Columbo: Strange Bedfellows

George Wendt who played beer swilling Norm Peterson on Cheers for years is our guest villain in this Columbo film. He is the owner with his brother of a thoroughbred horse breeding farm with big plans for the future. The problem is he's got a wastrel spendthrift brother in Jeff Yagher who owes some bookies really big bucks. Wendt's decided that the brother has to be eliminated as he can't carry his ever increasing debts.

But Wendt is not only a real slime ball he's a little bit crazy in his scheme. Not only does he kill the brother he kills Jay Acovone whom he lures to his house. Acovone is both a restaurant owner and a bookie and well connected to Mafia crime boss Rod Steiger who is a half owner in the place. You want to mess with those guys? He claims he killed Acovone as a matter of self defense.

I have to say that Wendt apparently had a well conceived plan, but those little details that Columbo spots are what does him in. Things that Wendt could not have foreseen just make Peter Falk zero in on him more and more.

Real Columbo fans could not miss the similarities between this story and one from the 70s where Hector Elizondo kills someone in the consulate of a Mideast kingdom. It was also a whole lot of little things that Falk suspect him, but he couldn't quite nail him. He uses the same gambit from that story to nail Wendt in this one.

You'll have to see the film to know what I am talking about.

PLOT: The co-owner of an equestrian center (George Wendt) murders his gambling brother and frames his mob bookie, which he also kills. Columbo finds a number of anomalies that don't fit the puzzle and so teams-up with a mob boss (Rod Steiger) to break the murderer.

COMMENTARY: Cheers' Wendt makes for a notable villain, but the biggest flaw in his scheme was to murder the mob bookie and frame him. Whilst this might get rid of his incompetent brother and pacify the police, it would certainly provoke the Mafia to come looking for him. What good is it to own a horse farm when you're dead? And why would he assume the bookie would come to his abode alone (which he curiously does)?

Some people pan the episode on the grounds that Columbo has spoken Italian in a few previous segments (e.g. "Murder Under Glass" and "Death Hits the Jackpot") and yet he claims to not know the language here, which is inconsistent. A likely explanation is that Columbo makes up a new backstory depending on the people and situation with which he's dealing. In short, his immediate mission determines his backstory. Here he obviously wanted the mafia to think he couldn't speak Italian so that they might speak Italian around him, which he would understand.

Another criticism is that it's wrong for Columbo to align himself with organized crime and engage in entrapment. Yet this is indirectly addressed in the episode, although you might have to read between the lines a bit. Columbo KNOWS who the real murderer is; and apparently so does the Don. They both want justice and the Don grants Columbo the grace to acquire it legally, which he can't do without proper evidence and a confession. So they team-up to get it one way or another. In other words, justice is Columbo's prime objective, not being 100% legally correct.

As for entrapment, Columbo is known for resorting to these kinds of (unrealistic) shenanigans to break his opponent and obtain justice, as witnessed throughout the series (e.g. "Prescription: Murder," "Butterfly and Shades of Grey" and "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo").

The last five Columbo episodes (actually TV movies) were released over the course of nine years from 1995-2003 with "Strange Bedfellows" beginning this run. All of them are worthy installments for one reason or another.

GRADE: B

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.

A little over the top, and might not fly 100% in reality, but still one of the wildest, funniest and wackiest of all the 69 episodes. Columbo is not the doddering old fool that he portrays in some of the later movies. He is serious, with a tinge of humor throughout. Although he seemingly goes on and on with his stories, in actuality few of his lines are wasted at all. In every line he drops some subtle allusion that is part of his grand design to ensnare his suspect. George Wendt will never be mistaken for a great actor. But he actually is well cast in this particular role - a lying, not too bright criminal, who nonetheless designs a brilliant, extremely complex murder/frame-up plan that only Columbo can figure out. Consequently, he is convinced that he is smarter than he actually is. So naturally he looks down at Columbo and keeps saying unnecessary things w/o realizing that Columbo is setting him up. Rod Steiger, in a brilliant performance as a mafia godfather, is hilarious and delectable (although even someone like me, who can't speak any Italian, can easily detect that his Italian diction is laughable, spoken like a true American of French, Scottish, and German descent might speak it). As for those reviewers who say this film is bad because Columbo is out of character, I respectfully disagree. He often uses questionable means to get the proof of the murderer's guilt, once he is convinced that he surely has the actual murderer. Yeah, it's a little overboard here, but it works because it is done with a sly smile, rather than in a purely serious manner. The final wild roller coaster ride seems finally to have entered the realm of the inconceivable, until the truth is revealed about what just happened and it gives you a big laugh. Hang on!

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.