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IMDb > "Columbo" By Dawn's Early Light (1974)
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"Columbo" By Dawn's Early Light (1974)



Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   566 votes
Director:
Writers:
Howard Berk (written by)
Richard Levinson (creator) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for By Dawn's Early Light on IMDbPro.
TV Series:
Original Air Date:
27 October 1974 (Season 4, Episode 3)
Plot:
The commandant of a military academy murders the chairman of the board, who wants to oust him. Lt. Columbo takes up residence in the barracks to expose the killer. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
User Comments:
Crackerjack Columbo story more (22 total)

Cast

  (Episode Complete credited cast)

Peter Falk ... Columbo

Patrick McGoohan ... Col. Lyle C. Rumford
Burr DeBenning ... Capt. Loomis
Madeleine Sherwood ... Miss Brady (as Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood)
Tom Simcox ... William Haynes
Mark Wheeler ... Springer
Bruce Kirby ... Sergeant Kramer (as Bruce Kirby Sr.)
Sidney Armus ... Corso

Robert Clotworthy ... Boodle Boy
Karen Lamm ... Susan

Bruno Kirby ... Cadet Morgan (as B. Kirby, Jr.)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
100 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied)
Company:

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Columbo cannot sleep in the barracks and has to make a telephone call, he gets out of bed barefoot. As he starts to walk, we hear the sound of shoes on the floor. He wears laced shoes, so he couldn't have simply slipped into them as he rose. more
Quotes:
Col. Lyle C. Rumford: Geometry is logic and logic is the battlefield of adulthood. more

FAQ

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful.
Crackerjack Columbo story, 1 September 2005
9/10
Author: The Welsh Raging Bull (leighton.phillips@sihe.ac.uk) from Port Talbot, South Wales, UK

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.

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What's Columbo seeing when they talk about roses? old_tv_guy
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