Any Old Port in a Storm

An accomplished Columbo adventure with a well-written script that shrewdly fine-tunes the basic, well-established Columbo formula.

Donald Pleasence is magnificent as a wine fanatic who is horrified to learn that his impetuous and irresponsible brother (Gary Conway) is planning to sell off the family-owned vineyard. The sequence of increasingly antagonistic banter between the brothers, prior to the murder set-up, is powerful and ingenious. Pleasence renders Conway unconscious in a fit of rage in his office - does he immediately think of making it into a murder or does it become a gradual thought? In any case, the "eventual" murder is resourcefully constructed to be made to look like an accident; better than any other "made to look like an accident" scenario in the series.

Whilst there is not the typical plethora of circumstantial clues, the ones that are included are nicely inserted to achieve a decent impact.

The script-writer intriguingly develops the relationship between detective and murderer, as a mutual respect becomes apparent, especially as Columbo starts demonstrating his new-found knowledge on the subject of wine. Without contradicting myself, this is a remarkably positive element to the whole proceedings, given that my usual personal preference is for the Columbo-villain relationship to be more fractious.

Several later scenes uphold the high standard of the episode, primarily, when the murderer's grip over his secretary is "turned on it's head"; in the restaurant, when the murderer ironically complains about the over-heated wine; at the beach cliff-top, when the murderer is forced to throw away all of his wine from the cellar etc.

There is hardly a dull moment in this Columbo adventure; the pacing of the story is not frenetic, rather it is all executed in a calm, controlled manner which is symbolic of its subtleties.

It is one of Peter Falk's favourite episodes and one of mine - highly recommended viewing and an episode that would be great for newcomers to the series (if there are any) to watch, in order to endear themselves to the Columbo character.

Adrian Carsini loves his wines and has both made and lost a fortune buying and selling expensive and famous wines. However his brother Enrico wants to make money from the family business by increasing production and selling lower quality wines but in bulk. Trapped and facing losing his beloved work, Adrian explodes into a rage and hits Enrico with a lamp. Using a trip to New York as an alibi, Adrian hides the body and, on his return dumps him in the ocean and makes it look like a scuba-diving accident. Columbo gets involved because missing persons manage to dodge the case but, rather than wonder why it is his job, Columbo finds one or two details just failing to make sense.

As with many TV film series (such as Perry Mason), if you like one or two of them then you'll pretty much like them all. This entry in the Columbo series pretty much follows the usual formula – we know the killer and the "perfect" plan but then watch Columbo follow his hunch and gradually starts to pick holes in the story he is told before eventually finding enough to prove his suspicions. Knowing this ahead of time won't ruin anything for you; it is simply what happens in all the films. With this strict adherence to formula it is usually down to several factors whether or not the Columbo film stands out or if it is just average. Having watched a couple of the "new" Columbo films recently, I was glad to return to the vintage fold to find that the formula was all very much in place here. The story opens with a sudden moment of rage that is different from the usual plans in the series. The way Columbo gets involved is a bit contrived but from here on in it all works really well – the reasons why Adrian become the focus are played out in a great scene where Adrian says things that don't ring true and a close-up shot of Columbo shows us the confusion growing within him. The mystery builds well and moves easily and professionally – being enjoyable from start to finish.

Falk is the reason his character has become so well known and, as always, he is spot on. Whether playing the simple characteristics or allowing more complex thoughts to come across on his face, it is a typically strong performance. He is helped by having a director in Penn who understands where Falk is and how to best capture it on film. Pleasence is a typical piece of class and his performance works really well whether he is blowing up, slyly playing with Columbo or finding himself trapped. It is a strong performance that stands out as one of the stronger of the series. As usual the support cast are less important but Harris is good in a minor role as Adrian's secretary even if Jillson and Conway are only par for the course.

Overall a typically strong entry in the series that deserves the repeated bad puns made on this site about it being a "vintage". The story is clever and well delivered while the performances are very good where it counts (the lead two) and are helped by a director that seems to understand what it is all about.

This Columbo film is one of my favorites with Donald Pleasance as the murderer, a fanatical wine connoisseur who Peter Falk eventually traps into a confession of murder. This was not a planned murder by any means, in fact Pleasance does it in a fit of rage. But he plans well the alibi and that due to the fact that apparently no one saw his victim come or go from his home.

The victim here is Gary Conway, Pleasance's half brother who owns the land where the vineyards of the family business grow. Pleasance got the cash, but he spends it foolishly on expensive wines for his educated palate. The business has gone to rack and ruin and Conway wants to sell it and get out.

Both these guys are not prizes, Conway is a playboy who's about embark on his latest marriage, this one to Joyce Jillson. Pleasance is an egotistical fool who won't pay attention to business.

This Columbo film contains one of my favorite moments, it's when Conway informs Pleasance that he's considering an offer from the Marino Brothers for the vineyards. Just watch Pleasance literally foam at the mouth at the thought that these guys who apparently supply the stuff favored by the wino community are going to own his vineyards. You would have thought that he was being asked to sacrifice a child to Baal. It's what drives him to murder Conway. You can't really understand it, but you feel his rage.

There is one other major character in this film, that of Julie Harris, Pleasance's devoted secretary who has her suspicions about Conway and hopes to use them to form a closer relationship with Pleasance. She's a piece of work.

Still Donald Pleasance really shines as one of the best foes Peter Falk ever came up against.

Adrian Carsini (Donald Pleasance) runs a California winery owned by his younger half-brother (Gary Conway, in a flat performance) who reveals he's about to sell it. This enrages the older wine connoisseur who knocks the young playboy out cold and ties him up in the wine cellar. Soon Carsini has committed a murder and makes it look like a scuba diving accident. Our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case and is willing to harass everyone—even Carsini's cold but devoted secretary (Julie Harris)—until he's discovered the truth.

Leo Penn directs a script by Stanley Ralph Ross (from a story by Larry Cohen) that is mainly excellent. The murder—or rather its cover up—is splendidly tricky. Columbo's scenes with his main adversary and the secretary are inventive and witty. "Columbo vs. wine connoisseur" was a premise waiting to happen, and Ross makes the most of it. Not all the scenes are as tight and purposeful as they are in "Murder by the Book" or "A Stitch in Crime," but this slow-paced episode never seems to drag.

What makes this "Columbo" rank among the best are Julie Harris, in a familiar but welcome performance, and Donald Pleasance, who seems to have lived in his character for years and knows the man's every aspect, from his imperious snobbishness and petulant tantrums to his nervous boyishness and childlike enthusiasm. We don't care about the half-brother; but a second tragedy happens in the wine cellar, and it's one of the saddest moments in the series.

This was another episode that I saw recently and I am still mystified at how I missed this episode for so long. Any Old Port in a Storm defines the term classic Columbo and has next to nothing wrong with it.

While it is a slow-paced episode, Any Old Port in a Storm is never dull. The script is excellent, with some very snappy lines and some of the interactions are among my favourites in a Columbo episode. The story lives up to its great premise and is always interesting and absorbing, the ending is tricky but not confusing as it is paced and explained very well.

Any Old Port in a Storm looks striking too, the photography doesn't jar in any way and the location shooting still looks pleasing on the eyes. The music is atmospheric and is careful not to intrude too much. The direction is top notch, as is the cast. Peter Falk is spot on and Donald Pleasance is so classy in an equally strong performance.

All in all, a classic Columbo episode with very little to fault it. 10/10 Bethany Cox