Columbo: Strange Bedfellows

I've been a Columbo fan since the original series first aired. I even saw the TV movie that led to the series a few years later. Gene Barry was the murderer.

So I'm not prejudiced against the show.

This Columbo movie was mind-numbingly dull. George Wendt works best as a comedic talent. His performance here offered no appeal. His exchanges with Columbo were akin to two old men talking about lawns.

Additionally, many plot elements were just ridiculous. Columbo (and other police) collaborating with mobsters in assaults to trick a confession?

No.

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.

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

Tired of his brother's gambling losses and influence on his life, Graham McVeigh sets it out so that younger Teddy will get in way over his head with bookie Bruno Romano. Graham kills Teddy on a deserted road and then arranges for Romano to come to his house to collect payment – only to kill him and call the police claiming self-defence. His plan is that the police will put the murder on Romano and just close the case. However some cigarette ash in Teddy's car is enough of a problem for Lieutenant Columbo to keep poking his nose in long after Graham had hoped it would all just go away. Meanwhile Romano's mobster boss informs Columbo that it must have been Graham that did the crime and that, either way, he must be punished.

With the last two or three of the new Columbo's I watched the producers (including Falk himself) seemed to be busily trying to do something different from the usual formula – with mixed results it must be said. So with this entry in the series I welcomed the return to the basic cat'n'mouse games that are played between Columbo and his prey while he gradually closes in on them. The film sets up the usual "perfect plan" and then moves ahead from there; it was almost a relief to me to see the formula back in place. The story is a nice one and in some ways the addition of the mobster adds a bit of spice to it but did change the character of Columbo a little bit – would he really just sit and listen to a man threaten murder and just eat soup? Anyway, the story unfolds reasonably well and it does just enough to work as a formula and, although the conclusion lacks logic it is still enjoyably delivered - it is just a shame that the usual strength of the films is a weakness here – namely the performances Well, not performances plural maybe but certainly performance. Wendt is far too boorish and lacking subtlety to convince – it is very much an one-note man and it doesn't lend itself well to the twists and turns within the story. It is a shame because so few of the new Columbo films produce a really good cat n'mouse story and this should have been a good one if not for his very basic turn. Falk is good although I don't think he or the material coped well with the moral complexity that came with technically working with a mobster. Kirby makes a welcome return in a small role that honours his long term connection to the series. Steiger is a nice addition despite my reservations and he certainly stands above a poor Yagher and a terrible "apples & pears, gov'ner" performance from a laughable Mayo-Chandler (influence within the industry one suspects).

Overall this was a welcome return to the formula after one too many duff Columbo's trying something new. The story is fine but it is just a shame that the usual tense chemistry is blown by a roundly poor turn from Wendt. A solid enough formula piece for fans but it is hard not to feel like it has managed to dribble past three defenders just to put the ball wide of an open goal.

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.