"Columbo" The Most Dangerous Match (1973)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Edward M. Abroms

Writers:

Jackson Gillis (teleplay)
Jackson Gillis (story) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

4 March 1973 (Season 2, Episode 7)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Chess | Murder | Chess Grandmaster | Police | Murder Suspect

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

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

Directed by
Edward M. Abroms

Writing credits
Jackson Gillis		(teleplay)
Jackson Gillis		(story) &
Richard Levinson		(story) &
William Link		(story)
Richard Levinson		(creator) &
William Link		(creator)

Produced by
Edward K. Dodds	....	associate producer
Dean Hargrove	....	producer

Original Music by
Dick DeBenedictis		(as Dick De Benedictis)

Cinematography by
Harry L. Wolf		(director of photography) (as Harry Wolf)

Film Editing by
Larry Lester

Art Direction by
Archie J. Bacon		(as Arch Bacon)

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.		(as John McCarthy)

Costume Design by
Grady Hunt

Production Management
Kenny Williams	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Dowell	....	assistant director (as David M. Dowell)

Sound Department
Edwin S. Hall	....	sound

Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	colorist

Music Department
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Charles Clement	....	technical advisor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer: main title
Jackson Gillis	....	executive story consultant

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Levinson		creator
William Link		creator

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Runtime:

Germany:74 min | Italy:70 min | USA:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (2005) | UK:U

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

The final combination of the chess game played between Dudek and Clayton in the restaurant and finished in Dudek's hotel room was actually played in game Wolthuis-Alexander, Maastricht 1946. In the movie Dudek demonstrated the line leading to mate, in the actual game black resigned after the first move of combination, Qxb4. Also, Columbo, when reading from Dudek's notation, says that Black resigned on the 41st move. In the actual game from 1946, the sequence takes place earlier in the game (Black resigned on the 25th move).

Goofs:

Continuity: As killer chess-champ Emmett Clayton steps into an elevator at the hotel, his shoes are light tan loafers, suede-looking, almost matching his suit. When he gets off the elevator, his shoes have been transformed to shiny black leather, with silver buckles.

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.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971)

Soundtrack:

Sunday Mystery Movie Theme

wonderful episode

this columbo is certainly one of the better ones. i loved the scenes where they are playing chess in the restaurant, and the scene where clayton breaks down and has dudek write him a note. laurence harvey is tremendously believable in this episode. columbo hits its high water mark here!