Mrs. Clay, can you remember where you were last night?
- I don't remember where I've been for years.
There are films that need to rock in order to attract the viewer with their story. There are those to whom we make a discount in advance, because their favorite actors starred there, or a talented director is responsible for it. And there are those that fascinate from the first frame. The Commander's Last Salute falls into the latter category. It all starts with a boat with the beautiful name Titanic. What is happening is accompanied by a pleasant melody, and during the introduction, the viewer is introduced to the actors who played in this series. Moreover, the list of actors is indicative, since everyone, well, almost everyone already had the honor to star in Colombo and I must give them credit, the actors played perfectly. Naturally, expectations fly to the sky and naturally in the future will have to moderate appetites, but it will be later, and now we have a great opportunity to plunge, together with the heroes of history, into the whirlpool of intrigue.
The story begins with the fact that on the birthday of the head of the shipbuilding company, old sea wolf Otis Swanson, all his relatives, as well as the richest customers, gather. And the whole holiday looks so tortured, so artificial that Otis demands to curtail the party, and then in upset feelings leaves. Everything would be fine, but the old man made it clear to his relatives that he intends to sell the shipbuilding campaign and leave them penniless. Well, it's time for decisive action and they don't keep themselves waiting. Otis is killed, making it look like the old man went out in his boat into the sea late at night and drowned. At the same time, the murder itself will not be shown to the viewer, but only put before the fact that Charles Clay (Robert Vaughn) got rid of the body, and therefore he is the murderer. In any case, Colombo is sure of this, and with it the viewer, therefore, the truth is in the last resort and you can begin to bring the hero Robert Vaughn to white heat. Not intrusive, of course. Just as Lieutenant Colombo can do.
And it is worth paying tribute to the film, Robert Vaughn is not the first time playing a villain in this series, and therefore the hero of Peter Falk shamelessly jokes over him, and not only with words, but also with deeds. Of course, Robert Vaughn's hero is stoically enduring all of this, but he has written on his face that he wants to do something terrible with Lieutenant Colombo. In general, a great duet turned out and I am more than sure that both actors enjoyed the shooting.
Also worth mentioning is the young sergeant Theodore Abinsk, nicknamed Mick, whom the authorities forced on Lieutenant Colombo, say the smart kid, train him. Of course, a similar move has already been used in Death in the Greenhouse, but the fact is that there the young partner tried to curry favor with Colombo, and then tried to solve the case on his own, almost ruining everything. The local partner is also young and hot, he lacks life experience, he is not sure of himself, and therefore loses himself when he speaks to the audience, but he is really smart and the hero of Peter Falk sees it. Therefore, at some point he throws off the mask of a good-natured simpleton and becomes a harsh police lieutenant who exposes, well, or tries to expose the criminal. All this is done in order to demonstrate to the young sergeant how to behave in a particular situation. And that's what makes me want to applaud Peter Falk. After all, he remains himself, but also tries on the form of the teacher.
Another thing is the investigation itself. Initially, it looks thoughtful and interesting, but at one point, I will not say at what point, all logical chains collapse. This could have been an interesting plot move, especially when you consider that there were prerequisites for it, but the story was not pressed, for the simple reason that half of the people involved in this case were not disclosed as individuals and their motivation was described only at the end of the series, and even then a couple sentences. It's very hard to believe. It's almost impossible. It was as if a twenty-minute piece had been torn out of the series, which was supposed to explain everything logically. In fact, the finale, which has been simplified completely, only confirms this theory. Well, that's it. The director could not keep up with the allotted time and was forced to improvise.
Outcome? A good series that lacks integrity. At first, everything is good and logical, but then the plot begins to resemble a ragged canvas and we begin to show the characters, whom we saw only briefly, claiming that they play an important role in the plot. And the second death in this film was unfounded and looks far-fetched. In principle, you can watch, at least for the sake of the duet of Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn and how Lieutenant Colombo gets into an old boat and singing a carefree melody, to become a sailor Popeye sails into the sunset.
7 out of 10