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

Columbo: Any Old Port in a Storm (1973) (TV) More at IMDb Pro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   569 votes
Director:
Leo Penn
Writers:
Larry Cohen (story)
Richard Levinson (creator)
(more)
Release Date:
17 October 1973 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Mystery more
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
Awards:
Won 2 Primetime Emmys. more
User Comments:
A vintage old port... more

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)

Peter Falk ... Lt. 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)
Walker Edmiston ... Auctioneer
Pamela Campbell ... Cassie Marlowe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charlie Jones ... Newscaster (uncredited)
Mike Lally ... Bartender (uncredited)
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Directed by
Leo Penn 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Larry Cohen  story
Richard Levinson  creator
William Link  creator
Stanley Ralph Ross  teleplay

Produced by
Robert F. O'Neill .... producer
 
Original Music by
Dick DeBenedictis  (as Dick De Benedictis)
 
Cinematography by
Harry L. Wolf (director of photography) (as Harry Wolf)
 
Film Editing by
Larry Lester 
Buddy Small  (as Budd Small)
 
Art Direction by
Archie J. Bacon  (as Arch Bacon)
 
Set Decoration by
John M. Dwyer 
 
Production Management
Wilbur Mosier .... unit manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joe Boston .... assistant director
 
Sound Department
David H. Moriarty .... sound
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grady Hunt .... costumes
 
Editorial Department
Richard Belding .... editorial supervisor
 
Music Department
Henry Mancini .... composer: theme "Sunday Mystery Movie theme"
Hal Mooney .... music supervisor
 
Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald .... title designer: main titles
Jackson Gillis .... executive story consultant
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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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)
MOVIEmeter: ?
V 27% since last week why?
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:
Columbo: My handwriting is so bad sometimes I think I should've been a doctor. more
Movie Connections:
Followed by Columbo: Old Fashioned Murder (1976) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful:-
A vintage old port..., 8 September 2004
Author: The Welsh Raging Bull (leighton.phillips@sihe.ac.uk) from Port Talbot, South Wales,UK

An accomplished Columbo adventure with a well-written script that shrewdly fine-tunes the basic, well-established Columbo formula.

Donald Pleasence is magnificent as a wine fanatic who is horrified to learn that his impetuous and irresponsible brother (Gary Conway) is planning to sell off the family-owned vineyard. The sequence of increasingly antagonistic banter between the brothers, prior to the murder set-up, is powerful and ingenious. Pleasence renders Conway unconscious in a fit of rage in his office - does he immediately think of making it into a murder or does it become a gradual thought? In any case, the "eventual" murder is resourcefully constructed to be made to look like an accident; better than any other "made to look like an accident" scenario in the series.

Whilst there is not the typical plethora of circumstantial clues, the ones that are included are nicely inserted to achieve a decent impact.

The script-writer intriguingly develops the relationship between detective and murderer, as a mutual respect becomes apparent, especially as Columbo starts demonstrating his new-found knowledge on the subject of wine. Without contradicting myself, this is a remarkably positive element to the whole proceedings, given that my usual personal preference is for the Columbo-villain relationship to be more fractious.

Several later scenes uphold the high standard of the episode, primarily, when the murderer's grip over his secretary is "turned on it's head"; in the restaurant, when the murderer ironically complains about the over-heated wine; at the beach cliff-top, when the murderer is forced to throw away all of his wine from the cellar etc.

There is hardly a dull moment in this Columbo adventure; the pacing of the story is not frenetic, rather it is all executed in a calm, controlled manner which is symbolic of its subtleties.

It is one of Peter Falk's favourite episodes and one of mine - highly recommended viewing and an episode that would be great for newcomers to the series (if there are any) to watch, in order to endear themselves to the Columbo character.

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Help in Explanation of Ending!!!!!!!!!!!!! jynot78
Improbables easmax
Why didn't Columbo investigate the motive? petestubbs
The funky music?? joe_ms
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