Columbo: Strange Bedfellows

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS is one of the more lively outings for the late-stage Columbo as it features a different kind of murder for the detective to get his (false) teeth into. While George Wendt's simplistic villain isn't one of the best the series has to offer, the sub-plot involving a disgruntled mob boss (played by the delightful Rod Steiger) more than makes up for the shortcomings elsewhere.

Wendt is a completely ruthless character, a horse breeder who bumps off his own brother in the early part of the story. A noticeably aged Columbo proceeds to investigate and gets involved with the usual minor clues involving ashes in an car ash tray and a mysterious phone call received by the victim just prior to his death.

At this point the Mafia sub-plot comes to light and things get more interesting, all leading to one of the finest and most intricate climaxes ever seen in a Columbo. The ending itself is enough to make the episode, it's that good. Watch out for RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD's Don Calfa in a minor role as a bartender, and Columbo series regular Bruno Kirby as a police sergeant.

Even though not as good as the old ones but definitely one of the best in the new series. George "Norm" Wendt makes a great murderer. Great supporting cast (Jay Acovone, Jeff "V" Yagher, Rod "Fortelli" Steiger none the less ...), suspenseful definitely underrated. The confrontation is a pure pleasure for Columbo fans reminiscent of the early seventies ones. "For us!!!" "Hey youuu? Yes! Yoooou!!!" Enjoy.

The most notable aspect for me was the familiar faces in this episode, which include fine performances by both George Wendt and Rod Steiger, and watch for regulars John Finnegan, and the final appearance of Bruce Kirby. Wendt is the real star here, as he's just a few years removed from a memorable run on "Cheers", and he's very convincing in a murderous role here. Steiger is also in fine form as a mob boss, as he warns Columbo that he'll give him time to arrest Graham(Wendt), but if that fails, then he'll take care of matters himself and that won't be pretty. Without giving too much away, this ending plot borrows heavily from "A Case of Immunity", which is a fine episode from 1975, and I could see this conclusion coming a mile away, especially them giving the same "thumbs-up" gestures, so that drops this episode down a few pegs. As someone else said, this isn't the best Columbo film in the stable(pun intended), but it's passable, and instead of Wendt raising a glass of beer, this time he's raising a gun.

Strange Bedfellows was one of those episodes that I wasn't sure what to make of at first. After further viewings, I think there are both good and bad things and that it is neither among the best or worst of the series. That said, if I were to rank the Columbo episodes Strange Bedfellows for me would be somewhere around the bottom, not because it's terrible but because there have been better episodes and so many good, often amazing, ones.

What were the good things? Well as is the case with all the Columbos, it is filmed and directed beautifully, and has a good score. I did admire that it attempted to stick to formula after some episodes that tried to be different but failed due to bad execution, it was mostly interesting and had some good scenes, with Columbo's triple bluff being the highlight of the episode. Of the support cast, Bruce Kirby was fun and Shani Wallis was a nice find but my favourite was Rod Steiger, not his best role but he is very good here.

Peter Falk does a fine job with what he had with the iconic character of Columbo. He has a lot of charisma and has some inspired line delivery. I wasn't taken with how Columbo was written in this episode though, Falk does make an effort to make him true to how he usually is but the material works against him. Columbo does seem out of character(note I said seem before somebody objects), and is not as likable as he often is. It is not as bad as him sending himself up in Last Salute to the Commodore or being almost completely sidelined in No Time to Die, but it didn't work for me.

My main problems though were the script and three performances that didn't work for me. There have been much cleverer, more arch, funnier and more tense writing before in Columbo, here the cat-and-mouse scenes between Falk and Wendt that are often highlights of Columbo seemed bland and lacking in tension and the script seemed very pedestrian in places. George Wendt I agree is too boorish and too unsubtle in his role, but he is at least better than the dull Jeff Yagher and the irritating Karen Mayo-Chandler.

All in all, a strange episode that at the end of the day I was very mixed on. 6/10 Bethany Cox

George Wendt stars as Graham McVeigh, a ranch/horse owner who is fed up with bailing out his gambling brother Teddy(played by Jeff Yagher) who is also in debt with a mob-related man named Bruno Romano(played by Jay Acovone) so devises a scheme to murder both of them by first killing Teddy, then laying suspicion on Bruno before he lures him into a trap to kill him too, claiming self-defense. Lt. Columbo(Peter Falk) is investigating the crimes when he is approached by the mob leader Vincenzo Fortelli(played by Rod Steiger) who wants Graham to pay for what he did, but the two of them instead come up with a better plan to trap Graham... Slick, entertaining episode with Steiger and Falk a good match-up, and Wendt's character is so obtuse and unsympathetic that the potentially morally dubious alliance between them isn't an issue.