Columbo (TV Series) By Dawn's Early Light (1974) User Reviews

Crackerjack Columbo story

[The Welsh Raging Bull · 9/10 · 1 September 2005]

A strong and decisively emotionless performance from Patrick McGoohan, a well-sustained taut atmosphere and an effectively economical script are the main assets of this gem of a Columbo story which has a military academy as its setting for the entire duration.

McGoohan deservedly won an Emmy for his performance in which he doesn't flinch at any conversation or event in the whole episode - he remains remarkably unflappable to the end. His character is a inflexible disciplinarian, something which ironically contributes to his downfall later on...

The resolution is incisive, unpredictable and totally satisfying. A vintage Columbo episode, in which the script, plot and acting are very effective and well-judged in equal amounts.

Arguably the Series' Finest.

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 26 August 2007]

The series in the 1970s turned out some high-quality episodes that were set in unusual locations -- aboard a cruise ship at sea, in a Mexican bull breeding ranch, Scotland Yard, or (this one) at a military school, actually The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. In a TV series a radical change in settings, like a radical change in the casting, usually takes place when inspiration is flagging and ratings are dropping -- it's when a series begins gasping for air.

But Columbo was different. Not only was Falk's character plucked from his usual haunts and familiar plot lines (stumbling into a high-end world) but the change in location was blended seamlessly into the story. What a good job the writers did.

"By Dawn's Early Light" is no better in its mystery than other of the best episodes, nor is it funnier or more touching. It's lifted out of the ordinary by the insight it gives us into the lives of military cadets and, above all, by the performance of Patrick McGoohan.

McGoohan, I understand, won an award for his acting here, and deservedly so. He pulls off the role of Commandant of the school flawlessly -- without excess dramatics, idiosyncratic quirks, or anything in the way of drawing attention to his craft. His smiles are slight and tolerant. His frowns are mild and reproving. He doesn't shout except to make himself heard across distances. When he walks, it's with a determined stride, fully in character. And when he sits, he sits at attention, as if he'd been encased in ice. And that crackly, precise baritone! If a Rubik's cube could talk it might sound like this. Falk, as Columbo, does his usual good job. By this time, the role fit him like a comfortable old raincoat. And the sloppy police lieutenant is a perfect foil for the crisp commandant. The two work well off one another. McGoohan never condescends to Columbo, never ridicules him or becomes angry, even under circumstances in which we'd expect him to.

An accomplished entry in the series.

Superb performance by the late great Patrick McGoohan

[bodysurfer1111 · 9/10 · 29 December 2012]

Patrick McGoohan's steely and nuanced performance earned him an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor , but his presence on the screen is hardly "supporting". He dominates every scene in which he appears which is almost every scene in the film . It is a tour de force performance that keeps the viewers eyes glued to his tightly -wound ,explosive face and body that he keeps under control so well . His trademark sly smile and clipped verbal delivery from "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" are still there . We just don't see this kind of pure acting on TV anymore from a character that is allowed so much screen time without the usual gimmicky intrusions or plot diversions . This episode is sheer joy to watch as 2 very fine artists play their roles to perfection .

A great way to remember Patrick McGoohan

[buzzbomb-3 · 10/10 · 19 January 2009]

I totally agree with another post which suggests this episode and the episode "Any Old Port In A Storm" are two of the best Colombo shows made.

The great thing about the Colombo character is that he is very human and as such he understands humanity. He doesn't seem to judge or moralise unless the killer hurts a woman. The best Colombo stories focus on the relationship that grows between the detective and the killer and this is one of those episodes.

Just as in "Any Old Port In A Storm" the killer's way of life is about to be taken away from him, everything he holds dear is is in the hands of someone who just doesn't care. I suspect Col Rumsford (McGoohan) doesn't murder the victim just for his own sake but for the sake of the academy and the boys who attend there.

Patrick McGoohan's performance in this show is exceptional, on the surface Col Rumsford is an un-sympathetic character, he is rigid, he reveals little of himself and he is very strict. But this isn't a two dimensional bad guy, we somehow sense that he is torn between blaming a cadet for the murder and succumbing to his instinct to protect the boy. McGoohan achieves this inner conflict with amazing subtlety and nuance. To be honest I didn't think he was capable of this level of acting, but I was quite moved by his performance.

This episode is a great way to remember Patrick McGoohan, highly recommended.

Be seeing you

Just Fantastic!

[g-winchester · 10/10 · 1 November 2006]

Just fantastic! Along with 'Any Old Port in a Storm' (Donald Plesance) this is in my opinion, one of the two best Columbo episodes ever made. The story is gripping from start to finish, the direction is tight, the script is full of wonderful moments, and the acting is superb as the two leads spark off one and other. Patrick McGoohan fully deserves the Emmy he won for his performance here.The characterisation is excellent too. Although it's impossible to condone murder, you can almost sympathise with McGoohan's character, such is the strength of his performance. He has no family and his military academy is his whole life. In a sense he loves it and would do anything to protect it; even kill a man who tries to, in effect, destroy it. The supporting players all put in enjoyable turns too and despite their short amount of screen time, play fully developed characters rather than just one dimensional cardboard cut-outs. I must have watched 'By Dawn's Early Light' a dozen times, and I will probably watch a dozen times more in the the future. What more can I say? Go and watch it!

Excellent mystery with good logical conclusion

[Rosabel · 29 December 1999]

Another fine Columbo episode, as the detective investigates a murder at a military academy. Patrick McGoohan plays Col. Rumford, the academy commander, in one of his best Columbo performances. He is always good at roles like this one, playing characters who are extremely controlled and keep their inner lives veiled. His use of psychology to lure his victim to his death and to set up an obnoxious cadet to take the fall is beautifully matched by Columbo's parallel study of psychology as he starts to unravel the plot. The conclusion of the mystery is particularly satisfying, as it depends not upon tricking an admission from the murderer, but from linking together his own statements and trapping him in his own words. McGoohan is great in the last scene, accepting his defeat without flinching.

A change of venue for the series.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 7 September 2019]

Patrick McGoohan stars as Colonel Rumford, the commandant of a military academy. For this role, he receives an Emmy Award.

When the story begins, Rumford is meeting with Mr. Haynes, a man who is the chairman of the board of the school. It seems that Haynes is NOT a fan of Rumford or the school and he tells Rumford he's planning on turning this college into a co-ed community college. At this point, EVERY viewer knows that soon Rumford will kill Haynes...which he soon does. But the method...that's something else. See the show....see what I mean.

This is a decent episode, though I was not 100% sure why McGoohan got the Emmy, though I will admit he was a very good actor. I enjoyed the odd plot and location, though I thought the resolution of the case at the end seemed a tad farfetched. Still, it is worth seeing. And, if you care, apparently the episode was filmed at the Citadel in South Carolina.

a pinnacle of Columbo episodes

[fcasnette · 10/10 · 18 January 2007]

maybe my favourite Columbo and maybe the best too.

Just look at McGoohans eyes behind that stiff and unyielding exterior, particularly in the one scene where he unbends a little in the office interview with the Lieutenant. No wonder he won the Emmy for this performance.

The contrast in his style with Falks is the highlight of this episode, no wonder they became good friends with many invitations to come back as yet another murderer and also to direct. They bounce off each other superbly taking an already high quality TV series into new realms.

Highly recommended.

Well-Acted Columbo TV Thriller

[ShootingShark · 6/10 · 8 May 2005]

A by-the-book Colonel in charge of a military academy kills the grandson of the school's founder when he threatens to turn it into a coed college. However, Lieutenant Columbo uses the Colonel's own tenacity in enforcing the rules to expose him as the killer.

Of all Peter Falk's sparring partners on his Columbo TV movies, my personal favourite is McGoohan, purely because he is such a profoundly different actor who contrasts with the scruffy, idiosyncratic Columbo marvellously. Here he expertly plays an ageing military man whose religion of discipline ultimately leads to his downfall. Unusually, this story takes place entirely within one location, with Columbo sleeping on the base, and much mirth is to be found in his adjusting to the military timetable. A great little crime story, featuring two excellent leading performances.

Great Battle of Wits

[gonsalvesb · 9/10 · 15 August 2003]

Columbo vs. Patrick McGoohan's character is a classic -- better than many films, keeps you on edge and wondering the whole way. Definitely worth watching if you can find it. Here you see two actors who really know how to fill out a character and make him come to life. Huge fun.

Great acting but the story drags

[mapeoleaf · 6/10 · 26 August 2007]

I would agree that the acting is excellent in this episode of Columbo and it was very cool to see a young Bruno Kirby. It is fascinating to watch McGoohan portray the Colonel with such cold, calculated wit. It is a very consistent performance and he definitely deserved the Emmy award he received for it.

Although I have to say I felt this episode dragged on a bit compared to the other episodes I have seen. Nonetheless it appears to be very popular among fans so I guess I may have to re watch it again to see what I may have missed!

At this time my rating is: 6.5/10

One of the best

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 13 March 2011]

I am a huge fan of Columbo, and I love this episode. In fact By Dawn's Early Light is in my top 5 of the best Columbo episodes. My only slight disappointment was the opening shot which wasn't as striking as it could have been, but with everything else so good it is so easy to forget.

The photography and locations are striking once again, the music is both haunting and beautiful and the direction is tight. The story is always involving with no dull moments and a premise and final solution that delighted me on first viewing and still does with some of the interaction and the little things, and the writing is some of the best in a Columbo episode. The cast are on top-form. Peter Falk as he always is is brilliant, and Patrick McGoohan in an exceptional performance is more than a match for him.

Overall, one of the best Columbo episodes and it couldn't be a more perfect tribute to McGoohan too. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Superior mystery

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 15 December 2015]

BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT is a particularly good episode of the Columbo TV series thanks to an above average and literate script that focuses on characterisation and plotting over light comic relief and overdone clue-solving. There's noticeably less comedy in this episode, which is set at a military academy, but it makes up for that with a tight and compelling mystery.

The story also benefits from the presence of Patrick McGoohan as the guest villain of the week. McGoohan was one of the finest of all Columbo guest actors and would return to the series over and over again over the years. Like Donald Pleasence in ANY OLD PORT IN A STORM before him, his character is a sympathetic one and his rapport with Falk is particularly well achieved.

The unusual and constrained backdrop - the whole thing takes place in the academy - gives this film a unique look and flavour, almost claustrophobic at times. Columbo's problem-solving is realistic and not sloppily written like it sometimes could be. It's definitely one of the detective's finest outings.

Not so great ep---what a bunch of crazy, overly favorable reviews!!!!

[smithbea · 5/10 · 21 September 2020]

McGoohan turns in a mostly one-note acting job as the head of the academy. He is totally boring in a scene all by himself. The only poster I sensibly agree with on here is the one who did not know how the late, bad-tempered, weird actor managed to win (or rather snatch) an Emmy for this. And his hair looks totally both unrealistic and ridiculously dyed!

Falk is very fine here but he is always great so that does not mean anything particularly special about this ep. The actors playing the cadets are not standouts in the slightest--any of them. Madeline Sherwood (formerly of 'The Flying Nun'), however, is brilliant as his (McGoohan's) secretary. Too bad her role was not larger even by a little. She would have been Emmy-worthy!

Contrary to popular thought. This film gets off the academy for a while as Columbo goes in pursuit of a school girl to question her about a suspect.

Foolish notion by new poster that this ep is anything like 'The Caine Mutiny'.

Excellent Acting! Excellent!! Excellent!! Excellent!!

[warlock162 · 21 April 2003]

This is one of the few Columbo's in which the acting quality is so outstanding, it makes the detective element that much better.

I did not know much about Patrick McGoohan as an actor before seeing him in this episode as Colonel Lyle C. Rumford. While I was watching this mystery, I found myself more in awe with his acting than with the actual detective element. Watching him made me look into his work more and more. As a matter of fact, I learned that McGoohan won an Emmy Award in 1974 for "Best Guest Star on a TV Series", for this episode.

If you want to see acting at its best, watch this episode the next time it shows up on the Bravo! Channel.

Traditionalist cannot come to terms with a changing world

[Moor-Larkin · 8/10 · 25 August 2005]

A traditionalist army man is confronted by modern society when the young whipper-snapper owner of his military training camp decides to make it co-ed. He resorts to a typically complex Columbo set-piece murder. Seems a little extreme just because you don't want girls in your school doesn't it!

McGoohan is heart-breaking as the lost soul who wants everything to stay the way it has always been. His victim was so lacking in any attractive characteristics that you have little sympathy for his death. Perhaps that is why the Colonel has to behave dishonourably when he tries to lay the blame for the death on one of his more inept cadets. Despite his ensuring that it looked like the cadet had merely caused an accident, you know this is unforgivable. If it wasn't for having to right that wrong you wonder if Columbo would just have called it quits and let him get away with it! McGoohan gives a further sense that once he has betrayed his own code of honour the Colonel knows that he no longer deserves to carry on. Maybe he even deliberately steps into the trap that Columbo sets for him by dawn's early light.

The setting of the piece in a claustrophobic, echoing, emptying college adds to the sense that the Colonel is being left behind by the rest of the world. Falk scuttles about the place like some alien creature, both admiring what the Colonel has achieved in his life but despairing of his inability to pass the baton and allow the next generation to have a try.

Filming Location

[mitchellt1 · 8/10 · 5 October 2007]

The episode was very good. However, the filming location of the episode is incorrect. The episode was filmed at The Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. I know this because I am a cadet there. The error should be corrected.I really enjoyed this episode, even though I watched it at two in the morning. It was interesting to see how the campus looked back then.I liked it. But it was my first Columbo episode, and I am, admittedly, a little biased. The portrayal of cadet life at the school was pretty accurate. It left out the hazing and most of the Fourth Class System, which is much worse than portrayed. The acting was very well done.

Overkill

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 26 September 2006]

**SPOILERS*** Very strange and unusual Columbo Mystery with the L.A detective totally overlooking very obvious clues in order to solve the case. We see Col. Rumford, Partrick McGoohan, the commandant of the military academy at the beginning of the movie going through the motions in fixing the shell that's to be fired off that morning on "Founders Day" by the chairman of the board of the academy William Haynes, Tom Simcox.

Haynes and Col. Rumford had been bitter enemies since Haynes was a cadet at the academy with Col. Rumford running it and running him into the ground in trying, unsuccessfully, to mold Haynes into a soldier. Now grown up in charge and looking into the future Haynes wants to turn the all male spic and polish military academy into a free wheeling anything goes co-ed collage. This has the traditionally minded Col. Rumford foaming from the mouth.

Obviously not all there upstairs Col. Rumford goes about murdering Haynes in such a distinctive way that even an armature could have found out who killed him within the first fifteen minutes. Yet it took the great Lt. Columbo, Peter Falk,the entire length of the movie to solve it. On top of that Columbo totally overlooking the most incriminating clue that would have nailed the crazed colonel, pieces of C-4 explosives, that killed Haynes when he set off the cannon, all over the parade grounds.

Columbo just glanced over the very incriminating C-4 evidence and instead of zeroing in on it, with Col. Rumford being only one of three persons in the academy who could get his hands on it, went on a wild goose chase. Columbo goes after Col. Rumpford's boodle boy Cadet Miller, Robert Clotworthy, and cadet Springer,March Wheeler. The two suspects in no way could have gotten their hands on the C-4 explosives and stuffed it in the barrel of Old Thunder.

Col. Rumford himself acted like he wanted to be caught right at the beginning of the movie by him dressing up in his parade uniform and walking down to "Old Thunder" and stuffing the cannon with his deadly concoction right in the middle of the parade grounds! It had to be a miracle that would rival those in the bible that absolutely nobody of the some 1,200 cadets and instructors saw Col.Rumford do it!

The colonel in his warped mind, while in the act of committing a cold blooded murder, noticed that the boy's in the barracks notably cadet Morgan (Bruno Kirby) were brewing moonshine, or alcohol laced cider. That lead to him having the barracks, or dorm rooms, inspected which in return lead to Lt. Columbo figuring out that the somewhat unstable Col. Rumford did it, killed William Haynes.

Col. Rumford admitting that he was at the parade grounds, at the very moment he was stuffing the cannon, when at the very same time he was fast asleep in his quarters, a physical impossibility proved that he was lying, lying to cover up his murder of Haynes. Lt. Columbo in what should have been an open and shut case in effect made it out to be one of the most brain-twisting and mind-bending, due to his own convoluted actions in solving it, murder cases that Lt. Columbo was ever on.

One of the best

[ColonelPuntridge · 9/10 · 17 February 2018]

Patrick McGoohan is a great actor but often plays one-dimensional characters. Not this time! His character is, like almost all McGoohan's characters, arrogant and ruthless, but McGoohan also makes him funny in parts (the exchange with Columbo in the dining hall, where Columbo keeps dodging his (McGoohan's) question about why he (Columbo) was dissatisfied by Cadet Springer's account of his whereabouts the night before the murder), and even wistful and sympathetic, when he talks about retiring to his garden, and his white roses, while he and Columbo are smoking cigars together. This is a very beautiful scene: he is confessing to Columbo that he really has nothing in his life except his job running the Academy - no family, no love. Somehow, McGoohan maintains his dead-pan and monotone, but makes the scene as intimate as a monologue Othello might have spoken, or as the aria Rigoletto sings, regretting his own deformed personality: "Pari siamo ... O uomini, o natura!"

We also get plenty of the standard McGoohan greatness: his huge, penetrating shouting voice (he was also a theater-actor) and abrupt transition from a low growl to a theater-filling upper-register shout (as in "Atten-n-n-n-n-n-SHUN!!!" and "Check the vent. CHECK the VENT!!!") and, his steely menace ("I intend to find the cider, and PUNISH the CULPRITS!"); also his smooth delivery of cutting insults ("It's people like you who have turned this country into a moral junkyard.")

He also displays his special way of making his characters unsettling and unnerving, by pausing at inappropriate or surprising moments during a sentence. For example: his reply when Columbo asks what is in a blank cannon-charge: "Sodium nitrate and cotton (pause) wadding." And, "beware of a misplaced (pause) sense of justice!" And (speaking to Cadet Springer) "There is a distinct possibility that you (pause) may be charged (pause) with murder." He does the same thing in most of his movies.

He also demonstrates the art of acting while NOT speaking. Try turning off the sound and watching his expression of face change as he reacts when Columbo is speaking to him.

He can even emote with his back to the camera: when he's walking away and Columbo calls "Oh, one more thing", McGoohan stiffens his back and increases his height, kind of a reverse-wince, at being interrupted when he had thought the conversation was finished. It conveys his annoyance more effectively than an ordinary actor would be able to do in a full-screen close-up of his face.

I've watched this episode more than thirty times, and I'm still learning from it.

Great Acting - However

[gene-07202 · 6/10 · 10 June 2020]

The acting between Falk and McGoohan is superb. However, due to careless writing, it is NOT the best Columbo as some think. A Colonel Rumsford could be strict, could be tough, could be a complete hard $%#, but he would never insult, criticize, and demean a Captain Loomis in public in front of others and NEVER in a cafeteria in front of Cadets. He would be removed from his position by such unprofessional behavior. This type of criticism could ONLY happen behind closed door. Unfortunately, a civilian writer and/or director thinks this opposite behavior would be normal - WRONG. That aside? Tremendous acting. Also. It was nice to see Father and Son Bruce Kirby's in the same episode.

One of the best Columbos

[m2mallory · 10/10 · 21 October 2013]

"By Dawn's Early Light" is one of the very best, and oddly most atypical, of all "Columbo" episodes. It is not set in recognizable Los Angeles (in fact, it was shot at the Citadel in South Carolina), it presents a slightly tougher, less quirky Lt. Columbo, and there are no really strong supporting characters. It is primarily a two-man show between Columbo and his prey, a wrote-the-book military academy commander named Col. Rumford (Patrick McGoohan). But its story is sound, its pacing superb (which couldn't always be said for the show) and McGoohan is superlative. McGoohan's casting is actually quite offbeat; one might imagine more of a Charlton Heston type actor in the role. But McGoohan is perfect, showing just enough humanity beneath the ramrod tartar exterior to gain empathy, if not exactly sympathy. In fact, McGoohan's character is unique among Columbo murderers in that he does not make a slip-up in carrying out the actual murder. Instead while he is setting the murder trap he sees evidence of a rule being broken--a cadet has hung a jug of home-fermented cider outside his room window--and he later pursues the perpetrator with zeal bordering on obsession. It is this obsessive quest to find the bootlegger among the cadets that offers Columbo the clues he needs to break down the colonel's alibi for the unrelated murder. Had it been in Rumford's character to simply look the other way regarding the cider, he would have gone a free man at the end of the show, as Columbo had no other proof for his suspicions. All in all, a fascinating episode, with two excellent lead performances.

TIME WRONG!

[skarylarry-93400 · 7/10 · 1 February 2022]

Since when is 6:30AM not in the day????? Columbo says he lied saying Cider wasn't hanging in the day, then says was 6:15AM to 6:25AM. Isn't that daytime??? DUH!!!!!

Acting-wise, arguably the best episode of the series

[hnt_dnl · 10/10 · 5 January 2022]

This phenomenal episode features arguably the best acting by a guest star of the entire series. Patrick McGoohan won a well-deserved Emmy for his fascinating portrayal of Colonel Lyle Rumford, a retired Army officer who is now the Commandant of a privately owned military academy in a suburban area outside of LA. I recall watching the episode as a kid and being ignorant to everything other than the Colonel was just another bad guy who Columbo arrested in the end. Having just re-watched this emotionally resonant episode as an adult and being more attuned to the intricacies of writing and acting, I marvel and McGoohan's lived in performance of a stern, rigid old school soldier who has never adjusted to the outside world and knows nothing other than the strict rules of the military.

In his own way, Rumford is as much of an outsider and as brilliant at his job as Columbo is at his, thus why this felt like one of the more difficult cases for our beloved Lieutenant. Not difficult to crack, but difficult to carry out the arrest. Falk himself also won an Emmy. The way that Falk and McGoohan play off each other is the highest level of acting. Their awards were well deserved. The scene that put this one over the top for me was the one in Rumford's office when he made the peace offering of the cigar to Columbo and reminisced about the good old days and his dreaded future of retirement. It's almost like he wanted to get arrested and pay for his crime, unlike most of the show's villains. Also unlike most of the show's guest murderers, Rumford did very little to stop or deter Columbo from his investigation, almost admiring and wondering at the Lieutenant's fervor and dedication to his job, something the Colonel himself could relate to. The ending scene, is in my opinion, the most heartbreaking arrest of the series. Rumford was somehow the most sympathetic villain of the entire show, all due to McGoohan's masterful performance. And Falk matched him beat for beat, giving Columbo a rare episode of where he displays humility and sympathy throughout. I look at acting of this level from these 2 actors then kind of scoff at some of the acting that I've called great over the last decade in a lot of TV shows.

Even though the episode has an aura of seriousness, there's still the lighthearted moments of Columbo being bumbling to break the tension, like repeatedly getting lost on the huge campus, being visibly shaken at the level of discipline enforced at the academy, and the running joke of him asking for a pair of socks since he stayed there for a few days until he finally cracked the case. Another thing that I love about all this episode was the special location shooting at what looks like a real military school and all the extras the showrunners managed to get to play all the cadets. Another fun fact about this episode is that actor Bruno Kirby (who plays the leader of the cadets) and his father (who plays Columbo's fellow detective) both appear in this episode. At first, when I saw the rating, I was surprised it wasn't above an 8, but the acting from some of the cadets and especially the one cadet's girlfriend wasn't very good. But regardless, McGoohan and Falk are the main and perhaps only reason to watch this one. I don't care about some of the weaker acting, performances this great deserve a 10.

For the boys

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 21 October 2012]

A really bad flaw in the script of this Columbo episode makes it less than stellar. Still this being one of the four that Patrick McGoohan did with Peter Falk and their friendship still makes it special.

You would think that a military man could have rigged a better murder plot than what Patrick McGoohan. He's commandant of a boy's military academy and he's at loggerheads with the grandson of the founder of said academy Tom Simcox who wants to turn the place into a coed junior college because the military school is losing money with enrollment way down. As this place is his life McGoohan resolves to murder Simcox before he convinces the board of trustees in the merit of the idea.

On the academy Founder's Day McGoohan uses a little reverse psychology to get Simcox to fire the cannon on the grounds of the school as part of the ceremony. It blows up because McGoohan rigged it and kills Simcox no doubt in a most gruesome fashion that prime time television wouldn't show.

I have to believe that McGoohan who used some live explosives, far more powerful than when cannons are fired for ceremonial purposes would never have done that in real life, knowing that forensics would discover that and a murder investigation would begin in earnest. Columbo at the beginning and for some time is investigating to see if a murder was committed.

But secondly as a man who purportedly cares about his young cadets, McGoohan would never try to throw suspicion on one of them as he does here. The poor unfortunate is Mark Wheeler who takes off because he knows he's under suspicion and he's scared.

Not the best Columbo film.

Gimmick-free "Columbo" episode, with the most fascinating performance in the series

[J. Spurlin · 11 January 2007]

Col. Lyle C. Rumford (Patrick McGoohan) is commandant of a military academy whose chairman of the board, William Haynes (Tim Simcox), wants to turn the place co-ed. (That's about the best motive for murder I've seen in a "Columbo" episode.) Haynes, who is the grandson of the academy's founder and was once a cadet under the colonel, has further decided to boot out his hated former commandant. He also insists on firing the ceremonial cannon on Founder's Day, which gives Rumford a devious idea. After an explosion that kills Haynes and looks like an accident caused by a negligent cadet (Mark Wheeler), our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case—and he quickly learns this was no accident.

"Columbo" is always a good showcase for the actor playing the villain, but McGoohan's performance (for which he won an Emmy) may rank as the most fascinating in the series. In addition to his unsettling mania for discipline, there seems to be a lost little boy hiding underneath his rigid exterior. Twice he hints at homosexuality. He has a lust in his eyes when he promises to punish his boodle boy for unshined shoes. Later he says "No" much too quickly when Columbo asks if he's ever had a rivalry over a woman.

Howard Berk's script is happily free of gimmicks. We already have to suspend our disbelief to accept that a single police lieutenant would encounter more than one of these tricky, high class murders in a lifetime; or that any one of these cases wouldn't bring him fame and an instant promotion. We don't need the added burden of miracle wrinkle creams ("Lovely but Lethal"), implausible murder swaps ("A Friend in Deed"), identical twin killers ("Double Shock") and subliminal advertising ("Double Exposure"). Here we have a plausible murder scheme that the killer has good reason to think he can get away with—provided no one looks into the matter too closely. But Columbo does; and once he realizes the "accident" was foul play, that's it. A less than brilliant detective could have taken it from there, but Columbo does a thorough job of it. He even takes up temporary residence in the barracks to pick up every possible clue.

Harvey Hart's direction is fine, despite a bad opening shot. I happen to have seen this episode several times and I'm always annoyed when I see the camera creep up on McGoohan. That implies that a *person* is creeping up on him, but it turns out it's only us, the "Columbo" fans.