The Most Dangerous Match

On March 4th, 1973 the 7th episode of season 2 made it's debut. The Most Dangerous Match capitalized on the Bobby Fischer chess craze of the day by pitting Lawrence Harvey as the American chess champ facing off against the legendary Tomlin Dudek (played wonderfully by Jack Kruschen.

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What to watch for

Things I found interesting or notable in this episode of Columbo.

Things aren't always as they seem

They did a remarkable job of having actors from all over the world play characters from different parts of the world. The American champ, Emmett Clayton, is played by Lawrence Harvey...himself a Lithuanian.

Eastern european chess champ Tomlin Dudek is played by Canadian Jack Kruschen. Staying in Canada we have Toronto-born Lloyd Bochner, who played Dudek's "coach" Berozski. 

We never really learn where Linda Robinson is supposed to be from - her mother apparently is from the same country Dudek is. But with a name like "Linda Robinson" it's assumed she's probably North American. Not so with the actress, Heidi Bruhl - born in Bavaria.

Gone too young

They probably didn't know it when this episode was made but Lawrence Harvey didn't have much longer to live. He passed away from stomach cancer just 8 months after this episode aired.

In a tragic coincidence Heidi Bruhl ALSO died of stomach cancer, in 1991 at the age of 49.

Garlic and diabetes?

Maybe the medical consensus in 1973 was different, but there's no issue with diabetics eating garlic today. In fact, it's believed that eating moderate amounts of garlic can help regulate blood sugar.

White goes first

Strangely easy chess error in this episode. Clayton tells Columbo that in the restaurant chess game he was black, and that he went first. But white always goes first in chess.

It also doesn't make sense, aestetically, that the salt would be the black player, and the pepper would be the white player.

Second thoughts?

When Dudek and Clayton are dining, sneaking back into the hotel, and playing chess the night before the match, I almost feel like there are moments when Clayton genuinely likes the kindly Dudek. I don't think the murder was planned before that night and it really highlights how disturbed and traumatized Clayton was by Dudek beating him that he concocted that ad hoc murder plan and carried it out.

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Hello dog!

We get another appearance from Dog in this one. 

And once again we get to see Michael Fox as Dog's vet. 

Fun fact: Michael Fox is the reason that the better-known Michael J. Fox has to have the "J" in his name. The actor's guild won't allow two actors with the exact same name, so the young Fox had to add a middle initial to differentiate himself. His real middle name is "Andrew" but he thought "Michael A. Fox" sounded a little boastful, so we went with J, in honor of the actor Michael J. Pollard. 

Two grinders?

The grinder that Clayton notices when they sneak back into the hotel, and thinks about when he's quicky thinking up the murder, is NOT the grinder he actually pushes Dudek into.

Is that Ray Kellogg?

The actor who has a very brief appearance as the cab driver who thought he was taking Dudek to the airport looks and sounds a bit like John Wayne (it isn't) but he might be Ray Kellogg, who played the security officer in Suitable for Framing.

He didn't know

The scene where Clayton comes to deliver the false note from Dudek offers a small, subtle, clue. He didn't know Dudek was alive, which plays in later when Columbo shows that Clayton didn't hear the machine shut off.

It's the little things for Columbo

Columbo noticing that there was a regular toothbrush in Dudek's bag, and that the man had dentures, is a classic example of Columbo picking up on a little detail that most would have overlooked, especially when all the evidence to that point suggests Dudek was fleeing and simply slipped and fell.

Columbo's attentiveness to little clues like that, and not just accepting the conventional wisdom, is a key part of the character throughout the series.

I'm going to be truthful, this time

The scene at the hospital where Columbo tries to trick Clayton into coming with him to the restaurant is awkward. Inviting him for ice cream, then to talk chess...feels a bit unnecessary. And with each new story he says he's going to be truthful, this time. He could have just been direct with Clayton and asked him to come.

Top down

In Columbo: Murder of a Rock Star, Columbo comments that he's never had the top down on his car before. This episode is at least the 3rd time we've seen it down - he has it down in both Short Fuse and Lady in Waiting. 

No surprise, in a small car like the Peugeot it's easier to film a scene between two characters with the top out of the way.

Just messing with Clayton

Columbo gets paged and calls the doctor with urgency...but he's calling his vet about his dog. The call puts Clayton through the wringer for 30 seconds or so, thinking Dudek might have awakened and be talking.

Who's that?

When Clayton breaks into Anton's room to swap out Dudek's medicines, there's somebody sitting in the room. It goes by very fast, but watch the mirrors and you'll see somebody sitting in the room "off-camera" as Clayton goes by. Probably a member of the crew.

Our old friend Finnegan

Near the end keep an eye out for Columbo regular John Finnegan, as the worker who tells Columbo that the machine automatically shuts off.

Just a few more things

• Dudek's room is 1805, Clayton's seems to be directly above him in 1905.
• The "Valley Plaza Hotel" where most of the episode takes place is actually the Sheraton Universal. They also used it for the hospital exterior in A Stitch in Crime.
• The fact that Dudek didn't have his portable chess set is a nice touch. Introduces just a tiny bit of doubt that Clayton did the deed. I assume Clayton was just in a rush, and didn't know where the set was.

Plot holes

For an ad hoc murder plan an awful lot went right. For one thing how would he know the maid would appear at Dudek's room at just the right moment when he needs access? And the maid didn't notice when she closed the door that it didn't latch at all? Later, when he breaks into Anton's room, he simply undoes the door lock. Couldn't he have done the same thing with the maid and not take a chance on her discovering the tape?

Where did he get the fake meds?

When Dudek doesn't die in the grinder Clayton has to resort to plan B and swaps out his meds to a fatal concoction. He would have had very little time to pull that off though, and where did he get the medical knowledge (not to mention the fake meds themselves!) needed?

Remember, he doesn't have a car and it would be risky to take a cab to acquire the fake meds.

Silent AND steady?

Even if Clayton couldn't hear the machine stop wouldn't there have been a lot of vibration that suddenly stopped?

Wrap up

If I'm honest this is not my favorite episode. There are a lot of little subtle nice moments and clues, but I found the gotcha to be pretty weak and the motive was challenging. The performances are pretty good, especially considering that Lawrence Harvey reportedly had a high fever during most of the filming. But I don't think this one is going to crack my top 10.