By Dawn's Early Light

On October 27th, 1974, the 3rd episode of season 4 premiered. Titled By Dawn's Early Light it marked the debut of one of Colunbo's most frequent collaborators, Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan playes Colonel Rumford, the headmaster of Haynes Military Academy, who sabotages a ceremonial cannon to kill the opportunistic William Haynes, who wants to convert the school to a coed school.

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Things to watch for

Here's a few things that caught my eye in this episode.

Seems unnecessary

In the opening scene we see Colonel Rumford preparing the shell that will be used to kill William Haynes. He takes long strips of C4 and rolls them into...long strips of C4 before placing them into the shell.

Not clear what the point of rolling them was...they were already long narrow strips that looked like they would fit in the shell just fine.

But the sweat was a nice touch...

Rumford is cool, discplined, serious. Even when the gun blows up he doesn't react or even blink. But in the opening scene when he's handling the C4, he's sweating. He even pauses to wipe the sweat from his face with his handkerchief. I thought that was a lovely, subtle, touch to indicate just how dangerous the explosives he was handling were.

On the road again

This is one of a handful of episodes that was largely filmed outside of California. In this case it was mostly filmed at The Citadel, in South Carolina. Some of the Citadel's real cadets appear on screen as extras.

The Kirby boys

Columbo occasional Bruce Kirby debuts as Sergeant Kramer in this episode and he's joined by his son, Bruno Kirby who plays Cadet Morgan. The two don't share any scenes together, but they appear on screen at the same time, very briefly, near the beginning when Bruce is talking to an officer on the parade ground and Bruno walks past behind him, having just notified Rumford that the cadets are assembled in the chapel.

I want to be a space fireman when I grow up

Cadet Springer is played by actor Mark Wheeler. Later in his career he played Neil Armstrong in Apollo 13, and a firefighter in Backdraft.

What's a "Boodle Boy"?

A “boodle boy” is a cadet detailed as the commandant’s personal orderly—running errands, carrying messages, and fetching small comforts (notably food and snacks). In By Dawn's Early Light Cadet Miller brings Rumford his morning coffee, in his capacity as a boodle boy.

The term comes from cadet slang “boodle,” meaning treats or care-package goodies; “boodle boy” is the cadet who gets those comforts for a superior. “Boodle” itself traces to Dutch boedel (“property, estate”), which in American slang broadened and shifted meanings over time. 

On to space things

Cadet Miller was played by Robert Clotworthy, who went on to be the narrator of The History Channel's Ancient Aliens show.

Lally on the case

The legendary Michael Lally makes an appearance in this episode as one of the detectives.

What time is it?

When explaining his alibi Rumford tells Columbo he went to sleep at 2200 (10PM). Columbo asks what time that is, which seems odd because in a later scene Columbo tells Cadet Morgan that he had been in the army. Presumably he'd be familiar with military time.

Most likely it was done for the audience's benefit - to make it clear what "2200" meant - but it's also possible that he did it to appear less knowledgable to Rumford.

Military vs Civilian

Another nice touch is when Columbo needs to go to Pershing Hall. Rumford gives him detailed, slightly complicated, directions that he's clearly struggling to understand. 

When he asks the secretary she draws on a map and hands it to him - a much simpler and clearer answer.

Arizona?

Maybe a goof but, Sgt. Kramer's car has Arizona license plates. Kind of odd for an L.A. cop.

Good Vibrations and a tragedy

Karen Lamm played Springer's girlfriend, Susan Gerard. Later in life she married Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys (twice) and ultimately passed away at the age of 49 due to heart failure.

"You've done a very nice job." -Rumford appreciating Colunbo's work to catch him.

Just a few more things...

• They originally wanted Ed Asner to play Colonel Rumford, but he backed out. If he hadn't I wonder if McGoohan would have become such a prominent part of the series.
• Sign of the times...Officer Corso and his wife are sleeping in separate beds. Standard procedure for American TV in 1974 where even married couples couldn't be shown sharing a bed.
• McGoohan won the 1975 Emmy for "Outstanding Single Performance by a supporting actor in a comedy or drama series" for his portrayal of Rumford.