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

This is one of the few Columbo's in which the acting quality is so outstanding, it makes the detective element that much better.

I did not know much about Patrick McGoohan as an actor before seeing him in this episode as Colonel Lyle C. Rumford. While I was watching this mystery, I found myself more in awe with his acting than with the actual detective element. Watching him made me look into his work more and more. As a matter of fact, I learned that McGoohan won an Emmy Award in 1974 for "Best Guest Star on a TV Series", for this episode.

If you want to see acting at its best, watch this episode the next time it shows up on the Bravo! Channel.

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!

Columbo vs. Patrick McGoohan's character is a classic -- better than many films, keeps you on edge and wondering the whole way. Definitely worth watching if you can find it. Here you see two actors who really know how to fill out a character and make him come to life. Huge fun.

Another fine Columbo episode, as the detective investigates a murder at a military academy. Patrick McGoohan plays Col. Rumford, the academy commander, in one of his best Columbo performances. He is always good at roles like this one, playing characters who are extremely controlled and keep their inner lives veiled. His use of psychology to lure his victim to his death and to set up an obnoxious cadet to take the fall is beautifully matched by Columbo's parallel study of psychology as he starts to unravel the plot. The conclusion of the mystery is particularly satisfying, as it depends not upon tricking an admission from the murderer, but from linking together his own statements and trapping him in his own words. McGoohan is great in the last scene, accepting his defeat without flinching.