Another made-for-TV effort available for free online, this one featuring Columbo himself, Peter Falk, is 2003’s magical festive mystery Finding John Christmas. Falk appears in a small but pivotal role as Max, a wise old angel who pops up from time to time in crap disguises to dole out cryptic advice to help the protagonists solve a yuletide enigma. We get a few twists and turns along the way but the outcome of this tale is never in doubt from the moment that it’s telegraphed that Max is an all-powerful celestial being pulling the strings.
Tormented by survivor’s guilt following a blaze that killed some kids ten years ago, ex-firefighter-turned-hobo Hank (William Russ) shuffles back into town, looking to quietly pay off debts and make amends. However, his cover is blown when photojournalist Noah (David Cubitt)’s picture of him gets him recognised as that hero who disappeared. The press launch a festive campaign to find him, dubbing him ‘John Christmas’ in the sort of implausible plot you only get in the movies.
Noah is enlisted by Hank’s long lost sister Kathleen (Valerie Bertinelli) to track him down. Noah’s also hiding a secret - how come jolly old Max, who was in the shot when the photo was taken, doesn't show up in the negatives? Could a heavenly, unseen force have a hand in all this? Oh yeah, and Kathleen and Noah are both attractive and single. Wonder how that'll turn out.
This one is an odd fusion of thriller, gentle comedy and supernatural mystery, with some random song and dance numbers chucked in. It’s a strange duck of a film, though it’s fun to watch an ageing Falk get stuck into an old-timey showtune routine. Here he pops up as a mutton-chopped fireman, a kindly janitor and more, working his magic on Noah’s camera and leaving cryptic clues to help them find Hank. It’s unclear why Max can’t just point everyone in the right direction without all the enigmatic nonsense.
It’s still a thought-provoking tale about the mental anguish that often comes with being the survivor of a tragedy. Sadly, though, there are too many plot contrivances with the writers falling back on the old ‘guardian angel’ trope as a way of cutting narrative corners. Still, it’s interesting for a while and Columbo is always a delightful, welcome presence.
This one is a sequel to another Falk-as-angel TV movie called A Town Without Christmas, which must have been popular, as they made another one after this one. That one isn’t free on Youtube when I check though, so maybe I’ll watch it some other time. Maybe not.
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