Peter Falk Movies
Best known as the rumpled television detective Columbo, character actor Peter Falk has also enjoyed a successful film career, often in association with the groundbreaking independent filmmaker John Cassavetes. Born September 16, 1927, in New York City, Falk lost an eye at the age of three, resulting in the odd, squinting gaze which later became his trademark. He initially pursued a career in public administration, serving as an efficiency expert with the Connecticut Budget Bureau, but in the early '50s, boredom with his work sparked an interest in acting. By 1955, Falk had turned professional, and an appearance in a New York production of The Iceman Cometh earned him much attention. He soon graduated to Broadway and in 1958 made his feature debut in the Nicholas Ray/Budd Schulberg drama Wind Across the Everglades.
A diminutive, stocky, and unkempt presence, Falk's early screen roles often portrayed him as a blue-collar type or as a thug; it was as the latter in 1960's Murder Inc. that he earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, a major career boost. He was nominated in the same category the following year as well, this time as a sarcastic bodyguard in Frank Capra's Pocketful of Miracles. In 1962, Falk won an Emmy for his work in the television film The Price of Tomatoes, a presentation of the Dick Powell Theater series. The steady stream of accolades made him a hot property, and he next starred in the 1962 feature Pressure Point. A cameo in Stanley Kramer's 1963 smash It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World preceded Falk's appearance in the Rat Pack outing Robin and the Seven Hoods, but the film stardom many predicted for him always seemed just out of reach, despite lead roles in 1965's The Great Race and 1967's Luv.
In 1968, Falk first assumed the role of Columbo, the disheveled police lieutenant whose seemingly slow and inept investigative manner masked a steel-trap mind; debuting in the TV movie Prescription: Murder, the character was an immediate hit, and after a second telefilm, Ransom for a Dead Man, a regular Columbo series premiered as part of the revolving NBC Mystery Movie anthology in the fall of 1971, running for seven years and earning Falk a second Emmy in the process. In the meantime, he also continued his film career, most notably with Cassavetes; in 1970, Falk starred in the director's Husbands, and in 1974 they reunited for the brilliant A Woman Under the Influence. In between the two pictures, Falk also returned to Broadway, where he won a Tony award for his performance in the 1972 Neil Simon comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue. In 1976, Cassavetes joined him in front of the camera to co-star in Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky, and directed him again in 1977's Opening Night.
After Columbo ceased production in 1978, Falk starred in the Simon-penned mystery spoof The Cheap Detective, followed by the William Friedkin caper comedy The Brink's Job (1978). After 1979's The In-Laws, he starred two years later in ...All the Marbles, but was then virtually absent from the screen for the next half decade. Cassavetes' 1986 effort Big Trouble brought Falk back to the screen (albeit on a poor note; Cassavetes later practically disowned the embarrassing film) and and in 1987 he starred in Happy New Year along with the Rob Reiner cult favorite The Princess Bride. An appearance as himself in Wim Wenders' masterful Wings of Desire in 1988 preceded his 1989 resumption of the Columbo character for another regular series; the program was to remain Falk's focus well into the next decade, with only a handful of film appearances in pictures including 1990's Tune in Tomorrow and a cameo in Robert Altman's The Player. After the cancellation of Columbo, he next turned up in Wenders' Desire sequel Far Away, So Close before starring in the 1995 comedy Roommates.
Falk continued to work in both film and television for the next decade and a half, starring in various Columbo specials through 2003, appearing with Woody Allen in the made-for-TV The Sunshine Boys in 1997, and playing a bar owner caught up in mafia dealings in 1999's The Money Kings. Other projects included the Adam Sandler-produced gangster comedy Corky Romano (2001), the Dreamworks animated family film A Shark Tale (as the voice of Ira Feinberg), and the Paul Reiser-scripted, Raymond de Felitta-directed comedy-drama The Thing About My Folks (2005). In 2007, Falk starred opposite Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore in Lee Tamahori's sci-fi thriller Next. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Let's see: who is the character played by Fisher Stevens supposed to be? Stevens plays an egomaniacal Hollywood director, whose negligence causes an on-set death. Cleared of all responsibility, Stevens is confronted with cold, hard evidence of his complicity by the victim's brother. The director then utilizes his knowledge of special effects to murder his accuser and make the whole thing look like an accident. Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk), however, suspects foul play. With such clues as traveller's check and a pair of ice cream sodas at his disposal, Columbo slowly tightens the noose around Stevens' neck. The two-hour Columbo: Murder, Smoke and Shadows was originally telecast February 27, 1989, as part of the ABC Monday Mystery Movie package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Columbo: Murder, A Self Portrait stars Patrick Bauchau as an artist hounded by a contentious ex-wife (Fionulla Flanagan). He murders his former spouse on the beach at Malibu, but arranges things to make it seem he was far away in his art studio at the time of the killing. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) has heard this song before, and he meticulously chips away at the artist's alibi. Also in the cast is Shera Danese, a.k.a. Mrs. Peter Falk. Murder, A Self Portrait was one of the handful of Columbo 2-hour episodes shown during the 1989-1990 season on The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Robert Foxworth is special guest murderer in the two-hour Columbo drama Grand Deceptions. Foxworth plays a retired Army colonel, currently fronting a paramilitary organization. He preaches duty, honor and country, all the while dipping into the organization's funds. When a colleague threatens to blow the whistle, Foxworth murders the man, making the killing look like an accident. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) suspects that the colonel is guilty, but finds it difficult penetrating his phalanx of followers. Viewers were first treated to Columbo's customary diligence in Grand Deceptions on May 1, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
Directed by Susan Seidelman and written by Alice Arlen and Nora Ephron, Cookie comes across as an inconsequential piece of fluff, bolstered by a quirky performance by Emily Lloyd. Lloyd is Cookie Capisco, the daughter of mobster Dino Capisco (Peter Falk), who has just finished thirteen years in prison. Dino wants to get out of jail, settle some old scores, and make up for lost time with his daughter. His illegitimate daughter, that is -- since Cookie's mother, Lenore (Dianne Wiest), has been Dino's longtime mistress. Dino's actual wife Bunny (Brenda Vaccaro) has, he thinks, been kept in the dark about Dino's mistress and his daughter. Dino decides that the best way to get to know Cookie is to hire her as his chauffeur. With her ears attuned to the conspiracies floating around Dino, she quickly discovers that her father's old crony, Carmine (Michael V. Gazzo), has been swindling him and that Dino's life is in jeopardy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Dianne Wiest, (more)
- 1988
Diamonds and food are the subjects of Reading Rainbow: Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner. In the featured story, written by Eileen Christelow, jewel thieves threaten the safety of Lola Dog's prized diamonds. LeVar Burton learns the duties of a cook at a diner, and in another entertaining segment, a pasta maker is shown at work. Other books reviewed in the program include A Cache of Jewels and other Collective Nouns by Ruth Heller, Better Homes and Gardens Step-by-Step Kids' Cookbook, edited by Gerald Knox, and Aunt Eater Loves a Mystery by Doug Cushman. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- LeVar Burton
Two hapless psychics unwittingly aid a criminal in his quest to obtain a mystic relic in this farcical adventure. Street smart beauty-school dropout Sylvia Pickel (Cyndi Lauper) navigates life with the counsel of a spirit named Louise, while genteel Nick Deezy (Jeff Goldblum) has the ability to "read" an object's past just by holding it. Harry Buscafusco (Peter Falk) is the treasure hunter who brings them together for a trip to Ecuador to find his missing son. Nick and Sylvia don't get on at first, their animosity only amplified by various slapstick escapades that find them posing as siblings and hobnobbing with monied jet-setters. Eventually, Buscafusco's missing-child premise turns out to be a ruse; his true intentions envelop Nick and Sylvia in serious peril just as they're beginning to let down their guard and fall for one another. The action climaxes in a special effects-laden jungle sequence. Vibes marked the screen debut of pop singer Cyndi Lauper, whose single "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" graces the closing credits. Despite the poor box-office results of Vibes and the generally poor reviews for her performance, Lauper would go on to earn an Emmy award for a guest stint on TV's Mad About You and appear with Christopher Walken in the indie drama The Opportunists. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
- 1988
Walter (Kent Andersson) is a retired sailor and former boxer who meets a 13-year-old prostitute and drug addict (Ulrika Hansson) in this symbolic action drama. Moved by her plight, he complains to the local police about the problem of child prostitution and drug dealing in the area. When they do nothing to stop the problem, Walter recruits Carina (Eva Britt Strandberg), a veteran hooker with a heart of gold (or course) to track down the gangleaders who force the young girls into sexual slavery and drug addiction. Carina's presence keeps Walter from being killed as she accompanies him through the seamier side of the Stockholm underworld. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Andersson, Ulrika Hansson, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Happy New Year is an Americanized remake of the 1974 French film of the same name. Peter Falk and Charles Durning play Nick and Charlie, a pair of seedy but suave jewel thieves. Preparing to rob the exclusive Florida jewelry store managed by Tom Courtenay, Nick and Charlie meticulously pre-plan their heist, adopting a variety of false identities and silly costumes along the way. Unfortunately for our heroes, Nick becomes enamored of Caroline (Wendy Hughes, in her American film debut), the beautiful owner of the antique shop next door to the jewelry store. Nick's fascination with Caroline effectively scuttles his and Charlies' "perfect" crime. Claude Lelouch, writer/director of the original Happy New Year, appears in an amusing cameo role. Bedeviled with production problems, the Falk-Durning Happy New Year didn't see the light of day until nearly a year after its completion; after a fitful theatrical release, the film went straight to video, where it finally built up a following. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Charles Durning, (more)
Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is staged as a book read by grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Falk's character assures a romance-weary Savage that the book has much more to deliver than a simpering love story, including but not limited to fencing, fighting, torture, death, true love, giants, and pirates. Indeed, The Princess Bride offers a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale depicting stable boy-turned-pirate Westley's journey to rescue Buttercup (Robin Wright), his true love, away from the evil prince (Chris Sarandon), whom she had agreed to marry five years after learning of what she had believed to be news of Westley's death. With help from Prince Humperdinck's disgruntled former employee Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a very large man named Fezzik (Andre the Giant), the star-crossed lovers are reunited. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who watch over the city of Berlin. They don't have harps or wings (well, they usually don't have wings) and they prefer overcoats to gossamer gowns. But they can travel unseen through the city, listening to people's thoughts, watching their actions and studying their lives. While they can make their presence felt in small ways, only children and other angels can see them. They spend their days serenely observing, unable to interact with people, and they feel neither pain nor joy. One day, Damiel finds his way into a circus and sees Marion (Solveig Dommartin), a high-wire artist, practicing her act; he is immediately smitten. After the owners of the circus tell the company that the show is out of money and must disband, Marion sinks into a funk, shuffling back to her trailer to ponder what to do next. As he watches her, Damiel makes a decision: he wants to be human, and he wants to be with Marion, to lift her spirits and, if need be, to share her pain. Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire is a remarkable modern fairy tale about the nature of being alive. The angels witness the gamut of human emotions, and they experience the luxury of simple pleasures (even a cup of coffee and a cigarette) as ones who've never known them. From the angels' viewpoint, Berlin is seen in gorgeous black-and-white -- strikingly beautiful but unreal; when they join the humans, the image shifts to rough but natural-looking color, and the waltz-like grace of the angels' drift through the city changes to a harsher rhythm. Peter Falk appears as himself, revealing a secret that we may not have known about the man who played Columbo, and there's also a brief but powerful appearance by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Wings of Desire hinges on the intangible and elusive, and it builds something beautiful from those qualities. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, (more)
It took nearly two years after its completion for Big Trouble to reach the big screen. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are respectively cast as a shady wheeler-dealer and an uptight family man. Strapped for the cash necessary to send his son to Yale, Arkin reluctantly enters into a murder scheme with Beverly D'Angelo. She is married to Falk, who, though he hasn't got long to live due to a heart ailment, may very well spend every penny D'Angelo has before he expires. Arkin is persuaded to kill Falk before this happens, then split the money with D'Angelo. To Arkin's amazement he finds himself the victim of a carefully prepared confidence scam engineered by Falk and D'Angelo. Now that he has a hold over Arkin, Falk gets the poor fellow mixed up in yet another "perfect crime". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, (more)
- 1984
Filmed in 1984, I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes was released in 1989, the year of the subject's death. Filmmaker Michael Ventura follows Cassavetes around as the actor/director labors on his final film, Love Streams. This is warts-and-all material; Cassavetes makes no attempt at diplomacy if something displeases him, nor are the actors averse to putting in their two cents' worth. Cassavetes' real-life wife (and Love Streams star) Gene Rowlands is among the peripheral characters in this stream-of-consciousness documentary. Running 60 minutes, I'm Almost Not Crazy... still finds time to include a capsule biography of John Cassavetes and an assessment of his key films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, (more)
- 1981
- R
Director Robert Aldrich's last film, All the Marbles stars Peter Falk as a "win-at-all-costs" type manager of a ladies tag-team wrestling combo. These girls are good and Falk wants them great. And he doesn't really care what they've got to do to get there. (This film's "R" rating is not for Raunchy, but it could be for "Revealing.") Following sort of a Rocky theme, this film finds our ladies tag team climbing its way to the top of the women's wrestling world where they face off against the world's best. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick, (more)
The Great Muppet Caper is the second Muppet film and it is considerably more complex than its predecessor, The Muppet Movie, which was essentially just a road movie. As the film begins, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are reporters who have failed to bag a story of a London jewel heist, which happened under their watch. The real criminals managed to escape and frame Miss Piggy as the thief. Kermit, Fozzie and the Great Gonzo set out on a mission to solve the mystery and track down the criminals who stole the Baseball Diamond. There are fewer star cameos and songs in The Great Muppet Caper than in The Muppet Movie, although appearances from John Cleese and Charles Grodin are particularly memorable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg, (more)
Dentist Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin) is a respectable man. He has a daughter who is about to marry the son of a very suspicious character, Vince Ricardo (Peter Falk). They are practically relatives already, the wedding is so near. Certainly, Sheldon already despises Vince as if he were already a well-known relative. Nontheless, Vince calls on Sheldon and convinces him to go with him on a series of wild and hilarious adventures, claiming all the while that he is a CIA agent, and that what he is doing is in the national interest. Sheldon follows Vince to a South American country ruled by a very odd man, General Garcia (Richard Libertini), who talks to his hand (which talks back). It seems that the dictator is involved in a scheme to counterfeit and undermine U.S. currency. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, (more)
- 1978
At first glance, How to Dial a Murder would seem to be a TV remake of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. But no, it's a 90-minute installment in the Columbo series, as we soon discover. Nicol Williamson guest stars as a wealthy psychologist and movie buff. He has already murdered his wife, and now he intends to do in her lover. To deflect suspicion from himself, he sets up the killing by phone. The victim-to-be answers, is prodded into repeating the word "Rosebud"-and is then torn asunder by Williamson's dobermans, who've been conditioned to attack upon hearing this verbal clue. Williamson manages to be miles away when the murder is pulled off. Still, the diligent Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) manages to beard the culprit in his memorabilia-laden den. How to Dial a Murder originally aired April 15, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Trish Van Devere plays a television executive (evidently inspired by Faye Dunaway in Network) in the made-for-TV Make Me a Perfect Murder. Denied a promotion, Ms. Van Devere retaliates by "cancelling" her boss--permanently. Utilizing her knowledge of TV mysteries, she manages to misdirect the trail of evidence. But Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) isn't quite as gullible as your average TV fan. Make Me a Perfect Murder was the February 25, 1978 installment of the ongoing Columbo series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The Conspirators was one of four Columbo feature-length TV specials irregularly scheduled during the 1977-1978 TV season. The titular conspirators are Irish political terrorists, funded by Americans. Clive Revill is an Irish poet who murders an arms dealer (Bernard Behrens) while the poet is gunrunning to his compatriots in Ireland. The murderer is certain that he's thoroughly covered her tracks--until Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) shambles onto the scene. Columbo: The Conspirators was filmed at a time when Peter Falk was insisting that he would hang up the lieutenant's raincoat for good; no way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Directed by Arnold Shapiro, this 1970s documentary brought 17 juvenile delinquents to a maximum security New Jersey prison and left them to spend the day with some of the most notoriously dangerous criminals behind bars. The inmates -- who were, for the most part, serving life sentences -- offered the troubled kids a disturbingly realistic, no-holds-barred account of prison life and all of the brutality that comes with the territory. Scared Straight! won an Oscar in 1978 for Best Documentary Feature, and was revisited in the mid-'90s when MTV recreated the show in hopes of reaching new young delinquents. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- PG
In 1950, a Brink's armored truck in Boston was robbed by a highly organized gang decked out in Halloween masks. The Brink's Job is an occasionally humorous account of that "perfect crime." Peter Falk stars as the mastermind behind the robbery, who assembles a bunch of two-bit hoods who in any other circumstance would be written off as born losers. The success of the caper hinges upon Brink's rather arrogant assumption that its trucks are unassailable and their guards are always on their toes. Wrong on both counts! This comic suspenser was based on The Big Stick Up at Brink's, a book by Noel Behn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, (more)
Spoofing the entire 1940s detective genre, and his own performances as a bumbling private detective, Peter Falk plays Lou Pekinpaugh, a San Francisco private detective accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress, the partner's wife, Georgia Merkle (Marsha Mason). Police Lieutenant DiMaggio (Vic Tayback) has his eye on Lou and blunders around in a way which complicates Lou's efforts to clear his name. Lou gets a new client when Mrs. Montenegro (Madeline Kahn) and her cronies (John Housman, Paul Williams and Dom DeLuise) hire him to search out a dozen diamond eggs. Marlene DuChard (Louise Fletcher) also comes to him for help of a complicated nature. In this madcap comedy written by Neil Simon, obstacles and complications appear every few minutes, and a great many famous actors show up in hilarious cameos. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1977
Five new Columbo episodes, each running between 90 and 120 minutes, were produced for the series' seventh season as a component of The NBC Mystery Movie. Peter Falk returns as raincoat-wearing, cigar-chomping, deceptively scatterbrained homicide detective Lt. Columbo, who always manages to piece together the clues and come to the right conclusion no matter how clever the murderer thinks he or she has been in planning the "perfect crime." In the first episode, "Try and Catch Me," Ruth Gordon guest stars as an Agatha Christie-style author of murder mysteries who meticulously plot a real-life murder in order to get her nasty nephew-in-law arrested. "Murder Under Glass" finds Columbo cutting a tasty swath through the the culinary world to get the goods on a homicidal food critic (Louis Jourdan). In "Make Me a Perfect Murder", Trish VanDevere plays the assistant to a powerful television executive who kills her boss for failing to give her a promotion (shades of Network!) "How to Dial a Murder" begins with a neat spoof of Citizen Kane and segues into a "remote-control murder" involving specially conditioned attack dogs. And in "The Conspirators," Columbo crosses swords with an Irish poet who doubles as a guerilla fighter -- and triples as a murderer. And with this final episode, Columbo wraps up its seven-year run on NBC. At the time (1978), it appeared as though Peter Falk would never play the character again -- but eleven years later, Columbo was coaxed out of "retirement" for a new series of feature-length episodes, telecast on rival network ABC. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk
- 1977
The setting for this 2-hour Columbo TV drama is a club for geniuses. One of the members is Theodore Bikel, whose business partner Sorrell Booke has been embezzling funds to keep Bikel's wife (Samantha Eggar) in luxury. Murdering Booke, Bikel calls upon his reserves of brilliance to cover up all traces of his crime. But he hasn't reckoned with Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk), who may not exactly be in the genius category, but is certainly no slouch when it comes to using his little grey cells. The key prop in this outing is a phonograph. Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case first aired May 22, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Try and Catch Me could easily be the title of any episode of the TV series Columbo. It so happens, however, that this particular installment aired on June 23, 1978. Ruth Gordon guest stars as a popular mystery writer who turns one of her own plots into reality by bumping off her hateful nephew. She knows that Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on to her, but she's counting on her own literary knowhow to throw him off the trail. Fat chance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
John Cassavetes' Opening Night stars Gena Rowlands (Mrs. Cassavetes) as end-of-tether Broadway actress Myrtle Gordon. She is about to open in a play written by her old friend Sarah Goode (Joan Blondell), but a series of pre-show setbacks and disasters threaten to destroy not only the production but Myrtle's sanity. The actress is especially rattled when one of her staunchest fans dies in an accident. In the face of bleak reality, just how important is the old "show must go on" ethic? Supporting Gena Rowlands are such veterans of the New York-Hollywood shuttle as Ben Gazzara, Zohra Lampert, Paul Stewart, James Karen, and several friends and relatives of the principals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, (more)
