Burning Arrow Film Blog

We are delving into Columbo royalty this time around, as we examine Donald Pleasance as Adrian Carsini in Any Old Port in a Storm (1973)!

Written by Josh Baker

There are so many good things about this episode that I’m probably going to go all over the place throughout this review.

First, for my money, is the best murder of the whole series. Adrian Carsini is a wine fanatic who has devoted his whole life to Carsini Wineries, his family label. There’s one big problem: his brother, the bullying and narcissistic Enrico Giuseppe Carsini (played by American Ninja 2 alumni Gary Conway) is planning to sell the business, tired of Adrian wasting money on buying expensive bottles. “You snobs can drink your wine, but I want the cash!” he bellows to Adrian.

“I WANT THE CASH!” is something I frequently say to my current employers…

Rick is basically asking to be attacked by his brother, prodding him with his fatuous, bad-faith attacks and openly antagonistic attitude.

And so it happens: when Rick says Adrian has no choice but to sell the business, Adrian realises he now has only one way out…

He pummels is brother over the head with a telephone in a fit of rage.

To finish him off, he leaves Rick to suffocate and starve to death in the Carisini wine cellar.

Despite him being an obnoxious bully, this is a very harsh end for Rick. This touch of harshness is needed though, to remind the viewer that murder is no trivial matter. 

We spend more time with Adrian than almost any other Columbo villain; in fact, it’s over half an hour into the teleplay until Columbo is actively on the case- we follow Adrian going to wine auctions with his doting assistant, Karen (Julie Harris) It’s wonderful to see the man in his natural element and living out his passion, making him the sympathetic murder in the series that is the best developed. 

His passion for wine is something that rubs off on our dear Columbo, as he develops probably the friendliest rapport out of any Columbo villain in the series with Carsini.

Carsini is impressed with Columbo’s interest and attentiveness toward wine tasting, and despite Columbo using his newfound knowledge as the tool to eventually catch Adrian out, the two men have an easy, light-hearted rapport that is wonderful to watch. 

Peter Falk and Donald Pleasance in “Any Old Port in a Storm” (1973)

Peter Falk cited this as his favourite Columbo, and it’s also one I hold in high regard, although not quite as my favourite. Currently, my ranking for top 5 Columbos stands as this: 

Number eight is still a pretty good ranking, right? Right??

The reason that isn’t the top episode in my list is purely a subjective one; I do generally prefer it when Columbo villains are pieces of shit, as there is more schadenfreude when Columbo inevitably uncovers their criminal misdeeds. 

Generally speaking, there are two types of Columbo Villain: the sympathetic one and the piece of shit. Now, there are plenty of examples of murderers who fall between both categories: Tommy Brown from Swan Song, who has an irritating prick of a wife that doesn’t hesitate to keep berating and blackmailing, but on the other hand, he is basically a nonce. 

Or Beth Chadwick from Lady in Waiting, a shy woman with an irritating prick of a brother who keeps berating and belittling her, until she plots a scheme to violently shoot him to death in a faked robbery-gone-wrong.

The slaying leads her down a dark path, turning into a narcissistic tyrant who forcibly takes over her family’s company and announces her marriage to her boyfriend (played wonderfully by Leslie Nielsen) without his consent!

Adrian Carsini, however, falls very much into the former category of the sympathetic murderer. His deep, earnest passion for wine is obvious from the beginning of the movie, and when it is about to be snatched out from under him by his irritating prick of a half-brother.  

Donald Pleasance is so enraged and heart-broken in his performance, that the audience is fully on his side when Adrian bashes his brother over the head with a telephone.

The good detective clearly feels a lot of sympathy for Carsini at the episode’s end, and Peter Falk delivers his reluctance and disappointment at catching his man, that he displays when the “sympathetic” killers are caught. 

It’s a wonderful bow to the pair’s relationship for them to share a glass together before Columbo dutifully drives Carsini to police headquarters: it’s two professional men admiring each other’s passion for each other’s craft- a genuine mutual respect, relative to the crime that Carsini has committed. 

The character development throughout the episode is just fantastic- Carsini’s assistant Karen revealed herself to be a bit of a battleaxe before the final confrontation, suspecting that Adrian killed his brother and with-holding incriminating evidence from Columbo to blackmail Adrian.

But it’s not money Karen wants, it’s…love? The revelation that Karen has for some reason fallen for Adrian is a fantastic twist- and the two’s confrontation on Karen’s doorstep is as scintillating to watch as Adrian and Columbo’s final scene together. Amazing acting and character work across the board, which is rendered even more impressive when you’re an anorak and realise the whole scene is dubbed over in post.

***(MINI-RANT INCOMING)***

Stuff like this is why i wish TV movies of the week would come back.

The most recent example of a great feature length TV movie that I can think of is Partygate on Channel 4. Of course, there were the feature length Sherlock episodes on the BBC, but I think there is a general consensus that maybe some of that wasn’t as good as we remember. 

Having said that, they are still (along with Partygate) an example of a dying art form that I PRAY and HOPE the streamers keep alive- genuine, ACTUAL dramatic TV movies of the week rather than $80 million dollars productions that the likes of DIsney+, Netlix and Amazon keep from having theatrical runs in an effort to boost their streaming numbers.

Is Partygate (2022) the last hurrah for great TV Movies?

It’s getting old but I really can’t say enough good things about Donald Pleasance’s performance as Adrian Carsini. Writer Stanley Ralph Ross (the real hero here) wrote Adrian with another in mind, but Pleasance embodies the character so perfectly.

He has so many moments to shine during the process of Columbo’s investigation, coming to a head at a fancy restaurant where Carsini is served spoiled wine. Carsini can eloquently spit venom like no one else.

“AN EXCITING MEAL HAS BEEN RUINED BY THE PRESENCE OF THIS…LIQUID FILTH!!!!!@%!“

[I in no way have the money to buy this photo from Alamy.]

The problem is…that it’s his wine. Columbo had swapped the bottle out before Carsini’s arrival and upon Carsini realising it, the countdown to Columbo catching his killer is on…

Yes, it’s not the most spellbinding of gotchas that the series would deliver, but the pathos it delivers with the final scene is worth it- a great cap on a great episode.

What do YOU think about this episode? Let me know in the comments below!