Femmes Fatales
The hand of Fate may have freed Richard Kimble
to hide in ``lonely'' desperation, but it doesn't exactly hold him
back from seeking out companionship, often female, while on the
run. Though Kimble is now saddled with the reputation of being a con,
many (especially male) viewers might argue that his situation also has
its pros. In place of his monotonous, monogamous, Midwestern
middle-class milieu, he has forced upon him the life of a
roaming adventurer — a life of brushes with
gangsters, trips to
exotic and exciting destinations, and a long
chain of romantic liaisons which perforce must be sans
commitment, lest he give himself away by staying in one place too
long.
The assortment of women in Kimble's life includes
Tuesday Weld,
Suzanne Pleshette,
Sandy Dennis,
Diana Hyland,
Betty Garrett,
Barbara Barrie,
Hope Lange,
Janice Rule, and a veritable harem of
sexy farm girls,
gorgeous nurses,
spunky mob molls and
alluring foreigners with glamorous
accents. He loves 'em all and leaves 'em all — not because
he wants to, but because Fate requires it of him.
The secret of his sex appeal remains an ineffable je ne sais
quoi; is it his basset-hound
brown eyes, the twitchy little smirk that often plays
around one corner of his mouth, or those strange
kissing motions he makes into midair while he is embracing his latest
lady-love? Jeff Fox attributes his ``enigmatic folk hero'' charisma to his
``feigned, humble smile and moody, sideways leer.'' ``The pensive and wary
Dr. Kimble'' has ``no need for pretense,'' can ``always read people
well,'' and his reticence — understandable, considering the secret
identity he is concealing — also endears him to women who appreciate
the proverbial strong silent type.
Yes, the road to Richard Kimble's showdown with the one-armed man and
Lieutenant Gerard is paved with many broken hearts, but Kimble himself
gets hurt by the cruel and conniving femmes that not
infrequently cross his path as well. For each self-sacrificing
Florence Nightingale who risks her all to save Kimble from his
pursuers, there is a correspondingly evil Salome who hopes to make
Kimble the fall guy in some murderous scheme
she is hatching. In fact, oftentimes the same actress will take on
both types of roles in successive guest appearances on the show.
With Kimble's acquittal at the end of THE
JUDGMENT, the way is finally open for him to again take up a decent,
respectable, but undeniably much more boring life. Conveniently, a hometown
girl-next-door shows up at the appropriate moment and seems destined
to become the second Mrs. Richard Kimble. But what about Tuesday? What
about that hot Mexican from just a few episodes ago, who swore her
undying love to Richard in a tearful parting on the sandy shores of
the Pacific? Second-guessers will never tire of imagining all the
tantalizing might-have-beens with the many Fugitive femmes he
left behind . . .
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