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I wouldn't exactly call this movie an horrible one but compared to the usual Columbo movie standards, this is a rather weak entry in the long running successful series, starring Peter Falk.

Some very odd things are happening in this movie, that just don't feel 'Columbo-like'. I would call this movie a rather unrealistic one, even for usual Columbo movie standards. It also really isn't the most clever Columbo movie around and it's actually a quite poorly written one, that perhaps even becomes a bit ridicules at part. Also the way the murder itself is being planned out and committed is quite ridicules in my opinion.

Vincent McEveety always was a director who tried out some new things for his Columbo movies, often with success but there also are some movies that simply don't work out well enough, of which this is obviously one.

It's also often a real slow movie. Some of the sequences go on for far too long, which I blame to the dialog. Some of the dialog is absolutely dragging and its the type of dialog in which the same things get said 3 times over again. It makes some of the sequences within this movie annoying to watch as well.

The movie also isn't really helped by its cast. George Wendt isn't an horrible actor but yet he really doesn't act well in this movie, so you can say he got miscast. It's still interesting to see Rod Steiger in this Columbo movie and his role is actually quite bigger than he gets credited for. Hardly the best or most interesting role out of his career but it's nice watching him in this nevertheless. Peter Falk also does his very best but I wouldn't call it the best performance out of his career, which again, is mostly also due to the movie its dialog.

So really not the best Columbo movie around, although I also just wouldn't call this movie an horrible one.

6/10

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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.

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 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.