MOST WANTED

Most-Wanted Episodes, and Runners-Up

Based on the listings at http://www.emailman.com/video/fugitive/fugitiveguide.html (from program listings of the A&E cable network) and at http://www.negia.net/~dgoggans/fuge.html, with kind assistance from Brian J.E. VanDommele, Marie Sunny and Rick O'Shay.


Second-season episodes ( September 15, 1964 - April 20, 1965 )

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MAN IN A CHARIOT Most Wanted
September 15, 1964
(31) Written by George Eckstein. Ed Begley is a law professor who stages a mock trial to prove Kimble's innocence. Hearing of this, Kimble shows up and secretly watches the proceedings. He helps the professor make friends with his students. The police suspect he is in the area, and raid the law school, but Kimble makes an excellent escape by blending in with the law students in the library. In Ed's next appearance, he plays a bad guy.

WORLD'S END Most Wanted
September 22, 1964
(32) In St. Louis, Missouri, Kimble is hot on the trail of the one-armed man, who has been abusing more women. Then he is led to believe that the one-armed man has been killed in a fire. He despairs of ever proving his innocence. Luckily, he runs into old friend Suzanne Pleshette, who has always been carrying a torch for Kimble. She begs him to run away with her, and they charter a plane to take them out of the country. But Gerard gets wind of Suzanne's plan and is waiting at the airstrip. On the way to the airstrip, though, Kimble changes his mind, saying that he has to keep on searching if there is even the ghost of a chance of the one-armed man being alive. So Kimble bids a teary farewell to sexy Suzanne, and hops on a bus which shows up at just the right moment. It turns out that this irrational gut instinct of Kimble's has guided him accurately; the reports of the one-armed man's death were greatly exaggerated, and he has avoided the grim trap set for him by Gerard and his deputies. The story is engrossing and fateful coincidences figure prominently. Dabney Coleman co-stars. Written by Stuart Jerome.


MAN ON A STRING
September 29, 1964
(33) Kimble becomes the star witness at a young girl's trial. Written by Harry Kronman.


WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS
October 6, 1964
(34) Kimble teams up with a mysterious woman and her infant child. He saves the child's life. A cop recognizes him, but lets him go because of his good deeds. Written by George Eckstein and James Griffith.


NEMESIS
October 13, 1964
(35) By an incredible coincidence, Kimble happens to be hiding out in the same woods where Gerard decides to take his son (played by Kurt Russell, who is maybe all of ten years old) for a camping trip. Not only this, but Kimble also ends up making his getaway in the car in which little Phil Gerard Junior is hiding! Kimble takes care of the kid and makes sure that he comes to no harm, but the kid, truly a chip off the old block, repays Kimble for this kindness by trying to get him arrested. The situation is too hokey and, after the writers go to all that trouble to set it up, they don't even really develop it fully. LANDSCAPE WITH RUNNING FIGURES handles the same themes in a more satisfying way. But the photography is beautiful and the musical score is very nice, and Kurt Russell really looks like he could be Barry Morse's kid! There is a random cameo by Slim Pickens (Doctor Strangelove). Written by Harry Kronman.


TIGER LEFT, TIGER RIGHT
October 20, 1964
(36) A case of mistaken identity puts Kimble in the hands of kidnappers. Leslie Nielsen co-stars. Written by Richard Levinson and William Link (Columbo).

TUG OF WAR Most Wanted
October 27, 1964
(37) Arthur O'Connell is a wily old sheriff hot on the trail of Kimble. Assisted by a hot-shot young rival, he captures Kimble out in the wilderness. The three of them start marching back to town, but they're far away and it will take a few days. It turns out that O'Connell, many years ago, caught another fugitive, but that one convinced him that he was innocent and O'Connell let him go. This was a mistake, since he wasn't innocent and ended up killing more people after being freed. Hence Kimble's protestations of his own innocence fall on deaf ears. Nonetheless, O'Connell takes a liking to Kimble against his own better judgment; he certainly prefers Kimble's company to the young hot-shot, who he resents. The two lawmen end up sabotaging each other out of jealousy, and this allows Kimble to escape; in the process, old Arthur O'Connell bites the dust. Haunting harmonica music. Written by Dan Ullman.


DARK CORNER
November 10, 1964
(38) A blind sculptress (Tuesday Weld) falls for Kimble. Written by Harry Kronman.


Betty Garrett helps Kimble when his head is not working right

ESCAPE INTO BLACK
Most Wanted
November 17, 1964
(39) In Decatur, Illinois, Kimble gets a concussion while heroically trying to help the owner of a greasy-spoon diner he's eating in. When he wakes up in the hospital, he finds he has amnesia! Nurse Betty Garrett and doctor Ivan Dixon of Hogan's Heroes try to help him discover his identity. Meanwhile, the one-armed man is lurking around, and tries to sabotage Kimble by calling in an anonymous tip about his whereabouts to the police. Kimble figures out who he is, reads about his own trial in the back issues of the newspaper at the library, but can't remember that he's actually innocent. Out of respect for the law, he calls up Lieutenant Gerard and offers to surrender! They have an amusing telephone conversation in which a befuddled and contrite Kimble mentions that his head isn't working quite right. Gerard doesn't care, and sets off to capture Kimble. Ivan Dixon assumes that Kimble must be guilty, since everyone else says he is, but Betty Garrett, swayed by her emotions for the attractive fugitive, takes Kimble on faith and believes in him. She discovers evidence that the one-armed man is in the area, and, at the last possible moment, just as Gerard is about to catch him, she convinces Kimble of this. Kimble has a flashback (the same one he had in THE GIRL FROM LITTLE EGYPT, in fact) and remembers seeing the one-armed man on the night of the murder. Thus recalling his innocence, he is able to escape from Gerard by jumping off of a moving train into the night. This episode is a real tearjerker; Kimble doubts himself and is saved by the compassionate intercession of another. Written by Larry Cohen, directed by Jerry Hopper.


THE CAGE
November 24, 1964
(40) On the waterfront in a town in the Southwest, there is an outbreak of Bubonic plague and everyone is quarantined, putting Kimble in jeopardy. Kimble is working with some immigrant fishermen there, he gets romantically involved with one of their daughters, which leads to some heated arguments. Written by Sheldon Stark.

CRY UNCLE
December 1, 1964
(41) Kimble befriends three orphans, including little Ronnie Howard, and pretends to be the uncle of one of them, hence the intense title. The orphans help him hide from the cops and look to him as a kind of father figure, especially the oldest one, who tacks up pictures of baby animals with their parents all over his room in the orphanage. Kimble helps this boy, but doesn't really have to sacrifice himself to do so. The script is intelligent but doesn't contain much suspense. At the beginning of the episode, Kimble is seen doing laundry at a laundromat! Written by Philip Saltzman.


DETOUR ON A ROAD GOING NOWHERE
December 8, 1964
(42) In Wyoming, the bus Kimble is aboard is stranded because of a road washout, putting Kimble in jeopardy of being caught by the police. Nina Foch is also on the bus. Kimble escapes by daring someone to shoot him in the back. Written by Philip Saltzman and William D. Gordon.

THE IRON MAIDEN Most Wanted
December 15, 1964
(43) Kimble becomes a sitting duck when he's trapped underground with Nan Martin and some Native American miners after an explosion. It's not clear whether they will even be able to get out of the mine, and even if they do, the police have meanwhile cordoned off the area because they have discovered Kimble's true identity. But the Native Americans help Kimble to escape by signalling to their co-workers on the surface in their tribal language. Written by Harry Kronman.


DEVIL'S CARNIVAL
December 22, 1964
(44) Kimble hitches a ride with a criminal (Warren Oates) and runs headlong into trouble. Written by William D. Gordon. With DeForest Kelley as some local yokel.


BALLAD FOR A GHOST
December 29, 1964
(45) Kimble becomes obsessed by a woman who's the spitting image of his dead wife. Written by George Eckstein.


BRASS RING
January 5, 1965
(46) Shopkeeper Angie Dickinson hires Kimble as her assistant and seems to fall in love with him, but in reality she plans to use him as a dupe in a scheme she and her boyfriend have hatched. They are plotting to kill Angie's brother, Robert Duvall, so they can run off with his money. Robert Duvall is the victim of a terrible accident that has left him bedridden, unable to use his legs. But Kimble discovers that all he needs is a little physical therapy, and soon enough, thanks to Kimble, Robert is feeling pretty good. This alarms the plotters, so they decide to do away with him quickly before he starts spending all that money of his on dancing lessons. As predicted, the police suspect Kimble instead of the real killers. Kimble plays some exciting cat-and-mouse games with the police, and finally confronts Angie, who repents for her sins and comes clean to the cops, exonerating Kimble. Written by Leonard Kantor.

THE END IS BUT THE BEGINNING Most Wanted
January 12, 1965
(47) Written by George Fass and Arthur Weiss. In Pennsylvania, Kimble is driving a truck and picks up a hitchhiker. They have a wreck, through no fault of Kimble's, of course, and the hitchhiker gets killed, but Kimble escapes. The cops think the burned corpse is Kimble, though, not knowing about the hitchhiker. Gerard comes snooping around to see if it's really true that Kimble is dead. Kimble is meanwhile hiding out in the kitchen of sympathetic female co-worker Barbara Barrie, who withstands Gerard's sharp interrogation in an intense scene. Unfortunately, the hitchhiker was wearing dog tags, which are still in the wreck of the truck; if the police find them, they'll know Kimble had a passenger, and figure out that he is still alive. In the climax, Kimble and Barrie go back to the truck, but they are surprised by another co-worker, who wants Barrie for himself and is jealous of Kimble's magnetic effect on her. When the co-worker gets injured in a scuffle, Kimble sticks around to keep him alive, though he thereby blows his chance to escape with the dog tags. It's that darn Hippocratic oath screwing things up for him again. He also plays matchmaker, telling Barrie that she and the co-worker are really made for each other. Somehow the premise of this episode isn't all that compelling; even if Gerard does think he's dead, Kimble still hasn't cleared himself, and people are still going to recognize him wherever he goes. Though of course that hasn't stopped Elvis.


NICEST FELLA YOU'D EVER WANT TO MEET
January 19, 1965
(48) Pat Hingle as a bad sheriff who runs down Tom Skerrit in his patrol car. Dabney Coleman is also a co-star. Written by Jack Turley. In his previous guest appearance, Pat Hingle played a good guy.


FUN AND GAMES AND PARTY FAVORS
January 26, 1965
(49) Kimble falls victim to adolescent blackmail when he is assigned to babysit some spoiled brats. Written by Arthur Weiss.


SCAPEGOAT
February 2, 1965
(50) An innocent man is accused of murder and the victim is supposedly Kimble! Written by William D. Gordon and Larry Cohen.


CORNER OF HELL
February 9, 1965
(51) Written by Jo Helms. While fleeing from Gerard, Kimble blunders across a community of hillbillies who mistrust lawmen. Gerard arrives and orders them to hand Kimble over, but they refuse. Then one of the hillbillies is wounded by another hillbilly (Bruce Dern), but suspicion falls on Gerard since he is the outsider. He is sentenced to death in hillbilly court, but Kimble manages to save his life. Killer hillbillies return in ILL WIND.


MOON CHILD
February 16, 1965
(52) After an ugly scene in a bar, vigilantes set out in pursuit of Kimble because they think he's a serial child molester or something, when in reality it's some local creep. Kimble narrowly avoids taking the blame for another crime he didn't commit. With Murray Hamilton. Written by Dan Ullman.


THE SURVIVORS Most Wanted
February 23, 1965
(53) Kimble returns to Stafford, Indiana, his hometown, to deal with some family business, and winds up getting involved with his dead wife Helen's family (the Waverleys). He has to cope with Helen's younger sister who has a crush on him, not to mention Helen's mother, who is fully convinced of his guilt and is on the talk-show circuit plugging victims' rights and public executions. Naturally, the cops show up, and Kimble hides from them successfully in a very suspenseful sequence. Implausibly, though, the mother, who was howling for his blood, refrains from giving him away. Kimble sort of shows his moral superiority in his dealings with the younger sister; never the talkative one, he manages to set her straight by uttering a few well-chosen sentences which put an end to years of misguided thinking on her part. The script does not fully develop the themes that this situation evokes. Written by George Eckstein.


EVERYBODY GETS HIT IN THE MOUTH SOMETIME
March 9, 1965
(54) Kimble interferes in an affair between widow Geraldine Brooks and Jack Klugman . . . and nearly blows his cover. Neat title. Written by Jack Turley.


Scary cop, scary comb-over

MAY GOD HAVE MERCY

March 16, 1965
(55) Telly Savalas and his wife are bitter because Kimble, when he was a doctor in Stafford, couldn't help them. They see Kimble while he's on the run and rat on him. Kimble is shot trying to escape and is put in a hospital until he is well enough to be transported back to death row. Meanwhile though Telly repents and decides, since he's dying anyway, to save Kimble by making Gerard think that he, Telly, really killed Helen Kimble. But Gerard is too smart for this ruse. Jud Taylor plays a sadistic orderly who baits Kimble. There is some great repartee between Gerard and Kimble in the hospital, and Telly's detailed confession to the murder is pretty neat. But the story is drowned in melodrama, and has an implausible ending. Written by Don Brinkley.


MASQUERADE
March 23, 1965
(56) In a curious switch, Kimble finds himself protected by the police as a material witness to a crime. Written by Philip Saltzman.


RUNNER IN THE DARK
March 30, 1965
(57) Ed Begley, who previously tried to help Kimble, is now a blind old sheriff who wants to prove he can still be useful. He guesses Kimble's secret identity, when Kimble seeks refuge in the home for the blind where he is living. He tries to capture Kimble, but gets foiled by his son, who lets Kimble go. In the hilarious opening sequence, Kimble's identity is revealed to a horrified housewife when he is featured on a '60s version of America's Most Wanted. Written by Robert Guy Barrows.


A.P.B.
April 6, 1965
(58) A boxcar escape puts Kimble in the hands of three desperate criminals, who then hold a family hostage in their own home. With Paul Richards and Lou Antonio. Written by Dan Ullman.


THE OLD MAN PICKED A LEMON
April 13, 1965
(59) Kimble lands in the middle of a bitter family feud when the owner of a farm dies and his evil son tries to take over. With Celeste Holm as the saintly widow Kimble tries to help. Written by Jack Turley.


LAST SECOND OF A BIG DREAM
April 20, 1965
(60) Laurence Naismith and Steve Forrest are running a declining animal circus, where Kimble is also helping out. Laurence loves all the critters, including his pet tiger, but Forrest is an ambitious schemer who wants to sell the animals off if it brings in a profit. When he finds out who Kimble is, he plans to turn him in, but his motives are not exactly pure: he imagines he can make a buck off of Kimble's capture. Even though there's no reward on Kimble's head yet, Forrest reckons that the place where a famous fugitive like Kimble gets nabbed is bound to become a tourist attraction, like the Biograph Theater where Dillinger was caught. Hence, rather than calling in the cops, Forrest keeps them away so he can orchestrate a dramatic capture, which in the end works to Kimble's advantage, of course. Kindly Laurence is dragged into Forrest's scheme as a reluctant accomplice, but Kimble appeals to him for ``room to die'', arguing that the electric chair isn't even a fit way for an animal to go, let alone a person. Finally Laurence helps Kimble escape, though it costs him the life of the tiger. Written by George Eckstein and John Eastman.


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