By Dawn's Early Light

I totally agree with another post which suggests this episode and the episode "Any Old Port In A Storm" are two of the best Colombo shows made.

The great thing about the Colombo character is that he is very human and as such he understands humanity. He doesn't seem to judge or moralise unless the killer hurts a woman. The best Colombo stories focus on the relationship that grows between the detective and the killer and this is one of those episodes.

Just as in "Any Old Port In A Storm" the killer's way of life is about to be taken away from him, everything he holds dear is is in the hands of someone who just doesn't care. I suspect Col Rumsford (McGoohan) doesn't murder the victim just for his own sake but for the sake of the academy and the boys who attend there.

Patrick McGoohan's performance in this show is exceptional, on the surface Col Rumsford is an un-sympathetic character, he is rigid, he reveals little of himself and he is very strict. But this isn't a two dimensional bad guy, we somehow sense that he is torn between blaming a cadet for the murder and succumbing to his instinct to protect the boy. McGoohan achieves this inner conflict with amazing subtlety and nuance. To be honest I didn't think he was capable of this level of acting, but I was quite moved by his performance.

This episode is a great way to remember Patrick McGoohan, highly recommended.

Be seeing you

The episode was very good. However, the filming location of the episode is incorrect. The episode was filmed at The Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. I know this because I am a cadet there. The error should be corrected.I really enjoyed this episode, even though I watched it at two in the morning. It was interesting to see how the campus looked back then.I liked it. But it was my first Columbo episode, and I am, admittedly, a little biased. The portrayal of cadet life at the school was pretty accurate. It left out the hazing and most of the Fourth Class System, which is much worse than portrayed. The acting was very well done.

Patrick McGoohan's steely and nuanced performance earned him an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor , but his presence on the screen is hardly "supporting". He dominates every scene in which he appears which is almost every scene in the film . It is a tour de force performance that keeps the viewers eyes glued to his tightly -wound ,explosive face and body that he keeps under control so well . His trademark sly smile and clipped verbal delivery from "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" are still there . We just don't see this kind of pure acting on TV anymore from a character that is allowed so much screen time without the usual gimmicky intrusions or plot diversions . This episode is sheer joy to watch as 2 very fine artists play their roles to perfection .

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.

Just fantastic! Along with 'Any Old Port in a Storm' (Donald Plesance) this is in my opinion, one of the two best Columbo episodes ever made. The story is gripping from start to finish, the direction is tight, the script is full of wonderful moments, and the acting is superb as the two leads spark off one and other. Patrick McGoohan fully deserves the Emmy he won for his performance here.The characterisation is excellent too. Although it's impossible to condone murder, you can almost sympathise with McGoohan's character, such is the strength of his performance. He has no family and his military academy is his whole life. In a sense he loves it and would do anything to protect it; even kill a man who tries to, in effect, destroy it. The supporting players all put in enjoyable turns too and despite their short amount of screen time, play fully developed characters rather than just one dimensional cardboard cut-outs. I must have watched 'By Dawn's Early Light' a dozen times, and I will probably watch a dozen times more in the the future. What more can I say? Go and watch it!