Peter Falk

[calimac]

Everybody's been mourning the death of Peter Falk. Most of them have been using clips of Lieutenant Columbo. No. Columbo's all right, but he's far from the best of Falk. I, of course, am dearly fond of the grandfather from The Princess Bride:

"Glendora High School Winter Guard Trajectory" (Watch on YouTube)

(I don't know why the clip doesn't include the grandfather's next, sarcastic line, "Thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.")

But if you really want to see Peter Falk at his finest and most characteristic, you should take a movie I've never actually seen, except for these clips. It's called The In-Laws and it dates from 1979. Alan Arkin stars as this dentist whose daughter is getting married, and he and his wife have the fiance and his parents over for dinner. Peter Falk is the boy's dad, and this is what happens:

"J. S. Bach - Die Brandenburgische Konzerte (Vinyl Rip)" (Watch on YouTube)

Life with a guy like that is going to get a little complicated, don't you think?

"Georgs Pelecis - Concertino bianco for piano and chamber orchestra in C major" (Watch on YouTube)

Now that was Peter Falk at his Peter Falkiest.

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

Now "The In-Laws" is something I want to see.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

It's a movie that can be watched more than once, and in between times you will be recounting scenes and dialog with others who have seen it. "Serpentine!" "I would like to keess heem!"

Dick Libertini is outstanding in it as well. I always want to call him Peter Passman, because he's a ringer for the guy who used to be my Volkswagen mechanic.

[eddyerrol.livejournal.com]

I'm too young to remember Columbo, but I enjoyed his brief performance in the wonderful movie Wings of Desire, in which he plays himself (and also happens to be an angel...).

Ed