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

Director:

Harvey Hart

Writers:

Howard Berk (written by)
Richard Levinson (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Columbo" (1971)

Original Air Date:

27 October 1974 (Season 4, Episode 3)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Military Academy | Cannon | Colonel | Murder

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.)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2006) (DVD) (self applied)

Filming Locations:

The Citadel - 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Universal TV

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.

Quotes:

Col. Lyle C. Rumford: Geometry is logic and logic is the battlefield of adulthood.

Crackerjack Columbo story

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.