Columbo: Season 2, Episode 7The 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 |
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Columbo: Season 2, Episode 7The 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 |
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| Episode complete credited cast: | |||
| Peter Falk | ... | ||
| Laurence Harvey | ... | ||
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Lloyd Bochner | ... |
Mazoor Berozski
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| Jack Kruschen | ... |
Tomlin Dudek
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Heidi Brühl | ... |
Linda Robinson
(as Heidi Bruhl)
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Paul Jenkins | ... |
Sergeant Douglas
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Michael Fox | ... | |
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Oscar Beregi Jr. | ... |
Proprietor
(as Oscar Beregi)
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Mathias Reitz | ... |
Anton
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Richard Drout Miller | ... |
1st Reporter
(as Drout Miller)
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Manuel DePina | ... |
2nd Reporter
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| Stuart Nisbet | ... |
Dr. Sullivan
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Abigail Shelton | ... |
Nurse
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| John Finnegan | ... |
1st Workman
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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. Written by J. Spurlin
Laurence Harvey stars as a win at all costs chess champion in "The Most Dangerous Match," one of the original Columbo episodes. Harvey, number one at the game only because of the illness of the Russian champion (Jack Kruschen) the year before, panics when he plays a practice match with Kruschen and realizes that this year, he will lose his title. He then plots to get rid of his opponent, only to run afoul of the sloppy lieutenant on the case, Columbo.
Harvey is wonderful in the role, a perfect villain for Columbo because he is so opposite -- arrogant, beautifully spoken, and immaculately dressed. He's also brilliant, but he doesn't recognize brilliance in someone posing a greater threat to him than the deceased chess champion