I'm Colombo, a police lieutenant.
- I must point out that this role is not very suitable for you.
- I am often told that.
It's probably no secret that I love the series about police lieutenant Frank Colombo. Oh yes, Peter Falk's character name has never been featured in this series, but that doesn't mean it's missing, does it? I don't think I'm the only one who likes stories about a rustic-looking detective who has fox trickery, otherwise we wouldn't be here. And it just so happens that the series about the adventures of Colombo are very different. Directors, and with them and writers, different vision of the situation and therefore there are just good series, but nothing special does not stand out, and there are series that you remember years later. In the case of “Lady waits”, the second option is true. Moreover, I can say with confidence that this is one of my favorite series, since here all the components were perfectly matched to each other, and the guest star in the person of Leslie Nielsen and at all caused a smile on his lips, even if his character did nothing funny in the film. I just always liked this good-natured man whose hair was gray when he was young. Well, enough empty polemics and it's time to go to the culprit of the celebration.
Usually, the criminals Colombo chases are dangerous, cunning and at the same time not the most pleasant people to communicate. Generally slippery types. It is understandable, because the crimes they commit look almost perfect, and if so, then the perpetrator of all this must be an outstanding comrade. With the heroine of today’s film, everything is a little more complicated. No, she is also quite cunning, but at the same time, Beth Chadwick can be understood, moreover, no one forbids her to sympathize, because her life was far from sugar. The fact is that the girl was kept in hedgehog mittens all her life. First the father, and then the brother. They operated on it by the fact that the girl can not do anything, does not know anything and she will never succeed. The mother of the girl in every possible way encouraged her husband and son and showed herself to her daughter in a rather unpleasant way. And Beth was patient. She endured her whole life being a prisoner, albeit in an expensive, but still cage. But all patience comes to an end sooner or later. Bryce Chadwick, the girl's brother, forbids the latter to meet with the charming lawyer Peter Hamilton, with whom Beth is in love to the ears, and perhaps even the crown, I don't know, did not ask. And the girl decides to kill her brother, making everything look like an unknown person broke into the house and the girl shot the latter in panic. The crime was thought out almost perfectly, but exactly what almost.
Shortly before H, Peter Hamilton receives a letter from Bryce saying in black and white that a successful lawyer should stop dating Beth, otherwise he will be allowed to go to the world. This infuriates Peter, because contrary to public opinion, he does not love Beth because of her money, he likes her herself, and therefore rushes to the Chadwick mansion to dot the i. Peter arrives exactly at the moment when Beth decided to implement her plan and somewhat confuses the girl’s plans – not all the evidence was hidden, not all the details she managed to take care of. And it is at this moment that Colombo appears on the stage, who hunts for all sorts of trifles, and logical inconsistencies.
This is a rather interesting plot plot and the longer the film lasts, the more interesting it will be. Here's Beth's mom coming from the other side of town and insulting her daughter by blaming her brother for his death, instead of providing any support. Here is Peter Hamilton, who is a fairly intelligent and resourceful lawyer, and therefore manages to crack down on Lieutenant Colombo almost immediately, but at the same time looks at his chosen one with surprised eyes and can not recognize her. But the very culprit of the celebration, which turns from a gray mouse into a business lady, the mistress of her fate, and now she does not count with anyone's opinion. All this, as well as the fact that secondary characters are not just extras, but live people with a very adequate reaction to the events that are taking place, can not but please. As, however, pleases the work of the cameraman, especially in the scene when Beth “floated” consciousness, and she tried to imagine what would look like a murder. They were able to shoot before, not so much as now, where in every third film a twitching camera, but a vague image, well, it does not matter.
Outcome? An interesting and rather ambiguous investigation, which managed to collect all the best that is in the Colombo series, as well as pleasantly surprised by the presence of Susan Clark and Leslie Nielsen in the lead roles. The first is memorable for Clint Eastwood’s Bluff Coogan, and the second does not need any introduction. Many of the audience grew up on films with Leslie Nielsen and still remember and love both the films themselves and the actor who gave us many pleasant memories. And this is one of them.
9 out of 10