Day 228: Columbo, By Dawn's Early Light

Show: Columbo

Episode Particulars: S4EP3, “By Dawn’s Early Light”, original airdate October 27^th, 1974.

 Summary: Colonel Lyle Rumford (Patrick McGoohan in his first of four appearances) is a very dedicated military man who runs the Haynes Military Academy. But enrollment has been down in past years, so the grandson of the Academy’s founder, William Haynes (Tom Simcox), has plans to turn it into a normal, co-ed college. In response, Rumford rigs things so that Haynes gets to fire the ceremonial cannon during one of the Academy’s major events, only for the cannon to literally blow up in his face. Then, when Columbo enters the scene, Rumford steers him towards Cadet Springer (Mark Wheeler), who’s had some attitude problems and was assigned to clean the gun. Columbo, however, doesn’t think Springer did it, and I’m not sure if it’s that or Columbo’s completely unmilitary manner that annoys Rumsford more.

Standalone Thoughts: This episode suffers from the problem of feeling both overlong and insubstantial. Weirdly, a lot of the information we get after the murder turns out to be relevant, but it still seems like we spend a lot of time just watching military matters with Columbo chiming in to ask a question now and then. It adds some flavor to proceedings, but it becomes increasingly unnecessary. This is another episode that probably should have been 75 minutes.

That being said, there is one standout thing about the episode, and that’s Patrick McGoohan. Acting-wise, his clipped line deliveries sound somewhat stilted, yet they work pretty well for a character who’s clearly fully embraced military life and morals. As for Rumsford as a character, he’s interesting in a variety of ways. I’m guessing his stance of making sure the cadets under his command are ready for the next war was seen as old-fashioned at the time (given that America was still dealing with the Vietnam war), but it makes a lot of sense to me here in 2017. I also am simultaneously horrified and impressed by just how cold Rumsford is. Not only is he willing to destroy a fifty year old cannon to achieve his ends, he doesn’t seem to care that a graphic death is going to take place in front of many innocent bystanders. Not everyone is capable of that, and while I’m not saying that’s a good mindset to have, it’s understandably a bit breathtaking to witness. All of this makes so much of an impression that, combined with my knowledge of tropes, I was convinced that Rumsford had a hidden motive involving Springer. In my mind, he was either framing Springer because it was the only way to get him out of the Academy, or Springer was his son and that’s why he was being so hard on him. Honestly, both of these would be more interesting than what we actually got.

This is far from the worst Columbo, but it’s not particularly good, either. Let’s just say it would have been right at home in Season Three. I think we can all agree that’s a succinct way or making my point.

Number of “Columbo-isms”: 4/6. There’s a bit of fumbling, several mentions of his wife, and a few “Just one more things”. Most notably, however, Columbo uses his car for what can only be described as a low-speed, one-sided car chase. Well, at least he’s following in the grand tradition of other media policemen…?

Other: *Sodium Nitrate (the powder used in blank shell charges) is way shinier than I expected. That stuff was visibly sparkling on screen, and I doubt that it was just camera trickery. Besides, what purpose would making the powder sparkle serve anyway?

*The bus that takes the students from the nearby all-girl’s school into town is actually just a white van with “School Bus” written on the side. There’s something faintly ridiculous about that.

*I think I have an answer to the end credits question that I posed in “An Exercise in Fatality”. There doesn’t seem to be a musical theme. The second episode seemed like there might be one, but today’s episode was heavily military based. I’m guessing they try to find music that fits the situations in the episode, and if they can’t, they go with something more generic. Hey, that’s fine by me; it offers up a little variety.

Would This Hold Up in Court?: While the evidence is fairly weak, it’s conclusive enough via witness testimony that it could be enough to convict. Besides, given Rumsford’s personality, I think he’ll be ready to make a full confession.