The Most Dangerous Match (4 Mar. 1973)

A chess player murders his opponent before a big match. Lt. Columbo must out-maneuver this crafty, but craven, killer.

Director:

Edward M. Abroms

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (teleplay), Jackson Gillis (story),

Stars:

Peter Falk, Laurence Harvey, Lloyd Bochner

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Peter Falk	...	Columbo
Laurence Harvey	...	Emmett Clayton
Lloyd Bochner	...	Mazoor Berozski
Jack Kruschen	...	Tomlin Dudek
Heidi Brühl	...	Linda Robinson (as Heidi Bruhl)
Paul Jenkins	...	Sergeant Douglas
Michael Fox	...	Dr. Benson
Oscar Beregi Jr.	...	Proprietor (as Oscar Beregi)
Mathias Reitz	...	Anton
Richard Drout Miller	...	1st Reporter (as Drout Miller)
Manuel DePina	...	2nd Reporter
Stuart Nisbet	...	Dr. Sullivan
Abigail Shelton	...	Nurse
John Finnegan	...	1st Workman

Storyline

Emmett Clayton has a nightmare before an important chess match: he and his opponent are chess pieces on a giant, fog-covered chess board. Clearly he's worried about his match with Tomlin Dudek, a kindly old fat Russian. Later, the two meet, not coincidentally, in a French restaurant, where they begin using the salt and pepper shakers and other objects on the table as chess pieces. The game continues in Clayton's apartment - secretly, because both Dudek's doctor and his coach would throw fits if they knew the diabetic Russian was out late, eating rich foods with his opponent. Clayton loses the impromptu game and has a nervous fit, from which Dudek tries to calm him down. The next day, Clayton decides he must murder Dudek before the match. He concocts a scheme that makes it look as if Dudek had met with an untimely accident in the hotel's trash compactor. But our rumpled and seemingly disorganized Lt. Columbo is on the case.

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Plot Keywords:

chess | murder | police | chess grandmaster | french restaurant | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1973 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Venice Boulevard, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

During his simultaneous exhibition, Clayton says that Frank Marshall once played 155 games simultaneously, losing only eight, and later having complete recall of all the moves from all the games except two of them. This actually happened, in 1922.

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Goofs

Clayton doesn't have his ear piece in when walking down the hall to enter the doctors room. He has it in while talking to Columbo in the lobby before entering the elevator and as he enters the doctors room once Anton has left.

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Quotes

Emmett Clayton: Well, chess *is* the ultimate test of the human mind, isn't it?
Tomlin Dudek: You think so? I always thought it was women.

User Reviews

One of the best acted of the Columbo episodes

Featuring a cast that includes Laurence Harvey, veteran actor Jack Kruschen, and Lloyd Bochner, along with star Peter Falk, "The Most Dangerous Game" ranks as one of the TOP TEN Columbo installments. Harvey soars as a self-centered chess master whose ego won't let him be defeated by his arch-rival, Krushen as a Russian champion. Harvey, an actor that seemed always on the verge of stardom, plays his part with relish, especially in the last few exchanges between himself and Falk. The "denouement" is one of the few times when an "expletive" is heard in a "Columbo" installment.

Of course, the storyline reflects the Cold War thinking that permeated much of the world at the time, and it's a bit quaint to see the mistrust between American and Soviet bodyguards to both chess players.

An added bonus for the show is the intriguing camera-work and large props used in a dream sequence.