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IMDb > "Columbo" Any Old Port in a Storm (1973)
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"Columbo" Any Old Port in a Storm (1973)



Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   645 votes
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Director:
Leo Penn
Writers:
Larry Cohen (story)
Richard Levinson (creator)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Any Old Port in a Storm on IMDbPro.
TV Series:
"Columbo" (1971)
Original Air Date:
17 October 1973 (Season 3, Episode 2)
Plot:
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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Won 2 Primetime Emmys. more
User Comments:
Julie Harris and, especially, Donald Pleasance make this a vintage "Columbo" case more

Cast

  (Episode Cast overview, first billed only)

Peter Falk ... Columbo

Donald Pleasence ... Adrian Carsini
Joyce Jillson ... Joan Stacey
Gary Conway ... Enrico 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
Monte Landis ... Steward (as Monty Landis)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
USA:96 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Finland:K-18 (2005) (DVD) (self applied)
Company:
Universal TV more

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Continuity: When Adrian Carsini emerges from the wine cellar after moving the body, he is bare-handed. But seconds later, as he runs across to his brother's car, he is wearing snuggly fitted leather driving gloves. more
Quotes:
Adrian Carsini: May our enemies never be as happy as we are at this moment. more
Movie Connections:
Followed by "Columbo: Columbo Cries Wolf (#9.2)" (1990) more

FAQ

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9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful:-
Julie Harris and, especially, Donald Pleasance make this a vintage "Columbo" case, 9 January 2007
Author: J. Spurlin from Chicago, Illinois

Adrian Carsini (Donald Pleasance) runs a California winery owned by his younger half-brother (Gary Conway, in a flat performance) who reveals he's about to sell it. This enrages the older wine connoisseur who knocks the young playboy out cold and ties him up in the wine cellar. Soon Carsini has committed a murder and makes it look like a scuba diving accident. Our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case and is willing to harass everyone—even Carsini's cold but devoted secretary (Julie Harris)—until he's discovered the truth.

Leo Penn directs a script by Stanley Ralph Ross (from a story by Larry Cohen) that is mainly excellent. The murder—or rather its cover up—is splendidly tricky. Columbo's scenes with his main adversary and the secretary are inventive and witty. "Columbo vs. wine connoisseur" was a premise waiting to happen, and Ross makes the most of it. Not all the scenes are as tight and purposeful as they are in "Murder by the Book" or "A Stitch in Crime," but this slow-paced episode never seems to drag.

What makes this "Columbo" rank among the best are Julie Harris, in a familiar but welcome performance, and Donald Pleasance, who seems to have lived in his character for years and knows the man's every aspect, from his imperious snobbishness and petulant tantrums to his nervous boyishness and childlike enthusiasm. We don't care about the half-brother; but a second tragedy happens in the wine cellar, and it's one of the saddest moments in the series.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for "Columbo" (1971)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What winery was used? baddoggiebad
Why didn't Columbo investigate the motive? petestubbs
The funky music?? joe_ms
Help in Explanation of Ending!!!!!!!!!!!!! jynot78
Improbables easmax
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