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 )
First Season ·
Third Season ·
Fourth Season
MAN IN A CHARIOT
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
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
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.
ESCAPE INTO BLACK
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
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
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
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.
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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