Any Old Port in a Storm (7 Oct. 1973)

A connoisseur running a California winery murders his younger half-brother to prevent him from selling the family business. Lt. Columbo is on the case.

Director:

Leo Penn

Writers:

Stanley Ralph Ross (teleplay), Larry Cohen (story),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Donald Pleasence, Joyce Jillson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Donald Pleasence	...	Adrian Carsini
Joyce Jillson	...	Joan Stacey
Gary Conway	...	Enrico Guiseppe Carsini
Dana Elcar	...	Falcon
Julie Harris	...	Karen Fielding
Vito Scotti	...	Maitre d'
Robert Donner	...	The Drunk
Robert Ellenstein	...	Stein
Robert Walden	...	Billy Fine
Regis Cordic	...	Lewis (as Regis J. Cordic)
Reid Smith	...	Andy Stevens
John McCann	...	Officer
George Gaynes	...	Frenchman Wine Expert
Monte Landis	...	Steward (as Monty Landis)

Storyline

Adrian Carsini is a fanatical wine connoisseur who operates a winery on the California coast. When Adrian's indifferent brother, who owns the winery property, threatens to sell it, Adrian kills him in a fit of rage, then places his brother's body in storage in his wine vault while he travels to New York to attend a conference. Adrian disposes of the body on his return, and in such a way as to make his brother's demise look like an accident. But he hadn't reckoned on the canny Lieutenant Columbo, who is assigned to this case by the LAPD's Homicide Division. Columbo is a cigar-smoking detective with many fetishes, a constantly referred-to but unseen wife, an old car, and a rumpled raincoat. In his usual patronizing manner, Columbo suspects Carsini almost immediately, and he befriends Carsini while slyly searching for clues to link Carsini to the killing.

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Plot Keywords:

winery | wine | wine connoisseur | murder | detective | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1973 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Falk has stated, that this episode is his personal favorite. He said,that this was the first episode in which Columbo developed a sincere fondness for the murderer. Speaking of Columbo and the Donald Pleasence character, he said that "the two men shared something in common -- an admiration for excellence."

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Goofs

Adrian Carsini reenters the wine cellar where he suffocated his brother 5 days previously and is able to breath normally as if all the life sustaining oxygen has not been consumed. Even if through some architectural miracle he was able to breathe, there is still the point that his brother has been dead for 5 days in a very hot vault and Adrian, with his very delicate sense of smell, shows no reaction to his brother's decomposition nor the resultant body functions during the two days it took him to die.

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Quotes

Adrian Carsini: [to Karen] I dislike telegrams and I dislike receiving them. There's something about a telegram that makes me feel that some kind of tragedy has occurred.

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Connections

References This Gun for Hire (1942)

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Soundtracks

"This Old Man"
English children's folk song
Whistled by Peter Falk

User Reviews

Classic

This is my favourite Columbo of all time. Not only is it my favourite Columbo but it also stars one of my favourite actors in Donald Pleasence. Pleasence and Falk form a great chemistry the way they start to trifle around about making wine. At this point the viewer is treated to some of Columbo's best idiosyncratic traits that has made his character so famous. I was hoping that Pleasence and Falk would team up again for a second Columbo but my hopes came to an end when Mr.Pleasence passed away in 1995.