One more thing. As always.
- No, Lieutenant. No more "something".
Any long-running series boasts a large number of directors, but not each of them can be to the taste of the viewer. Some of the directors are familiar with the series only superficially, and therefore gives the main characters those features that they had previously been absent, other directors try to adopt the manner of narration of the old series, without bringing anything of their own. But there are directors whose series you are waiting for with a sinking heart. Yes, of course, when I first saw Colombo, I didn't understand it. Well, it is understandable, ten years is not the age to understand the names and biography of both directors and actors, especially when your childhood passed in the nineties of the last century and playing T-shirts, and with it all sorts of blinders-hidden took up all your free time. Now I'm at least a little, but I know everything. Yeah, better late than never. And here's what I can say with confidence: the early Colombo series, almost all of them, were beautiful, each in its own way. Directors were not afraid to experiment and as a rule, such experiments caused not only interest, but also a smile. With the later series, the situation was a little worse. Directors tried to keep the spirit of the old series and sometimes so zealous in this that we forgot why we love the hero Peter Falk, completely reshaping his character. Of course, even these series looked interesting, favorite actor after all, but it was a completely different movie and the attitude was different. However, there was one great director who not only tried to convey the spirit of the old series, but moreover – he managed to successfully cross the era of the seventies and nineties. Add tension and dynamism to the series, but remember to fill it with simple human joys and inner kindness. His name was Vincent McAventy, and if I could, I personally thanked him for his work. Unfortunately, that’s not possible, so I can only watch the Colombo series he directed. One of these series was “The Dark Horse”.
The film takes place in Timerage Park, a stable that prepares horses for horse racing. This place has not one, but two masters, who are brothers to each other, but, as is usually the case, do not resemble each other, like fire and water. His older brother, Graham McVeigh (George Wendt), is obese, unyielding, pragmatic and very narcissistic, who considers himself smarter than others. His brother, Ted (Jeff Yager), is a man with little intelligence and even less conscience. He spends all his money on races, borrows from people he should have kept as far away from as possible, and looks even more careless than Peter Falk's hero. And it just so happens that Ted owes gangster Bruno Romano (Jay Akovone) a huge pile of money, which he asks from his older brother. As Ted put it, this is the last time. Graham agrees that this will be the last time. He takes his younger brother to the forest, under the pretext of handing over money to a bandit and kills Ted, making everything look like a contract murder.
Then more. Lieutenant Colombo takes on the investigation, but while the hero of Peter Falk is looking for the slightest leads, the hero of George Wendt, feeling the taste of blood and feeling impunity, continues his black work. Under the pretext of paying his brother’s debt, he invites Bruno Romano to his place, where he kills the latter, leaving everything as self-defense. It would seem that everything is done. Evidence, read no. The only witness who could commit a lie to Graham is dead and the police detective has no choice but to bite his elbows, but then another character appears on the scene. Vincenzo Fortel (Rod Steiger), a former mobster and now an “honest businessman” for whom the late Bruno Romano worked. Vincenzo is very upset by the death of his employee, who was the courtesy of the daughter of a former mobster, and therefore intends to remove Graham McVeigh’s skin, alive.
That's the story. And not only that this already indicates that there will be moments of anxious anticipation and the following tense scenes of the chase, but also the cast in this series was very strong. Rod Stryger, who could equally well play the roles of representatives of the law (“Midnight heat”) and notorious bandits (“Al Capone”), plays a man who balances on a thin line between the two concepts. His character says a lot, but does not say anything specific, and if he does, then there are no witnesses who could confirm the words of the businessman. He is bribing and arousing interest, but in the same desire to stay away from this person as far as possible. Well, George Wendt, not so famous actor, and he starred mainly in comedies, but here he showed a cold-blooded and calculating killer. He, unlike the other killers in the series, will not sit still and wait for Colombo to find a key lead. Oh, no, he'll play his own game, narcissistically grinning at the police attempts to tie all the ends together, but when the sword of Damocles hangs over his head, the only person who can help his hero is Colombo. But whether the latter will help the hero Wendt is a completely different question.
This time I will not sum up any results, but simply recommend this film to everyone present, whether you are familiar with the adventures of Lieutenant Colombo or not. This is an excellent detective, able to give a lot of pleasant impressions that will stay with you for a long time.
9 out of 10