirited toast in televisual history, as Adrian says: “May our enemies never be as happy as we are at this moment.” Ummmm, cheers…?
After all this frivolity, Adrian has to deal with the aftermath of his spat with Ric. And by ‘aftermath’ I mean dragging Ric’s beefcake body to the wine cellar and trussing him up like a spring chicken. Switching off the air conditioning unit that regulates the temperature of the precious wines, Adrian leaves Ric to his fate.
The next thing we see is Adrian, Karen and co chilling in the cabin of the airliner as a comely hostess delights onlookers with a fine performance on an electric piano. It’s first-class travel 70s style, and is utterly fabulous.
To prove to Karen how pally he and Ric are, Adrian asks her to send a cheque for $5000 to the newlyweds in Acapulco – a sum Adrian promptly spends on a single bottle of wine for himself at one of the auctions. His justification? “No one really needs a $5000 bottle of wine, Karen. I just don’t want anybody else to have it.” We’ve all been there, ammirite?
Back in LA, meanwhile, the should-be Mrs Ric Carsini is worried. Her fiancé never arrived in Acapulco and there’s no sign of him here either. She tries to report him to missing persons, but the department is empty. Instead she finds Lieutenant Columbo, who promises to do what he can.
Congratulations, it’s a… $5000 bottle of wine!
Some days later, Adrian is back home and ready to complete his cunning plan. Somehow squeezing Ric’s bloated corpse into a wetsuit and then into the Ferrari, Adrian drives out to a remote cliffside location and tips Ric’s body into the ocean. He then cycles back to the winery on a silly little fold-up bike.
It’s not long before the body is found. It looks like a diving accident, where Ric’s dashed his swede underwater and passed out before running out of air. Columbo is amongst the crime scene investigators and when the body is identified as Ric Carsini, he remembers it’s the missing person the mystery blonde reported to him some days ago.
Heading out to the lakeside club where Ms Stacey hangs out with her cool cat pals, the Lieutenant delivers the bad news. The hipsters receives it surprisingly well – even furnishing Columbo with useful background info that Ric and half-brother Adrian didn’t get on and that Ric was planning to sell the winery. It’s reason enough for Columbo to immediately suspect Adrian of foul play.
Fashion Goals Part 1
The case throws up its usual puzzles for Columbo. Medical examiners reveal that Ric hadn’t eaten for 2 days before his death. For a guy with such a healthy appetite this seems odd. Also suspicious is that Ric’s treasured Ferrari 330 GTS seems to have been left with its top down on a rainy day (Columbo checked with the weather bureau to find out) – and there’s not so much as a watermark on the paintwork. How can that be?
Columbo gathers a good amount of circumstantial evidence, but with Adrian known to have been on the East Coast on the presumed day of Rick’s death, his chances of securing an arrest seem slim. Even a nosy around Adrian’s wine cellar appears to lead to a dead end. Columbo is desperate to find out whether someone could be locked in the cellar and suffocate, but he discovers that getting out from within is child’s play as the door can’t be locked from the outside.
He does find out something useful, though. The air conditioner for the cellar is vital in keeping the wine at the right temperature and humidity. Without it, very hot days could cause the wine to reach high temperatures and spoil.
No known reason for Carsini’s tie design is known to science
Columbo’s policeman’s nose tells him that Carsini is his man. But a visit to see Karen at her home seems to put paid to that. She confirms that on the day of hers and Adrian’s trip to New York, she saw Ric both arrive and leave the winery. If that’s true, Adrian is definitely innocent. To apologise for suspecting Adrian, Columbo offers to take both he and Karen to dinner the next evening.
The three meet at one of LA’s most exclusive eateries, although Adrian is initially disgusted that Columbo has been seated near the kitchen. His temper turns to delight, though, as he finds the Lieutenant to have swiftly honed his wine appreciation skills to perfectly select wines to match their meals.
The best is saved till last as Columbo summons the sommelier to order a bottle of 1945 vintage Ferrier Port – one of the finest ports known to man. Adrian is giddy with joy at the prospect of rounding out a fine dining experience with such a venerated drop.
“An exciting meal has been ruined by the presence of this… LIQUID FILTH!”
His smile soon dies on his lips, however. Although Columbo and Karen near swoon with how good the port it is, Adrian’s superior palate identifies a problem. “This…is…dreadful,” he softly fumes to the sommelier. “Don’t you realise that a great wine is like a great work of art? Such disdain cannot and will not be tolerated!”
Adrian can tell that the wine has been exposed to temperatures in excess of 150 degrees, oxidising and spoiling it. His rage at this poor treatment cannot be masked: “Is there something wrong? Everything is wrong,” he bellows to the Maitre d’. “An exciting meal has been ruined by the presence of this… LIQUID FILTH!”
The flustered Maitre d’ insists that they don’t pay for the meal as Adrian storms off in Timmy temper. Columbo catches his guests outside, and Adrian reiterates that the wine was definitely bad due to overheating.
This reminds Columbo of the super-hot day LA experienced when Carsini was away in New York, and how the Columbo family fridge packed in leaving him with only warm beer to drink. That day had seen the mercury hit 109 degrees in the shade, which means that indoors without air conditioning the temperatures were even higher. He then thanks Karen again for confirming that she’d seen Ric drive away on the fateful Sunday, and bids the couple farewell.
Adrian is most displeased to hear that Karen has lied for him. On the drive home, he expresses his resentment that she now has a hold over him. In response Karen tells him that she wants to be more than an employee: she wants to become Mrs Carsini! Stunned, Adrian tells her they’ll talk about it in the morning and leaves her without a backwards glance.
The spin-off series At Home with the Carsinis was a short-lived, humourless affair
We next find him in his cellar filling baskets with wines, which he drives to a clifftop to fling into the churning Pacific. When returning to his car he finds Lieutenant Columbo lying in wait.
“They were all spoiled, weren’t they?” the detective asks. Adrian spins a yarn that he’s just getting rid of some inferior wines but Columbo doesn’t buy it. He’s learnt his stuff, and recognises that the bottles Adrian is discarding represent a great personal and financial sacrifice.
“Adrian’s one of the few men in the world with a palate delicate enough to have discerned that the wine had been overheated. His own ego does him in.”
Columbo then reveals all: on the day Adrian left him in the wine cellar to try and find a way out, the Lieutenant had pocketed a bottle from Adrian’s collection. That bottle was the very same Ferrier Port they drank in the restaurant, and that Adrian had himself identified as having been subjected to a temperature of more than 150 degrees.
The irony isn’t lost on Adrian. He’s one of the few men in the world with a palate delicate enough to have discerned that the wine had been overheated. His own excellence and ego have done him in.
A resigned Adrian gives himself up. He’ll be glad to confess to a crime he feels no remorse for. Besides, what’s his other option? A loveless marriage to Karen? Hardly. “I suppose freedom is purely relative,” he sighs as Columbo leads him to his battered Peugeot to be driven downtown.
There’s time for one last stop off at the winery, though. Cutting off the engine, Columbo produces a bottle of Montefiascone dessert wine and two glasses. The men drink a toast before we see Adrian drain a glass at a gulp and clutch the bottle to his chest as credits roll…
Any Old Port‘s best moment: the bittersweet farewell
The final scene – a mutually respectful exchange in Columbo’s car as he drives Adrian away from his winery to a life behind bars – is a beautiful thing. Two perfectionists, from completely different sides of the tracks, have found a genuine understanding and appreciation of the other. It’s the sort of TV moment that almost doesn’t exist any more and is all the more poignant because of it.
And you know what that means, don’t you? Yes, it’s an even better scene than LIQUID FILTH and easily one of the best ever Columbo moments.
My views on Any Old Port in a Storm
From its opening moments, where our gracious host references Titian, Any Old Port in a Storm has a lexicon and style all of its own.
Regular readers of this blog may be aware that Any Old Port leads the way in the fans’ favourite episode poll by a mile (see the top 10 here). Donald Pleasence’s performance as Adrian Carsini is a huge part of why this episode has captured fans’ imaginations for decades.
Fashion Goals Part 2
Rather like a Carsini label claret, Pleasence is absolutely superb. Every line he delivers is an event in itself, and he’s the beneficiary of a truly vintage script that makes the most of his English accent and exceptional range. He exhibits charm, aloofness, surprise, fury and pomposity effortlessly over the course of the episode, giving the audience a fully-rounded character to root for.
And root for him they do. Despite his lack of remorse for the killing of his brother, Pleasence makes Carsini one of the most interesting, sympathetic and complex killers we ever see on Columbo. Love for the winery and the art of wine-making – something that he has devoted his life to – drives him to murder. In doing so, he’s protecting what he loves most from his villainous brother.
But back to that line delivery! What a show Pleasence puts on. Some personal faves come in the opening scenes where Adrian quarrels with Ric, calling him ‘remarkably gauche‘, an ‘adolescent imbecile‘ and a ‘muscle-bound hedonist‘ in quick succession. If you love words and highbrow put-downs, you can’t help but love Adrian Carsini.
All this aural pleasure culminates in Carsini’s explosion of rage in the restaurant near the conclusion of the episode, where he berates the luckless wine waiter for delivering a bottle of LIQUID FILTH. It’s a scene that belongs in the pantheons of TV greatness and you can view it in all its glory below.
How Carsini interacts with every character is a joy to behold, whether that be affability with his wine-loving cohorts to his cold indifference to long-time secretary Karen. Pleasence’s biggest success is in giving Carsini genuine depth. It’s as if he’s played the role for years, not just one episode.
Another strength of Any Old Port is the burgeoning relationship between the two leads. Naturally Adrian initially underestimates Columbo. Why not? He’s an outrageous snob, after all, and Columbo’s a comparative slob, a beer-drinker no less. But respect quickly follows as Columbo’s wine know-how increases.
The growing cordiality between Carsini and Columbo is a highlight of the episode
This cordiality is an aspect of the episode that nicely blossoms. Suspicion gives way to admiration on both sides and even if Columbo is up to his usual tricks to get his man, by the end of the episode we see genuine appreciation between the two. Theirs is a Columbo relationship like few others.
Falk takes something of a backseat to Pleasence but still has several moments to treasure. It’s such fun to see him interacting with the hipsters, for one. The opening of the scene, featuring couples rock and roll dancing in swimsuits, cracks me up every time.
The scene pitting the Lieutenant against the drunk in the bar is another enjoyable romp. A fed-up Columbo has to repeatedly shush his drinking partner as he listens to a news report about Ric’s death. The drunk eventually gives up, using one of Columbo’s famous lines against him: “I’m sorry that I bothered you.” Very nicely done.
Columbo, for once, is on the receiving end of a series of irritating interruptions
Any Old Port also gives us Columbo’s first use of the This Old Man theme, which he whistles while waiting for information on the telephone. It’s lovely to hear it in this episode before over-use in later series dulled its appeal.
Aside from our leading stars, Any Old Port‘s cast boasts typical strength in depth. Julie Harris convinces as plain Jane secretary Karen, all diligent and impassive until she senses the opportunity to get more from Adrian than ‘$700 per month and 2 weeks’ paid vacation’ per year. There’s no light in her heart, though. Even her act of providing an alibi for Adrian is cold and loveless.
“Pleasence’s biggest success is in giving Carsini genuine depth. It’s as if he’s played the role for years, not just one episode.”
Gary Conway’s Ric Carsini is on-screen for just a few minutes but he does enough to get the audience off-side, taunting Adrian and delivering the stinging put down that ultimately leads to his death: “I’m sure the Marino Brothers will let you lick the labels on their new carbonated rosé.” He knew how to hit big brother where it hurt, alright (and vice versa).
Any Old Port is also notable in that it marks the first appearance of one of Columbo’s most-loved regulars – Vito Scotti. The versatile character actor was a long-time friend of Falk’s and graced six episodes between 1973 and 1989. Always good value, Vito’s simpering Maitre d’ oozes humour.
Vito Scotti’s Columbo debut satisfies on every level
If it was just about the performances, Any Old Port would trounce almost all the opposition hands-down. That’s why I believe it rates so highly with fans. It’s a hoot to simply sit back and drink in (pun 1 jillion per cent intended). But I’m looking to cast a critical eye over proceedings here, and in doing so can’t help but highlight some shortcomings.
As with almost all the longer episodes, Any Old Port could have easily lost 15 minutes without harming the storytelling. A case in point? The real-time car manouevering, where Adrian first moves his Rolls Royce out of the garage, then moves Ric’s Ferrari in. You can’t tell me that would’ve been left in a 75-minute version. Several other scenes trundle along at a snail’s pace, and offer no pay-off or plot advancement. It’s mostly quality filler, but filler nonetheless.
“If it was just about the performances, Any Old Port would trounce almost all the opposition hands-down.”
There are several question marks regarding the crime, too. For one thing, Adrian leaves Ric alive, albeit unconscious, in his wine cellar as he jets off to New York. He’s taking an outrageous chance! Ric is a terrific athlete. Is it not conceivable that he could shake off a clash to the head and wriggle to freedom?
Adrian also switches off the air-con in the wine cellar as he leaves Ric. We must take it that the intention is to shut off the fresh air so that Ric will suffocate. But wait! The wine cellar is sufficiently large to have enough air in it to keep a man alive for an age. He’d die of dehydration first. So why flip the switch? It’s not a logical action.
It all adds up to the air conditioning switch-off being simply a convenient mechanism for the wine to become oxidised on the roasting hot day. Adrian would have been better off finishing Ric with another blow to the head in the cellar, just to be sure. Think about it: he loves his wines enough to kill for them. So why wouldn’t he finish the job to guarantee their survival? It’s a plot hole that would doom a lesser episode.
If Adrian had just killed Ric before flying to New York, he could still be merrily sitting amongst his wines to this day
I have problems with the restaurant scene, too. Not the performances, which are world-class, but the concept behind it. How could Adrian accept that a lowly-paid police officer could afford to pay for the meal at such a high-priced establishment? And that’s even before Columbo ‘orders’ the 1945 vintage Ferrier Port.
Adrian admits that the price of the bottle would be prohibitive. We must therefore assume it would cost, at a minimum, several hundred dollars at early 70s prices. Columbo could never afford this luxury, so Adrian should smell a rat.
I also query whether Columbo would choose to jeopardise the prestige of the restaurant the way he does. The commotion Adrian made would have caused some serious reputational damage, while making monkeys of innocent employees. That’s out of character for Columbo.
This scene only makes sense if the Lieutenant has had the full backing of his superiors, who have agreed to foot the bill in its entirety and fill the place with plain-clothed officers. Even for a guy with Columbo’s arrest record, that’s a helluva lot of trust (and taxpayers’ money).
“The restaurant scene only makes sense if the LAPD has agreed to foot the bill in its entirety and fill the place with plain-clothed officers.”
Finally I even have some quibbles with the clifftop encounter that seals Adrian’s fate. He’s evidently flinging the wine away to avoid it being used to incriminate him. But if he’s already decided he can’t let the blackmailing Karen into his life, then why would he? Remember, he loves his wine collection above all things. I can only attribute it it to the old Columbo adage that people do strange things when under duress.
Speaking of which, oughtn’t Carsini be more visibly emotional at the act of destroying his wines? As he lobs bottle after bottle off the cliff, it merely seems like it’s an inconvenience to have to do it rather than a personal tragedy, which it undoubtedly would have been. I’d have preferred to see tears coursing down his cheeks with every agonising hurl. Still, what it all leads to is the glorious finale in Columbo’s car – a scene so good that any faults with the episode can almost be forgotten.
So all in all Any Old Port in a Storm is compelling viewing and a barrel load of fun, but is by no means perfect. As Carsini says, a great label doesn’t always equate to a great wine. I feel the same about this episode. The slight imperfections, perhaps noticeable only to those invested enough to look for them, take the edge off what is for all intents and purposes one of TV’s greatest hits. The pity is that all these failings could have been effectively and succinctly addressed in the script.
So much of Any Old Port is great, exceptional even, but I never quite savour it as much as I hope to. Perhaps, ultimately, I’m too much like Carsini. And in this instance maybe that’s not such a good thing…
Did you know?
You’d think that being a murder victim in a wine-themed episode of Columbo might have put Gary Conway (Ric Carsini) off the grape for life – but not a bit of it! Gary and wife Marion actually own a vineyard of their own – the Carmody McKnight Estate in Paso Robles, California!
Regardless of whether the quality of the wine is Carsini-esque or more like the Marino Brothers, you just couldn’t make this up…
How I rate ’em
I can understand why Any Old Port is so revered by so many fans, but it wouldn’t do for us all to like the same things, would it? I certainly consider it amongst Columbo‘s top tier of episodes, but overall I admire rather than love it. Controversial? I hope not… Check out my other reviews using the links below!
- Suitable for Framing
- Double Shock
- Murder by the Book
- Death Lends a Hand
- A Stitch in Crime
- Lady in Waiting
- Any Old Port in a Storm
- Prescription: Murder
- The Most Crucial Game
- Etude in Black
- Greenhouse Jungle
- Requiem for a Falling Star
- Blueprint for Murder
- Ransom for a Dead Man
- Dead Weight
- The Most Dangerous Match
- Lovely but Lethal
- Short Fuse
- Dagger of the Mind
Am I being too hard on this televisual gem? Or will my insights cause you to throw your Any Old Port DVD over a cliff after seeing it in a new light? Let me know below.
As always, thanks so much for taking the time to visit the site. Next up on the episodic expedition is Candidate for Crime, so keep ’em peeled! For now, santé!
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Gotta run, I’m hosting a soiree with this gang shortly. See you soon!
Well, there’s no doubt about the skill and charm of the actors, particularly Donald Pleasance, in this episode, but there’s so much wrong with it in every other way that I personally can’t rate this one in the top half. Very little about the plot makes sense. It would be hard to make a solid case in a courtroom based on something as subjective as the taste of the wine. A good defense attorney would tear that apart. I also can’t see why Adrian would have chosen to toss the “incriminating” bottles into the ocean. Yes, it would have been hard for him to do that since they meant so much to him. But, also, the ocean is a lousy place to throw things if you don’t want them found. The tides are going to carry a lot of those bottles right back onto the beach, where they will eventually attract attention. Not to mention that it takes a long time to dispose of bottles one by one. In such a scenic place, you might very well be seen at some point. –Which of course Adrian was.
Then there’s the nature of the murder itself. If you think about it, it’s actually a horrifically gruesome murder. Adrian left Ric in the wine cellar ALIVE. The autopsy showed he hadn’t eaten for at least 2 days. The Intestinal tract only empties out like that if the person is still alive for quite some time. If he did suffocate in the cellar, it wasn’t right away. That also means the body — by the time Adrian went to get it — was a mess. And I don’t mean bloated. I mean body wastes — and perhaps blood, depending on whether Ric regained consciousness and struggled a lot. How do you get a dead body into a diving suit in that kind of condition? Unless you do quite a lot of cleanup before that, how does it not get noticed during the autopsy?
The gruesome nature of the murder, actually, bothered me the whole time I viewed the episode. Adrian’s charm seemed at odds with it. Alternatively, if we accept that Adrian was as charming and well liked by Columbo as presented, that denies the reality of that murder. These were all huge flaws in the episode that I really could not ignore.
Cris, you make a lot of great points. The one with which I disagree is that Carsini’s opinion of the spoiled port is too subjective to stand up in court. Carsini’s expertise in oenology is easily established. As an expert, his opinion is competent evidence. And here, that opinion was expressed spontaneously, emphatically, and unequivocally, with no opportunity or motive to hide the truth. It is a classic, reliable “excited utterance.” If he tried to contradict that opinion in court, his motive to lie would be obvious. As for his defense attorney, I doubt Carsini would tolerate his own attorney attempting to discredit the principal accomplishment of his client’s life: his mastery of the art and care of fine wines.
Ignore the murder part and just go along with the Columbo’s interpretation 😬
‘70s was an era where gruesome real murderers were never found.
Probably the society wanted to see something more “unreal” back then, compared with nowadays society which wants to see more “real” stuff and plots with more complexity, twists and turns.
Imagine what would’ve happened in at least half of the episodes if the murderer just had a very good attorney? Columbo never had much of a case against any murderer. But that’s the beauty of Columbo and the “unreal” effect. The murderer always confesses, without much debate.
By the way, no way the victim would’ve died of suffocation in that cellar. It was way too big and with that old wooden door (which Adrian is using to exit after he drops his brother there), I don’t see how that could happen. Probably he could’ve died as a combination of the wounds (that blow would’ve cracked his skull) and/or dehydration, but not suffocation.
This episode was one of my favorites because of the premise, setting and the outstanding acting, but it was very flawed forensically. The only evidence that may have stuck for an indictment was Carsini’s confession that he promised to give Columbo, The validity of that confession, however, would be highly questionable considering the events that led up to him agreeing to provide one to Columbo.
Was the idea of Carsini being beholden to his secretary Karen so unbearable to him that he would prefer years, if not life, in prison? Second, the bottle of port and Carsini’s reaction to it would not have proven anything other than it was oxidized wine. Third, Carsini’s reaction, the bottle of wine and its remaining content would have been inadmissible since Columbo took the bottle from Carsini’s cellar without Carsini’s knowledge or permission or a court order. . Fourth, why were the maitre d’ and the wine steward so befuddled by the bad port and Carsini’s reaction. Didn’t Columbo state that the wine steward was in on it? Columbo gave them some money before leaving and the maitre d’ reacted like it was the most generous tip he had ever received. There wasn’t any reason to comp the dinner since it was Columbo’ who set up the taste test by Carsini to elicit a reaction and not the fault of the restaurant,
I believe that Carsini may never have been convicted on the evidence we were presented. He did need to remain silent and consult an attorney,.
I came here hoping to find an answer to the one question that gnaws at me after viewing this episode (which, sorry, but I did not find to be remarkable in any way) … how does the wine being ruined prove to Columbo that Carsini killed his brother? It’s never really explained (the way Columbo usually patiently explains it to the perp and therefore to the audience before hauling the killer off to the slammer), and I guess I’m not smart enough to figure it out.
It doesn’t really prove that Carsini killed his brother, but does show that Ric could have suffocated in the cellar during Carsini’s absence given that the air-con was switched off. Columbo really just adds up all the circumstantial evidence (car top left down on cliff despite rain, Ric not having eaten for days before death, Ric being at the winery on day of death, Ric having suffocated tying in with wine spoiled due to air-com switch off etc) and has enough to believe Carsini had the opportunity to commit the killing. It’d still be hard to prove without Carsini’s confession, though.
I need a definitive answer to this. Did Carsini not realize he had ruined all his wines? Was he just leaving them in his cellar so as not to spoil his alibi? Did the LIQUID FILTH destroy his composure?
Or did what he had done suddenly hit him when Columbo gave him a bottle which looked suspiciously like one he owned?
There are so many inexplicable aspects of the plot that I can barely enjoy the episode. None of it makes sense to me.
According to Larry Cohen’s story, after Carsini’s recognition that the otherwise priceless wine served in the restaurant had turned to “liquid filth” via oxidation, and after Columbo advised Carsini of the exceptionally hot weather shortly after he murdered his brother, those two facts planted the seeds of doubt that the high temperature may have destroyed his wine collection in the celler.
So, only at that point did Carsini suspect that his wine collection was destroyed.
However, as I’ve pointed out elsewhere on this blog, there’s actually a flaw in the story if you think about it.
When Adrian later returned to his wine cellar, he would have needed to select a bottle of wine to test if his collection had been destroyed by the heat. So, what bottle would Adrian select for this test?
Even though Adrian was filled with anxiety, his obvious choice would have been his bottle of the 1945 Ferrier Port, the very same wine he found to be ruined from heat at the restaurant. Why open up a bunch of random bottles to test for oxidation? Adrian was too methodical and logical for that. But then, if he had done that, Adrian would have discovered that this bottle of Port was missing, and he would have easily put two and two together, recognizing that the events weren’t a wild coincidence. And Adrian would have uncovered Columbo’s trick.
Sure, Adrian would have then opened another bottle as a sample to test for oxidation damage, but with Columbo’s trick revealed, Adrian would have just left all the other bottles intact and there would have been no cliffside encounter with Columbo and no “Pop” ending.
I hope this answers all of your questions, including some you may not have considered before.
Excellent comment, thank you. As far as I can tell, before he died, Rick must have turned off the air conditioning, knowing that it would spoil Adrian’s collection. Is that correct? And when Adrian returned from NY, he turned the AC back on, which is when he would have started to worry about the possible risk to his wines, right?
My understanding is that Adrian turned off the air conditioning, not Rick, as a means to hasten Rick’s demise.
But that raises another flaw. As Columbophile points out: “The wine cellar is sufficiently large to have enough air in it to keep a man alive for an age. He’d die of dehydration first. So why flip the [air conditioning] switch? It’s not a logical action.”
And, perhaps, an even larger flaw is that Adrian relies solely on air conditioning to protect against heat damage. Someone as wealthy as Adrian could have had an insultated underground wine cellar built to provide maximum protection of his expensive wine collection.
Unless I missed it, I never saw Adrian turn off the air conditioning. And why would a man with his level of sophistication and a million dollar collection risk ruining his wines? That doesn’t make sense to me.
Chris, I haven’t watched the episode recently, so I can’t say for sure about how the air conditioning switch is addressed. But, as you say, there’s several things in this epsode that don’t make sense. And if you check IMDB’s “Goofs” for this episode, there are even more goofs than the many that have already been discussed on this blog. This is one of those unusual episodes where the crime “mechanics” of the story are relatively weak, but the characterizations are strong.
Hi James, just re-read the review — columbophile says:
“Adrian also switches off the air-con in the wine cellar as he leaves Ric.”
I popped in the DVD and, sure enough, he did exactly that. But it’s still no explanation why a savvy collector would risk his pride and joy by turning off the AC. I know I’m going overboard here, so I’ll let it go!
The Goofs page you mentioned is really interesting:
https://tinyurl.com/columbo-goofs
Adrian didn’t think he was spoiling his wine because he had no way of knowing about the near-record breaking heat-wave that was to hit Southern California while he was in New York. In short, Adrian knocked Rick out, bound him in the cellar and turned off the air conditioning believing that the cellar would be air-tight, and thus eventually suffocating Rick. (Adrian has a fiery passion for wine, but for his half brother, his veins are filled with ice-water!)
True, that we never see Adrian turn off the AC (to my recollection anyway), but we also never see him dress the body in SCUBA gear and all the other things he needed to do between setting up the murder and disposing the body. A lot of it all is inference. Remember we didn’t see Rick turn off the AC either, and since he has been going over the books, he might well believe (perhaps correctly) the wine in the cellar belongs to the Winery as a hard asset, rather than Adrian’s personal collection. Rick says directly “…I’ve kept a complete record of all the company money you’ve spent on wines that are so fancy and expensive that you’ll never drink them”. Who knows the terms of their inheritance, but I’d say Rick has a pretty good claim to the wine, or at least half. Thus Rick has no incentive to destroy the wine (he wouldn’t have known about the surprise heat wave either) because he could, and probably would, sell the wine at the first chance he got.
Never mind that I doubt a wine cellar, even one that locks, would be air-tight, or that it would be virtually impossible to get a dead body that had been in a hot room for several days into a wetsuit (A friend of mine is a mortician in Florida, every once in a while they’ll get a body that was exposed to heat over an extended period. I’ll spare you the descriptions she’s given me but Adrian would need a scoop, mop and bucket to get all of Rick off the floor.)
In the end, I think the spoiling of the wine was just a lucky accident that Columbo was able to exploit. Lucky for Columbo that is.
Technical flaws aside, I still really enjoy this episode for it’s characters.
Terrific analysis, Kevin, thanks. Just for fun, I loaded up the DVD, and yes, I missed it: he really did turn off the AC. It seems risky, though, I can’t imagine a world-class collector doing that. I’ve lived in LA — it’s always hot!
You’re right, I lived in L.A. for 7 years. I don’t remember many cool days, but a hell of a lot of hot ones.
I know nothing about wine cellars, are they meant to be airtight? I would imagine a good cellar (like one at a winery) would be insulated enough to more or less maintain a stable temperature even if there was a power failure. After all, wine cellars existed for centuries before air conditioning.
But once again, the technical flaws in this episode are MONUMENTAL. Were it not for the powerful and entertaining performances of the cast, I think this episode would rank pretty low, if not entirely forgettable.
This was a great episode, funny and oodles of fun, though I appreciate that this site and this thread provide a forum to lay bare all its illogistics, both technical and artistic.
After having read similar criticisms over the years, I suspect the commonly cited objections to Old Port would be less stressed if it wasn’t so frequently rated as the best Columbo ever … and by a wide margin. We nerds can accept why it appeals to the unwashed masses, but we also know no “idyllic” Columbo exists and therefore can’t help but view this episode through an overrated lens.
Be that as it may, I prefer to enjoy the many highlights of Old Port while willfully ignoring the plot holes. Frankly, it’s not the best Columbo. But it sure does have its moments.
I notice plot holes, but I also ask myself this question: How many times did you watch this episode before you noticed [whatever it is]? Episodes should stand up to repeat viewings but, much like freeze-frame enlargements of prop ID cards displayed momentarily, if it took a dozen views of the entire episode, together with another dozen views of the specific scene in question, before the hole occurred to you — maybe it doesn’t matter very much. [Ironically, I posted about a plot hole in “Butterfly” a few days ago, only to realize after meticulously rewatching a short segment, that I was wrong. That’s not good either. An episode should neither be criticized nor excused for something ordinary viewers cannot be expected to notice.]
Hear hear!
I find it pretty easy to ignore even obvious plot holes if they aren’t pivotal to the mystery or if the script at least makes a token effort to explain them away. For instance, having just watched Ransom for a Dead Man, I noticed the lack of blood spill/cleanup from Leslie’s gunshot. Later, Columbo makes a point to say the killer used a .22 so that the bullet wouldn’t penetrate the body and leave a mess. Now certainly, using a .22 wouldn’t completely eliminate blood splatter from the scene. But including that line of dialogue was “good enough” for me. Dead Weight, on the other hand, doesn’t bother to wave off the inexplicable lack of forensic evidence in the general’s living room, making it a slightly more annoying oversight. Even there though, blood evidence is so ancillary to the point of Columbo that I’m willing to suspend my disbelief and move along.
Back to Old Port, many have lamented the size of the wine cellar having too much oxygen, but I think it’s hardly a stretch to accept that the room is “smaller than it looks” as portrayed televisually. Critically injured man locked up in tight space with no water dies of exposure — dramatic license makes this a believable enough set-up.
You can see the realization when Columbo is talking about the weather after the meal. Apparently Carsini had failed to pay any attention to the weather as he was away.
His attitude completely changed after he understood everything was ruined in the wine cellar.
As far as I know, Donald Pleasance was the only actor to play a murderer on both Columbo and on Mrs. Columbo. He appeared on the latter show during its spring 1979 test run.
Didn’t Robert Culp play a murderer on both shows, too? I know he was definitely in a Mrs Columbo, but my brain has refused to recollect the details.
Good catch, Columbophile!
Robert Culp was the villain in the first regular episode of Mrs. Columbo; Donald Pleasance the villain the following week. Looks like they were hired to try to draw in viewers who remembered them from their earlier appearances.
Richard Alan Simmons, who had produced Columbo’s seventh season, was producer here as well. And Sam Wanamaker, who had directed The Bye Bye Sky-High IQ Murder Case, was a director here.
Too bad they just proved the show-biz maxim, “You can’t polish a (cow patty).”
David Rasche also plays a murderer in both series. He appeared as the killer (although unknown to the audience until to the episode’s finale) in the 11th episode of the Kate Mulgrew series, called “Falling Star”, 18 years before he turned into a Columbo killer in “A Trace of Murder”.
Alas, Any Old Port in a Storm rates dead last on my list of Columbo segments, old or new.
Surprisingly, I haven’t read anywhere that this is a knockoff of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado (sp?), which contains the most vicious and cruel murder in literature. I’d rate the murder here as perhaps even worse, sure to be an agonizing death for Ric in extremely drawn-out fashion.
Adrian Cassini has absolutely no redeeming features; a shallow, self-centered man without the slightest regard for human life. Frankly, no legal punishment in California at the time would fit the monstrosity of his crime.
But why rank AOPIAS “dead last”? There are lots of vicious and cruel murders on Columbo, and most Columbo murderers are self-centered with no regard for human life. They’re murderers, after all. Indeed, if you despise Carsini so, then you should enjoy especially the irony that his shallow, self-centered obsession with only the finest of wines is the very thing that tripped him up.
Sorry Rich, but why should he enjoy that particular irony? Just because you say so?!
Because it uses the very character traits of Adrian Carsini that he says he despises to bring him down. But my point was a bigger one. Why dislike one episode more than all other episodes for reasons that are common to so many others?
A.A., in addition to Richard’s comments, you might appreciate Columbophile’s article from 2015 on the most “sympathetic” murderers in Columbo episodes. It’s an oldie, but goodie: https://columbophile.com/2015/08/16/who-are-the-most-sympathetic-columbo-killers/
Each to their own, bro, but I can’t believe you rate Any Old Port below some of the puerile dross of the 80s/90s – even if Carsini is so loathsome to you.
“Puerile dross of the 80s/90s”
Perfect description of the Columbo cash-grab of the later years.
Just watched this for probably the 20th time in the last 30 years. What a superb episode, 90+ minutes but it doesn’t seem that long. An episode with no padding , just a terrific plot and great actors. The liquid filth scene including Vito Scotti and Monte Landis was done to perfection, and the final scene between Falk and Pleasence was one of the best…..a true Columbo classic.
That’s fair. I haven’t seen a good many of the ABC episodes.
None of the killers in Columbo, either version, would have been executed. The one in Sutable For Framing talks about a possible trip to the gas chamber, but California hadn’t executed anyone since 1967–and, frankly, the infamy of Nazi gas chambers would be enough to put most death-penalty advocates way off. (The same goes for hanging, which can easily be horribly botched.)
The United States Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional (by a 5-4 vote) in 1972. Several states, California among them, quickly tried to reinstate the death penalty, but most of them were ruled unconstitutional in their turn. Most states outside the South put unofficial moratorium on executing people over the years.
My viewpoint is extremely skewed because of two hideous rape-murders in my home city, one in 1977 and one in 1984. In both cases, the killer was sentenced to death. In both cases, prosecution bungling resulted in the death sentences being overturned. Since my state had not yet adopted life without parole, both murderers were eligible to get out. At least one, and possibly both, did.
I have nothing but unbridled loathing for Cassini and see no redeeming traits in his personality, not a one. Other killers might gather some consideration, but not him.
I don’t think Carsini throws the bottles away to avoid incriminating himself, he throws the bottles away because he knows they’re now worthless.
Absolutely. He ruined the only thing he loves. Columbo was just twisting the knife by telling him.
Thank you for expressing something I’ve been thinking— why would turning off the A/C contribute to presumed suffocation? I thought I must simply be missing or misunderstanding something. You have helped me realize I’m NOT totally clueless… LOL
Maybe I’m being thick, but wouldn’t another blow to the head mess up the appearance that Rick hit his head while scuba diving? (Apologies if this is has been addressed already.)
Very fine blog!
Do you happen to know where the lakeside club is? I’m out of state now, and my memories of the West Valley are hazy, but the landscape behind the lake on the show looks too hilly to be Westlake. Is it Lake Sherwood?
The back terrace of Bocaccio’s Restaurant was used to shoot the lakeside club scenes. It’s overlooking Westlake Lake.
One funny thing about this one (not ridiculous, just funny) is that Robert Walden, whose characters usually look so down to earth, has a such a trendy early ‘ 70s look to him in that one scene. A sort of Alex Cord look.
I just watched S1 Ep8 of The Rockford Files (The Case is Closed) and at about 30 min into the episode there is footage at the same club of the same young people dancing in swimsuits that was used in this Columbo episode
…or about 20 minutes in without commercials
Although Adrian Carsini is probably one of the more sympathetic murderers in the Columbo case files, he nonetheless ultimately met a bitter end.
Things I notice that aren’t really important.
When Adrian meets Columbo for the first time he’s wearing a gray suit with a gorgeous red lining. You only see it for a flash. The tie is beautiful too. Great costuming.
Adrian always has the same handkerchief. Looks like tie or ice dyed silk.
I didn’t realize Columbo had children.
Karen’s hair was bright red at the beginning then goes to a strawberry blonde when it’s down.
Also the tour guides hair is absolutely stunning!
That actor plays a Welsh coal miner (though not the main one) in the famous OUTER LIMITS episode “The Sixth Finger. Even there he has that same hairstyle.
Just watched Any Port in a Storm and noticed Gary Conway heavily made up also plays the fisherman who finds his body! Anyone know the backstory?
Carsini, whose palate is so sensitive he’s one of the few men in the world who can tell his wine is off, has no issues dragging out a dead body that’s been baking in his wine cellar for five days!
It would have been hilarious if Carsini had been stuck with a wine cellar that permanently smelled like death and had to come up with lame excuses to keep everyone (especially the Lieutenant) away from it.
Carsini probably turned the air conditioning back on in the wine cellar after he dealt with his brother’s body and the air conditioning probably got rid of any smells.
One of the things that serious Columbo fans often do (and I’m no exception) is to try to identify flaws in the stories, which are often attributed to “bad writing.” However, if you look close enough, even the best and most beloved Columbo episodes may have some story flaws.
“Any Old Port in a Storm” is no exception. Take the “Pop,” as Peter Falk referred to the final clue. After Columbo orders the 1945 Ferrier Port as the after dinner wine, Adrian remarks that he doubts the restaurant would carry such a comparatively rare wine. But when the wine steward “finds” that exact vintage wine (stolen by Columbo from Adrian’s own wine cellar collection), presents the wine, and Adrian tastes it, Columbo successfully tricks him into revealing that the wine was ruined by excessive heat and oxidation. So far, so good.
Next, outside the restaurant, Columbo tells Adrian that during the exact time frame that Adrian knows his brother Ric was trapped in the Carsini wine cellar that the temperature rose to 109 degrees, a level sufficient to plant the seeds of anxiety deep in Adrian that his own wine collection may have been destroyed by the heat because of the means by which he killed his brother.
After this, Karen and Adrian talk privately, in what must be one of the gentlest blackmail scenes in TV history, as Karen expresses her feelings for Adrian and her desire to protect him from prosecution for murdering his brother. In Adrian’s mind, though, he sees Karen’s offer of marriage as a threat and a Hobson’s choice.
Finally, just before the ending “Pop” with Columbo on the ocean cliff, the scene cuts to Adrian, distraught and disgusted as he rummages through his damaged wine collection. This culminates with a final burst of anger as Adrians throws one of his formerly precious bottles of wine against the wall, shattering the glass.
Did you catch the flaw? In the many times I’ve seen this episode years ago, I didn’t until today, after viewing the pristine “print” available on Peacock video. When Adrian returned to his wine cellar after meeting with Karen, Adrian would have needed to select a bottle of wine to test if his collection had been destroyed by the heat. So, what bottle would Adrian select for this test? Even though Adrian was filled with anxiety, his obvious choice would have been his bottle of the 1945 Ferrier Port, the very same wine he found to be ruined from heat at the restaurant. Why open up a bunch of random bottles to test for oxidation? Adrian was too methodical and logical for that. But then, if he had done that, Adrian would have discovered that this bottle of Port was missing, and he would have easily put two and two together, recognizing that the events weren’t a wild coincidence. Adrian would have uncovered Columbo’s trick.
Sure, Adrian would have then opened another bottle as a sample to test for oxidation damage, but with Columbo’s trick revealed, Adrian would have just left all the other bottles intact and there would have been no cliffside encounter with Columbo and no “Pop” ending.
Does this story flaw in any way detract from the otherwise well written story and terrific episode? No. Life isn’t perfect. Columbo isn’t perfect. And even great stories aren’t necessarily perfect.
I know I’m in the minority, but this episode left me flat. I didn’t think there was anything special or riveting about this particular show. I also struggled to see the greatness in Donald Pleasence’s performance. Although I thought his overall performance was good, I couldn’t help myself from laughing out loud whenever DP displayed anger; he was so over the top. And, I was really annoyed with Julie Harris’s character. I couldn’t imagine any female being in love with, much less throwing herself at, such a self-absorbed, uncaring, and violent guy. What was up with that?!
I didn’t love it either.
Well, I don’t think she was all that much “in love” (whatever love means, to quote the Prince of Wales) with him. She was fast becoming an elderly spinster who had no live of her own and that is a condition most women abhor. And as for the character of her intended – do you think Melania married The Donald for his tender, emphatic and altruistic qualities? A lot of women marry for status and wealth. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, as long as she keeps her part of the contract, support him, is faithful, bear him children who are his, for example. By the way, those marriages tend to be much more stable than those based on “love”.) What I was asking myself is, why wasn’t she afraid that he, a murderer, might knock her off as well.
Please, call her a woman. Or a person. Not “a female.” You’re not talking about a horse. And notice how you didn’t call him a “male” but a “guy.” This usage is honestly disturbing, and sadly lots of people do it.
Other than that, I agree completely. While the happy or enthusiastic Adrian was perfectly fine, the furious Adrian was pretty much a caricature of an emotional Italian as seen through the eyes of emotion-phobic Brit. Makes you think of all the times Agatha Christie described pretty awful Italian stereotypes instead of actual people. Oh well.
And yes, the secretary makes no sense start to finish. She’s worked with him for years, she should be well aware that he only has the heart for wine, and certainly not her. And while people are able to idealise those they have a crush on, this wears off with time unless you’re a moron, and she’s not presented as a moron at all. More importantly, I can’t accept how she seems to jump offscreen to a conclusion that Adrian is guilty and decides to “save him.” She is neither immoral enough to condone murder, stupid and sentimental enough to “put love above it all” (nor to love him in the first place, like you say) or cunningly-cynical enough to crack the case based on the scant clues she knows about. She’s not even desperate for money. No, I can’t and never will buy Karen wanting to marry Adrian, or doing anything else she does in this script.
Another great weakness of this episode lies in the murder itself, which a) can’t possibly work b) couldn’t be disguised as a drowning accident c) would be cracked open by cursory forensic examination, even in the ’70s. And while normally I don’t expect “Columbo” to dwell on such matters as corpse decomposition, bodily secretions etc., this particular case goes so far that this stuff just can’t be ignored. And if you do – like the episode does – then you’re left with absolutely nothing but a suspiciously clean car as the reason to harass a recently bereaved man and mooch drinks off him. Meh.
as an avid Colombo fan, i agree that this episode, while still enjoyable, was not one of the best in terms of plots – the whole switching off the air conditioner to kill the brother in the wine cellar thing – i just didnt get it…..the fact that the wines were ruined because the ac was turned off, and then that being the evidence that the brother must have been murdered in there – just seems like quite a stretch and not up to the high standards of other Colombo episodes. As the author of this site mentioned – he would have been able to survive in there for a long long time, even just by drinking the wine! oh well, they cant all be great story-lines (though still enjoyed watching it nonetheless!)
My thoughts exactly, it’s a huge leap from ruined wine to therefore you murdered little brother by such a ridiculous scheme
How I wish this was the only time we ever heard “This Old Man”.
Was this a different car than in later episodes? It looked like a much darker paint color.
How about “This Old Man” performed full-blast by a marching band (Murder Under Glass)? Just kill me.
I liked the jazzy version of “This Old Man” in the closing credits of, IIRC, “Death Hits the Jackpot”! 🙂
Can’t stand any.
Better not watch any episodes of “Barney” then!
Hmm – for those of you who are pro-Rick – the young lady would have been his *fourth* marriage….
Lucky thing Elizabeth Taylor or Zsa Zsa Gabor were never murdered, they might not have bothered to solve the case at all, what with all those marriages.
Yes, but I loved him on “Land if the Giants”.
Conway was even better in1957 as the monster in “I was a Teenage Frankenstein.” J/K
Q How can you tell a good wine from an average wine?
A By the price! (naturally)
Let’s face it, if there is any one murderer in the history of the show who we’re all rooting for, it’s Adrian. Ric had it coming to him, and I only regret that Adrian couldn’t have killed him a couple of more times.
I’m not so sure. We all like Adrian because of his pursuit of excellence in wine and because it’s the very charming yet unassuming Donald Pleasence. But let’s not kid ourselves: while Ric might be (or rather was) a spendthrift playboy, Adrian is an egotistical elitist who also spends money irresponsibly, frequently buying expensive wine not as an investment, but that “no one else will have them”.
And while the winery produces a good product, it’s implied that the operation isn’t very profitable. Adrian says the cost would be “prohibitive” to sell his most excellent wine, but he doesn’t really say why. Producing it is the hard and expensive part. Adrian’s hoity toity wine buddies seem to think there would be eager willing buyers for just such a product. “I would rather serve it to my friends” Adrian says, demonstrating that it’s about ego, not running a successful business.
Whether or not one agrees with his business practices, at the end of the day it *is* Ric’s winery, not Adrian’s. Ric allowed Adrian to run it for years but the gains (if any) have been minuscule thus far. We have no reason to believe Ric lied when he said he looked over the books. Given Adrian’s habit of purchasing expensive wine it’s not unlikely that Adrian is siphoning profits from the Winery (profits that should either be reinvested into the winery or given to Ric) or the winery is actually losing money and Adrian is keeping it afloat with his sizeable inheritance. For all we know, the place could be heavily in debt. Ric has a solution, insensitive as it may be. But Adrian doesn’t seem to concerned with the employees’ futures (though at least some would likely be hired on by the new owners), but rather concerned about the fate of the wine itself.
For Adrian, it’s not a business, it’s a passion project. Everyone admires that kind of passion, but not when it leads to brutal murder.
Can you really blame Ric? A jerk to be certain, but why is it acceptable that Adrian gets to indulge in his very expensive, frankly wasteful, hobbies but not for Ric do to the same?
It’s fitting that they are (half) brothers. They are opposites of the same coin. Both egotists, both wasteful, both lack compassion. The difference is one is a murderer.
Excellent comment!
Agreed. I find it easy enough to adore Pleasance’s portrayal of Adrian (the Merino brothers?!!!) while simultaneously not finding the character all that sympathetic. Even Columbo showing the killer a more-than-normal degree of respect after the bust does not sway me into thinking the homicide was in any way justifiable.
Viewers perhaps can empathize with Adrian as a man facing the loss of the thing he holds most dear, or drawing the short straw to a sibling in the physical genetics lottery, or that his crime of passion was committed without forethought. But he is not a nice or morally upright person and probably even less so than Ric, whose friends openly lauded his value. (Meanwhile, Adrian repeatedly maligned his long-time industrious secretary.)
I reserve sympathy for those who are truly wronged by another or who demonstrate remorse. Adrian Carsini fits neither bill.
Great comment. In essence, we have sympathy for Adrian because of what a freak he is. In his elitist world, damaging a bottle of wine may be a worse crime than killing someone. It is because his priorities and perspectives are so warped by his wine mania, that we mitigate the cruelty of the murder. “After all, he had no choice but to kill Ric!. I it was killing him, or letting an elite wine producer be taken over by the Merino Brothers!”
Such a great episode and really loved the ending too. Top 5 of all time for me.
Thank God for Peter Falk and his performance in Columbo, IMO the second most irreplaceable character actor in TV history which is still very high considering the hundreds of character actors over the past 75+ years. Easily in the Top 5..
by the way… take a wild guess who ranks #1….
Kate Mulgrew as Mrs Columbo, of course.
Jerry Mathers as Beaver Cleaver in “Leave it to Beaver”?
Nope. All fine actors and guesses but the answer is Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker. Without turning this political, there was no character actor ever who was more irreplaceable or who created a more indelible mark in television than Carroll O’Connor. No one. Undoubtedly this might ruffle some feathers and create some disagreement but that’s my choice and I’m sticking with it..
My guess was a joke although I would seriously put Inger Nilsson as Pippi Långstrump (1969) into the Top 5 of irreplaceable series actors, while Kate Mulgrew as Mrs Columbo probably marks the top spot in most viewers’ miscast list, because she was way too young to be the lieutenant’s wife in 1979 – she must have been an elementary school girl on the date of her marriage someday in the 1960’s – and she didn’t suit her husband’s description in “An Exercise in Fatality”.
(Carroll O’Connor is unknown to me; I can’t place her.)
“(Carroll O’Connor is unknown to me; I can’t place her.)”
–Are you joking??? You seriously have no idea who HE was??? With all due respect I’m a bit shocked and wasn’t expecting to read that. Carroll O’Connor was a male. If you’ve never heard of the TV sitcom “All in the Family” then I can only assume that you don’t know who he was. If you were alive in the 1970’s then practically *every* person in the U.S. who watched TV knows who Carroll O’Connor and “All in the Family” was. He was undoubtedly THE most iconic irreplaceable character actor in TV sitcom history..
Carroll was a male? I was thinking of Carol Flemming in “Prescription: Murder”. This has to be proof that I know neither him nor his name. But before you explode again, I think I can explain it: I am born in the late 70’s in Germany and I am not into sitcoms that deep. It has always been hard for TV shows to make me laugh, yet Columbo found a way.
Okay, that’s what I thought. It was an age thing. I should have added before that if you were born in the 1980’s then you would not know who Carroll O’Connor was. But if you want to laugh the sitcom “All in the Family” will accomplish that. Hilarious show..
Back to Columbo.. an absolutely fantastic TV series and ranks in my All-time Top 3 of anything ever made..
I really need to see this All in the Family. As a Brit I’m aware of it as a sort of American version of the earlier British sitcom hit Till Death Do Us Part, with Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett in the Archie Bunker role. I very much enjoyed Carroll O’Connor in Kelly’s Heroes so I’m up for seeing him in his career defining role.
I’ll agree with your assessment of Carrol O’Connor. As great a TV moment as Colombo sharing a glass of dessert wine with Adrian Carsini is Archie clutching Edith’s slipper after her death.