Peter Falk passed away today. Sad news - he was 83 and had been ill for some time.
I think we both know Columbo has to be my Eleventh Telly Recommendation.
I won't go into detail about the best detective show ever made - a little googling will tell you everything you need to know (or read his collection of anecdotes Just One More Thing, there's plenty of stuff in there). Heck, it's on ITV3 on this Saturday at 2.15 (repeated Sunday morning at 10.40) - just sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy it. I've got the box set of the original 70s run and I still end up watching it when it's on.
There are a couple of loose ends I'd like to go over with you, though (if you don't mind).
First off, how brilliant is the format. You see the murder right at the beginning and the story, instead of being a whodunnit, becomes a study of the methods Columbo uses to wear down and trap the murderer. I like to guess at what point Columbo is certain that the murderer is guilty. Does he always know from the start? I'm not sure, and it's testament to Falk's performances that that ambiguity is maintained - it's not certain whether he's playing the murderer along or is still working it out.
The recurring guest stars are always good value too. Falk's wife, Shera Danese appears several times and there's more than one appearance by the likes of Robert Culp, William Shatner and the Prisoner himself Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan directed a few episodes too. Here's the end of one of his, featuring another recurring element - the tune 'This Old Man' turning up somewhere.
Columbo will always loom large in any account of Falk's career but he did lots of other ace stuff.
He was an accomplished artist.
There's a gallery of his work on his website.
It's as an actor that he's best known, though and he made many films throughout his career. One that made a big impression on me as a child was The Great Race. The evil Professor Fate (played by Jack Lemmon) had a gimmick-laden car called the Hannibal Twin 8 that was awesomesauce. Falk played his sidekick, Max and whenever one of the Hannibal's many gadgets had to be deployed Fate would give the order: 'Push the Button, Max!'
I still say this today when urging No1 son to push the button on a pelican crossing!
Among the many reasons that make The Princess Bride the best film ever is that it has Peter Falk in it. In fact the title of Wednesday's blog, 'Television Was Called Books' is one of his lines.
One of his most peculiar roles is in Wim Wenders Wings of Desire, a film summarised very neatly in this short review here. In it Falk plays himself, an actor making a film in the divided Berlin of the 80s. The city is populated by unseen angels watching over - but never truly experiencing - the lives of its people. It later transpires that Falk himself was once an angel who became mortal so that he could live in the 'real' world and he encourages Bruno Ganz - an angel who has fallen in love with a human trapeze artist - to do the same. It's a hypnotic, ethereal film and Falk's role straddles the different realities within and outside the film.
A very beautiful film.
I think I'll leave the last word to John Cassavetes, Falk's friend who directed him in a couple of his movies and went on to return the favour by appearing in Columbo.
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