The Conspirators

There are finales that feel like a victory lap… and there are finales that feel like the network closing the book mid-sentence. The Conspirators is a bit of both. It’s the last film of the original 1971–78 run, and you can sense the show trying to go out on something bigger than a jealous spouse or a corporate backstab — an international plot, an old-world cause, and a killer who’s charming and cultured.

Does it land perfectly? Not always. But it has a mood you don’t get anywhere else in classic Columbo: salt air, foghorns, Irish ballads, and limmericks.

I currently have this episode ranked 46th. (You can read the whole list here)

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Meet Joe Devlin: the poet with a side hustle

Columbo villains usually come in two flavors: respectable monsters (the kind who wear a tuxedo while committing murder) and unstable egomaniacs (the kind who can’t help telling you how smart they are). Joe Devlin is different. He’s calm, sincere, and disarmingly articulate — a soft-spoken “peace” advocate who performs Irish poetry with the ease of someone who’s done it a thousand times.

One of the episode’s best tricks is how long it lets Devlin feel almost… reasonable.

Columbo’s job, as always, is to keep the conversation gentle while calmly forcing the truth out into daylight.

The actor’s not Irish

Joe Devlin is played by Clive Revill. I’ve heard some criticism of his Irish accent which wouldn’t be totally surprising given that Revill isn’t Irish, he’s actually from New Zealand. His accent might not be very good, but overall I thought his performance was.

Neither is Mr. Pauley

Albert Paulsen, who plays the gun dealer and victim, Vincent Pauley, was born in Ecuador. Paulsen was a frequent guest star on the popular TV shows of the 70s and 80s including Kojak, Mission Impossible, and Knight Rider.

I'm not a convivial man, Mr. Devlin.

And the M11...

In fact they used two slightly different MAC-11s (an RPB Industries and an Ingram) as the weapon.

It was probably a better choice than the M10.

The pistol Devlin uses to kill Mr. Pauley doesn't really have a built-in silencer. It's a Walther PPK with an added suppressor. 

One event…split in two?

The episode starts off with Devlin performing at a fundraiser. Then we're off to the bookstore, and then Mr. Pauley comes to visit at Devlin's house and tells him they need more money. Then we're back to another fundraiser at the O'Connell home.

But if you look everybody's in the same seats and the same clothes as the opening scene. It's actually the same fundraiser. So was the opening scene just foreshadowing? Or did the director decide to save money by filming all the fundraising scenes at the same time and just trying to play it off like two different nights?

What’s the relationship with Kerry?

From early on we get to meet Kerry Malone, Devlin’s young assistant. Played very capably by Michael Horton who, by the way, is also not Irish – he’s American. It’s never clear what Devlin and Kerry’s relationship is. I suspect he’s Devlin’s nephew – the frequent references to Kerry’s mother. And he probably is.

It briefly occurred to me that he could be Devlin’s son…though his last name is different so maybe not.

Effective use of boots

Did you notice the subtle, and effective, use of Kerry’s shined boots to show that he’s the mystery motorcyclist following Mr. Pauley?

Does Kate O’Connell look familiar?

She didn’t to me either, but the actress is Jeanette Nolan who in Season 2 played Mrs. Peck in Double Shock. She does a wonderful job as the Irish matriarch even though, like most of the rest of the cast, she's not Irish (She was born in Los Angeles).

Kate O'Connell in Columbo: The Conspirators

Mrs. Peck in Columbo: Double Shock

He may have seen those self-same streets...

George O'Connell is played by Bernard Behrens. He's also not Irish, but he is from London, so entirely possible he's been to Belfast. They play off his accent by saying he's of Irish descent but has never been to Belfast. 

Behrens worked pretty steadily through the 1970s and 1980s including on McCloud, Baretta, and Starsky and Hutch.

Devlin is a confident killer

Despite his pretense as a peaceful poet, when the moment comes Devlin is cool and controlled as can be.

We execute traitors, Mr. Pauley.

One shot in the heart without even a hint of emotion. His involvement in the IRA may be quite a bit deeper than just a juvenile delinquent who now raises money.

There's a policeman in the parlor

I thought it was a nice touch that just as Devlin has given his confident speech to George about how they're safe because nobody can connect Pauley to them...Kerry emerges to announce that Columbo is there to speak with him.

It's a nice metaphor for the episode where Devlin's confidence is repeatedly, reluctantly, unraveled by Columbo. Right up to the end, when Devlin is certain the guns have gotten away (even if he might not)...and then the Coast Guard arrives.

I love a good bookstore

It’s a cute scene when Columbo goes to the bookstore and meets Angela the book lady (played by Deborah White). The scene is a bit long-winded given that all it conveys is what “Ourselves alone” means, but it’s pleasant so I forgave that.

Chuck Jensen, Jensen RV

LQ Jones plays Chuck Jensen, the RV and gun dealer. He’s very careful on their first meeting, giving off no indication that he knows Mr. Pauley or what the deal is about. Smart play in his line of work, he needs to be wary of law enforcement.

Later he tracks down Devlin at the radio station, and that’s a nice scene.

Devlin: Where’s the merchandise?

Jensen: You’re sittin’ on it.

A quick location detour

If you enjoy tracking down Columbo locations, one of the most talked-about real-world spots is Devlin’s Malibu “rustic clifftop” place, filmed at a property on Zumirez Drive.

According to Columbo location researcher David Koenig, Devlin’s house was at 6728 Zumirez Dr., Malibu — a clifftop complex that’s difficult to see from the street and hard to recognize because the episode mainly uses interiors and the backside of the home.

He knows

When Columbo visits the O’Connell home, while he’s waiting in the parlor, he’s whistling “This Old Man”.

And he tries

Columbo pulls out one of his familiar tricks. He’s talking about Pauley’s murder with the O’Connells and Devlin, then suddenly changes the subject to needlepoint, leaving them in suspense. It’s a very common Columbo tactic to put the suspect off guard.

The needlepoint is important

The needlepoint is a key part of the story, though, it clearly establishes the O'Connell flag...errr, company emblem.

Ilkon Tak

The cargo ship featured in the movie was a real ship. Built in the UK and launched as the “Manchester Faith” in 1959, she went through a few owners, and a few names, before being sold to Marlineas Oceanicas SA in 1970 and renamed Ilkon Tak.

She was sold again in 1979 to a shipping company in Panama and renamed Chryseis, before eventually being scrapped in Pakistan in 1982.

The captain – Sean McClory

The captain of the Ilkon Tak is played by Sean McClory. He’s one of the few actual Irishmen in this episode, born in Dublin in 1924.

An offer he refused

If Tony Giorgio, as Harry, the gun dealer who only sells stuff under license, looks familiar it's because he was Bruno Tattaglia in The Godfather.

Clever dialogue

Probably no surprise in an episode where the antagonist is a poet but there’s a lot of clever dialogue. Did you catch where Columbo excuses himself from the search of the ship to return to the search for the killer? Devlin says “Fencing the hen house is one thing…” (prevent the guns from boarding the ship) “…catching the fox in another.” (catch the murderer)

Columbo’s limerick about the pelican is actually a famous piece by American poet Ogden Nash. 

And a warning...

There once was a fella named Finnegan

Who escaped from a jail so to sin again

He broke laws by the dozen

He even stole from his cousin

So the jail he broke outta he's in again.

That had to resonate with Devlin, who we learned earlier escaped from an English prison. Maybe a veiled vow to put him back in prison.

On the radio

Devlin has a guest spot on radio station KGIL, which was a real radio station at the time. But not exactly real is radio host Carole Hemmingway (played convincingly by...umm...Carole Hemmingway). She's a real person, but just an actress, not a radio host.

Shame about Mr. Pauley

There’s a curious moment at the pub, sort of late in the episode, where Kerry says “Shame about Mr. Pauley.” Devlin responds with a comment about Pauley not being the first “innocent victim”. 

I think that's actually a fairly deep exchange. Kerry has just spotted the arrival of Columbo, who is getting closer and closer and has become a real problem to the operation. Kerry may mean that it's a shame not because Pauley is dead, but because the murder has brought Columbo into their business.

Devlin may have responded the way he did because he has realized, now that he's met Jensen, that in fact Pauley did intend to deliver the guns and wasn't trying to double-cross them.

That’s the Coast Guard, to stop the ship

The gotcha is nicely played, if perhaps a bit long. I’ve sometimes wondered if the Coast Guard helicopter was added to make sure that the flag on the tug boat stood up so you could clearly see that it was the O’Connell flag....err company emblem. The downdraft from the helicopter conveniently hovering nearby ensured there was enough wind.

A couple of problems

One thing that always bothered me…Devlin wasn’t wearing gloves when he killed Pauley. Did he carefully wipe every fingerprint off that room? Including off the bottle, and the door handle? And the door handle of the stairway? Hard to believe his prints wouldn't have been somewhere at the scene.

Devlin meticulously took every scrap of paper from the room (except the one hidden under the lamp, apparently) but why did he leave the copy of his own book there? That was the thing that ultimately linked him to Pauley.

Another…how did Devlin know where Pauley was killed. We see Columbo in the hotel room, meticulously inspecting where the bottle and the body fell. Then suddenly Devlin enters the room. How did he know that was where the crime happened? And he just walks right in – no knock?

And some poetic license

Diamonds don't actually leave universally unique scratches. Yes, different diamonds may leave different scratches depending on their individual size and shape, but not in the sense that you could conclusively identify one based only on a scratch.

Best you could establish is that there was a good likelihood that identical bottles of the same brand of whiskey that had all been scratched in the same manner were probably scratched by the same person. Matching it to the diamond though? Not likely.

Just a few more things…

• Right in the first moments you catch a glimpse of Columbo occasional Mickey Golden. He’s behind the donation barrel while Devlin is playing at the fundraiser.

• Pauley’s hotel room is another example of a frequent curiosity in Columbo – it’s got a fireplace. But it’s a hotel room, undoubtedly in a tower. Where’s the chimney? In real life I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel room with a fireplace. In Columbo hotel rooms, and offices, and all sorts of rooms seem to have fireplaces.

• Devlin’s interaction with Brandon (played by John McCann) certainly turned ugly fast. One moment they’re talking about M16s, the next moment he’s telling Devlin to “Go to hell.”

What did you think of The Conspirators? Let us know in the comments below!