By Dawn's Early Light
- Episode aired Oct 27, 1974
- TV-PG
- 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
2.9K
YOUR RATING
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.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.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.
Madeleine Sherwood
- Miss Brady
- (as Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood)
Bruce Kirby
- Sergeant George Kramer
- (as Bruce Kirby Sr.)
Bruno Kirby
- Cadet Morgan
- (as B. Kirby Jr.)
Mike Lally
- Detective
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode contains the only instance of the original series where a character asks for Columbo's first name. Patrick McGoohan's Colonel Rumford inquires about it, to which Columbo replies, "I do (have a first name), but my wife is about the only one who uses it."
- GoofsCol. Rumford wears his cover (hat) indoors several times in the episode. Military hats are not to be worn indoors except in very special circumstances.
- Quotes
Col. Lyle C. Rumford: Do you have a first name?
Lt. Columbo: I do. My wife is about the only one that uses it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 27th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1975)
Featured review
Gimmick-free "Columbo" episode, with the most fascinating performance in the series
Col. Lyle C. Rumford (Patrick McGoohan) is commandant of a military academy whose chairman of the board, William Haynes (Tim Simcox), wants to turn the place co-ed. (That's about the best motive for murder I've seen in a "Columbo" episode.) Haynes, who is the grandson of the academy's founder and was once a cadet under the colonel, has further decided to boot out his hated former commandant. He also insists on firing the ceremonial cannon on Founder's Day, which gives Rumford a devious idea. After an explosion that kills Haynes and looks like an accident caused by a negligent cadet (Mark Wheeler), our rumpled Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) is on the case—and he quickly learns this was no accident.
"Columbo" is always a good showcase for the actor playing the villain, but McGoohan's performance (for which he won an Emmy) may rank as the most fascinating in the series. In addition to his unsettling mania for discipline, there seems to be a lost little boy hiding underneath his rigid exterior. Twice he hints at homosexuality. He has a lust in his eyes when he promises to punish his boodle boy for unshined shoes. Later he says "No" much too quickly when Columbo asks if he's ever had a rivalry over a woman.
Howard Berk's script is happily free of gimmicks. We already have to suspend our disbelief to accept that a single police lieutenant would encounter more than one of these tricky, high class murders in a lifetime; or that any one of these cases wouldn't bring him fame and an instant promotion. We don't need the added burden of miracle wrinkle creams ("Lovely but Lethal"), implausible murder swaps ("A Friend in Deed"), identical twin killers ("Double Shock") and subliminal advertising ("Double Exposure"). Here we have a plausible murder scheme that the killer has good reason to think he can get away with—provided no one looks into the matter too closely. But Columbo does; and once he realizes the "accident" was foul play, that's it. A less than brilliant detective could have taken it from there, but Columbo does a thorough job of it. He even takes up temporary residence in the barracks to pick up every possible clue.
Harvey Hart's direction is fine, despite a bad opening shot. I happen to have seen this episode several times and I'm always annoyed when I see the camera creep up on McGoohan. That implies that a *person* is creeping up on him, but it turns out it's only us, the "Columbo" fans.
"Columbo" is always a good showcase for the actor playing the villain, but McGoohan's performance (for which he won an Emmy) may rank as the most fascinating in the series. In addition to his unsettling mania for discipline, there seems to be a lost little boy hiding underneath his rigid exterior. Twice he hints at homosexuality. He has a lust in his eyes when he promises to punish his boodle boy for unshined shoes. Later he says "No" much too quickly when Columbo asks if he's ever had a rivalry over a woman.
Howard Berk's script is happily free of gimmicks. We already have to suspend our disbelief to accept that a single police lieutenant would encounter more than one of these tricky, high class murders in a lifetime; or that any one of these cases wouldn't bring him fame and an instant promotion. We don't need the added burden of miracle wrinkle creams ("Lovely but Lethal"), implausible murder swaps ("A Friend in Deed"), identical twin killers ("Double Shock") and subliminal advertising ("Double Exposure"). Here we have a plausible murder scheme that the killer has good reason to think he can get away with—provided no one looks into the matter too closely. But Columbo does; and once he realizes the "accident" was foul play, that's it. A less than brilliant detective could have taken it from there, but Columbo does a thorough job of it. He even takes up temporary residence in the barracks to pick up every possible clue.
Harvey Hart's direction is fine, despite a bad opening shot. I happen to have seen this episode several times and I'm always annoyed when I see the camera creep up on McGoohan. That implies that a *person* is creeping up on him, but it turns out it's only us, the "Columbo" fans.
helpful•248
- J. Spurlin
- Jan 10, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Des Teufels Corporal
- Filming locations
- The Citadel - 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, South Carolina, USA(As Haynes Military Academy)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content