DVD Review: The Fugitive - Season Two, Volume Two

This release presents the second half (15 episodes) of Season Two, which aired in 1965, of the classic Quinn Martin production about the ongoing adventures of fugitive Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), a man wrongly accused of murdering his wife Helen, as he travels the countryside in search of the one-armed man he saw leaving his home that fateful night, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the determined Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse).

The premise of the series made the stories' parameters limitless as Kimble could appear anywhere in the country in the lives of anyone. The four-disc set begins with Kimble in a variation of Double Indemnity entitled “Brass Ring” as Norma (Angie Dickinson) and her boyfriend Lars plan for Kimble to kill her invalid brother Leslie (Robert Duvall) so the lovebirds can make off with the insurance money.

In one typical storyline of the series Kimble is forced into exposing himself by doing the right thing. In “Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want to Meet,” he witnesses a dishonest sheriff (Pat Hingle) kill a prisoner (Tom Skerritt). In “Scapegoat” he has to return to a town where a man was convicted of killing one of his aliases after he left town.

Some episodes appear as if Kimble’s running will end. In “The End Is But The Beginning” while working as a truck driver, Kimble picks up a hitchhiker. To avoid an accident, they swerve off the road and only Kimble leaps from the cab as it plummets down a mountain and catches fire. Kimble sees a chance to trick Gerard into thinking he was the one who died. “May God Have Mercy” throws a monkey wrench at Gerard when a man (Telly Savalas) confesses to the murder of Helen.

Another plot device has people discover Kimble’s identity and attempt to use it to their advantage. The season closer, “Last Second of a Big Dream,” has Kimble working at a financially struggling circus. When Gerard comes around, the owner decides to hold off on turning Kimble in until he can get news photographers there to maximize the publicity for the circus.

Article Author: Gordon S. Miller

Gordon S. Miller is the artist formerly known as El Bicho, the nom de plume he used when he first began reviewing movies online for The Masked Movie Snobs in 2003. Before that year was out, he became that site's publisher. …

Visit Gordon S. Miller's author page — Gordon S. Miller's Blog