Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Next:

The Fugitive in color.

All right, hold it, Kimble!

I'm sorry, your fare already left.

[ENGINE STARTS]

Come on, hands behind you.

Gerard, for the first time I feel I'm really close to something.

It had to happen someday, you knew that.

I'm sorry.

You just ran out of time.

[NARRATOR READS ON-SCREEN TEXT]

NARRATOR: Starring David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble.

An innocent victim of blind justice,

falsely convicted for the murder of his wife,

reprieved by fate when a train wreck freed him

en route to the death house.

Freed him to hide in lonely desperation,

to change his identity, to toil at many jobs.

Freed him to search for a one-armed man

he saw leave the scene of the crime.

Freed him to run before the relentless pursuit

of the police lieutenant obsessed with his capture.

ANNOUNCER: The guest stars in tonight's story:

Richard Anderson,

Joseph Campanella,

Michael Constantine,

Jacqueline Scott

and special guest star Diane Baker.

Also starring Barry Morse as Lieutenant Philip Gerard.

[ANNOUNCER READS ON-SCREEN TEXT]

[DOOR OPENS]

Drop it!

Get up against that wall.

Put those hands up.

MAN: Davis.

You drop this one, get right on the semi that just came in.

- Taking it to L.A. tonight. - Okay.

NARRATOR: How long can a man search

before the search destroys him?

To Richard Kimble, working for a trucking firm in Tucson, Arizona,

defeat has never seemed so mockingly near.

Months have passed and the trail stays cold.

There is no trace of the elusive hope he seeks.

But sometimes hope lies no further than the next truck.

What's the matter, Davis? Don't you want to fix this truck?

Well, sure.

Frankly, captain, it's not the year's hottest story and we ran it once.

Well, run it twice, Nat. And I owe you a bigger one.

How come the L.A.P.D. is so anxious to publicize its capture

of a one-armed transient who broke up a crummy bar?

- How come? - We're just a bunch of egomaniacs.

All right, you'll tell me sometime.

- Will he do it? - I think so.

He owes me some favors.

Of course, the, uh, wire services

won't give this the kind of national play the first story got.

All right, then let's give it some juice.

Call a press conference. Reveal how you saw

the routine arrest report on Fred Johnson,

your dramatic flight out of Stafford.

Hey, Phil? I'm kidding.

Where's your sense of humor?

I don't know.

I've lost a lot of things these last four years.

Starting with a prisoner the state told me to guard.

Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.

You think this will get him back?

It could.

If he sees the story, he'll take the chance.

I know Kimble.

Carlisle, if one of you court stenographers

could only teach me how to play this thing,

why, I could astound my friends and neighbors.

Not a chance, Nat. Now, hands off.

GERARD: All right, it's pathological.

But to him it's real.

We've been hounding this man for four years.

What's the matter?

Nothing. I... I just saw someone I knew.

- Uh, where do you know him from? - Stafford, Indiana.

The little town with the great big heart.

- Stafford, Indiana. Stafford... - The Kimble case.

Of course. The doctor that murdered his wife.

They said he did.

Jean, is that the cop? Is that the one that's been chasing him? Uh...

- Uh, Jerrell? - Gerard.

Yeah, now it all makes sense.

They've got this Carson guy and they're out trolling for Kimble.

Trying to lure him in.

And Lee had the nerve to promise me a bigger story.

Excuse me.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[VACUUM WHIRRING]

[PHONE RINGING]

Uh, the phone's ringing.

- What? - The phone's ringing!

I can't talk now, darling, I have to answer the phone.

Hello.

Oh, yes, I'll accept the charges.

Hello.

Jean?

Oh, Jean Carlisle.

Well, what... How are you?

I haven't seen you for years.

Five or six, I guess. Not counting Christmas cards.

Well, are you still in Los Angeles?

Of course you are. The operator said...

Do you have any way of contacting your brother?

Richard? Why?

The papers had a story the other day

about a one-armed man who was arrested here.

Mm-hm.

The wire services picked up the story and, well, Richard might have seen it.

Well, if he did, he's probably headed your way right now.

Donna, I do a lot of work at L.A. police headquarters.

Lieutenant Gerard is here.

Oh.

Yeah, Dick should know about that. I'll, uh...

I'll try and get in touch with him.

Take my number and call me back.

I'll call you back.

[SIGHS]

Be there.

[PHONE RINGING]

Tri-State Vans.

Davis? Sorry, he picked up his pay about an hour ago.

Gave me 15 minutes notice and some story about a sick uncle in L.A.

Yeah, he hitched a ride on one of our trucks.

Don't mention it.

Just don't let me see him around here again.

Let me see, the area code for Los Angeles is 213.

It's a good thing I make enough money to support your telephone habit.

JEAN: Excuse me.

Anytime.

- Did you just come in from Tucson? - Straight through.

If I knew you was waiting for me, I wouldn't have stopped for breakfast.

Uh, you didn't have any passengers, did you?

You a company spy or something, honey?

We can't carry passengers.

A man who worked for your company. Frank Davis.

- That's who you're looking for? - You know where he is?

I knew where he was five minutes ago.

The produce market on San Pedro Street.

Oh. Did he say where he was going from there?

Sorry, honey, I never saw him leave.

Oh, well, thanks. Thanks very much.

- I won't do, huh? - No chance, honey.

[ENGINE STARTS]

OFFICER: Excuse me.

I was wondering if you've seen this man.

Why ask me?

Oh, we're running a check on all out-of-state vehicles.

You've got one.

I was wondering if this Fred Carson might be the guy I'm looking for.

He owes me some money.

- What's your man's name? - Johnson. Fred Johnson.

At least that's the name he gave me.

Hold on a minute.

See if they're getting the trace.

He may not even be calling from town.

Then we ought to know that too. Keep stalling.

I'm sorry, we can't find where he's ever used the name Johnson.

Uh, could you give me some kind of description?

I think he's about 6 feet,

210, maybe 215 pounds,

dark hair, right arm is missing.

Oh. Could be him, I guess.

Got anything else to pin it down?

No. Thank you.

Thanks, fellows.

- Dr. Kimble. You don't remember me. - I'm sorry.

- I'm sorry. - Ben Carlisle's daughter?

- Jean? - Jean.

Come on.

I talked to Donna.

That'll be $3, miss.

Thank you.

[ENGINE STARTS]

OFFICER: Hey, hold it!

Hey, come on.

Right. Okay, thanks.

It was Kimble they saw. The phone trace matches up.

L.A. Produce Market.

- Any description of the girl? - No, and nothing on the car, either.

Couldn't even get the license number.

Sorry, Phil, almost had him on the hook.

We'll get him.

This time we've got something he wants.

You know who I am, don't you?

- I think you do. - You're a cop.

That's right.

From Indiana. Stafford, in fact. You know that town, Johnson?

That's not my name.

It'll do for now.

Ever been to Stafford?

A little while ago, we had a phone call from a man

who's sure he saw you in Stafford once.

A few years back.

His name is Richard Kimble.

I ain't ever been to any Stafford.

Have you ever heard of Richard Kimble?

I thought you might have.

He's been after you for a long time, hasn't he?

He's got something wrong in the head.

- He claims you killed his wife. - He's lying.

Take it easy, Johnson. We're on your side.

I think he invented that story.

Then he saw you one day and finished up believing his own lie.

Then get him off my back.

We will, and when we do, I want you to throw that lie in his face.

JOHNSON: What do you want from me?

GERARD: Just tell me where you were that night.

JOHNSON: What night? - September 19th, 1961.

The night Helen Kimble was murdered.

September '61... September...

Oh, yeah, Texas.

- Where in Texas? - El Paso. I was there all year.

- Doing what? - Working. Hanging around.

And you didn't leave El Paso the whole of 1961?

That's right.

- You've never been to Stafford? - No.

- Ever been to Indiana? - I might have been through there

hopping freight and all.

You know a man called Gus Evans?

JOHNSON: Never heard of him. - That's odd.

The FBI says his fingerprints match yours.

JOHNSON: They're wrong.

Using the name Gus Evans, you took a job as night watchman

for an electronics firm. They were doing some government work

so they took your fingerprints for clearance purposes.

Any of this coming back to you now?

I don't know. Maybe.

On September 5th, 1961,

just two weeks before Helen Kimble was murdered,

you were fired for drinking on the job.

- So what? - So that plant was located

in Indianapolis, just 75 miles from Stafford.

I told you I been through there.

You said you didn't leave El Paso all year.

I got confused.

You're lying.

No, just forgot, that's all.

- Did you forget about Stafford, too? - Never been there.

But you've "been through" Indiana, but you never left El Paso,

and you never heard of Gus Evans.

You got me all mixed up.

Tell the truth. That way you won't get mixed up.

I don't have to answer any more questions.

- Did you kill Helen Kimble? - I wanna see a lawyer.

Why did you lie?

I don't have to talk to you.

- Did you kill Helen Kimble? - Phil.

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

Captain, just hit the stands. I thought you should see it.

I'm afraid you've been dragged out of the background, Phil.

All right, we'll use it.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO]

Let's see. The doctor likes his steak medium rare, as I recall.

How did you know that?

Ha, ha. Big barbecue at the country club.

I was home from college.

I just remember you ordering a steak like that.

A long time ago.

I don't know whether I'd know one end of a golf club from the other.

Your father was a good golfer.

Yes, indeed.

Shot in the low 70s. Embezzled in the high 80s.

[SHUTS RADIO OFF]

KIMBLE: I read about his death.

Yeah, in prison.

KIMBLE: I didn't know him well. But he seemed like a decent man.

No.

No, it was not decent to embezzle that money.

A lot of innocent people suffered for it.

Neither was it decent

for the good citizens of Stafford to destroy my mother for his sins.

I heard you had a rough time.

Everyone did his civic duty.

We were systematically starved.

Economically and emotionally.

Thank God there was one subversive family left in town.

The Kimbles.

I always wondered why your mother didn't leave Stafford.

She couldn't.

The town wanted her to stay and suffer

and die.

So that's what she did.

All very quietly,

paying a debt that she never owed.

Fortunately for that steno machine.

My ticket out.

It's taken me to nine cities in the past three years.

- Don't you get tired of traveling? - No, no, how could anyone?

It can happen.

I'm sorry.

MAN [ON TV]: And they promised a full-scale investigation

no later than next month.

In other local news,

Los Angeles may be the hiding place of a long-sought fugitive from justice.

Tom Devlin has the story at Police Headquarters.

Where is Richard Kimble?

That is the question that has haunted an Indiana policeman

for almost four years now.

Today, that lawman, Lieutenant Philip Gerard,

arrived in Los Angeles to continue the hunt

and to make a dramatic offer.

First of all, lieutenant, what makes you believe

that Richard Kimble is in the Southern California area?

Uh, because Fred Johnson is in custody here.

But there was never any evidence

that Kimble's story about a one-armed man was true.

Have you anything to support it now? Is Johnson the man?

Uh, perhaps this is not the place to discuss the evidence.

But, uh, if Kimble gives himself up,

we will make every effort to ascertain the truth.

DEVLIN: Lieutenant, will you tell us just one more thing...

- Well, don't you want to hear the rest? - It's been on the news all day.

You know, it seems like such one-sided bargain, giving yourself up.

It may be the only chance I have.

Maybe I could make him talk or...

I doubt it.

Then what am I doing, Jean?

Why chase him ten times cross the country?

I'm tired.

I'm tired.

Your steak's getting over-done.

Try to get a good look at Johnson.

Make sure the picture in the paper isn't a plant.

Make sure they really have him.

You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?

A little.

Are you coming into headquarters?

I haven't made up my mind.

I think you have.

- Jean... - Don't, look... I paid some dues.

That's all there was to it.

Okay?

Okay, thank you.

[PHONE RINGING]

- Hello. - He's still here.

The picture was on the level.

Find Gerard, tell him I'm coming in.

Tell him I don't want to be picked up on the way.

I'm coming in voluntarily.

I'll tell him, and, Dick...

[SIGHS]

Never mind.

- Who sent you here? - Ha, ha.

Come, come, lieutenant, I'm only a bail bondsman, not an attorney,

but I know that's privileged information.

Now, I put up the correct bail as you can see on the receipt.

I believe that's all you need to know.

- You paid 3,000 in cash? - Thirty-one hundred dollar bills.

Now you're to release one Fred Johnson

in the interests of justice,

not to mention my cab waiting downstairs.

I'd appreciate it if you'd produce the gentleman.

[LEE SIGHS]

Phil, there's nothing I can do. He posted the bail.

I've got to let Johnson go.

- Heh. Exactly. - Get him.

CABBY: Where to, mister?

[ENGINE STARTS]

Civic Center. Police headquarters.

LEE: You'll see to it that he doesn't leave the jurisdiction?

I assure you my client has no desire

to make a $3,000 contribution to the State of California.

Good day, gentlemen.

[DOOR CLOSES]

I want a 24-hour watch on Johnson.

Phil, don't worry, if Kimble tries to contact him, we'll be there.

Who put up the money?

He wouldn't tell them.

Don't stay too close.

I seem to keep getting you involved in all this.

No, I keep getting me involved.

Those dues you think you owe me, Jean, they've been paid.

You know what, Richard?

I don't think it's really dues.

Not anymore.

That's right. They're in the zoo.

We'll stay on them but we could use some help.

MAN [OVER RADIO]: Roger, you got it.

Don't you worry about them.

They can't hear a thing.

We'll go back to my office and talk

just as soon as a friend of mine makes sure it isn't bugged.

What do you expect to do?

I have to talk to that bail bondsman.

- But how? - I don't know.

Isn't that amazing how some creatures are satisfied with scraps, Fred?

But I don't think you would be

and I'm a shrewd judge of human nature.

In my business you have to be.

Yeah?

Yeah, you know, son, you interest me.

Now, somebody has overlooked your lack of status.

[CHUCKLES]

Somebody has put up three grand to bail you out of jail.

They don't want you to come back.

What do you mean?

I mean there's another thousand for you if you jump bail.

My client's instructions.

- A thousand bucks? Give me it. - Not quite yet.

I told you, I want to know why somebody thinks you're that important.

Who cares? Give me the money.

"Give me the money. Give me, give me, give me!"

- You sound like a greedy child, Fred. - I need the money.

Sure you need the money, but wouldn't you rather have more?

Say, uh, 50,000?

Who knows how high the pot may run?

What are you talking about?

Oh, Fred.

Fred, I've got a name and a location.

You've got the reason why he hired me.

We pool our information, who knows what we might come up with?

We're just going to have to trust each other, Fred.

I'll think about it.

You do that, Fred, and I'll go get some refreshments.

But, Fred, think big.

[CHUCKLES]

[CHUCKLES]

He's alone now. They're watching Johnson.

JEAN: Dick!

Those two men behind us. They're from the department.

I think you should wait.

Two more familiar faces.

Look, uh, I think I can find a way to get into Howe's office,

but we'll have to wait.

Come on, come on, let's just walk.

HOWE: There you go, Fred.

Just think of it, Fred. The man paid $4,000

to get you away from the police.

[CHUCKLES]

There you are, Fred, $4,000 and nobody forced him,

nobody asked him, nobody even said please.

Now, what do you suppose he'd pay if we squeezed a little?

What's his name?

Fred, are you gonna tell me you don't know the name of a man

that would put up that kind of money to bail you out?

Maybe I know what he looks like.

Oh.

Well, I can put a name to him.

If I tell you why he's scared of me, you'll tell me who he is.

Well, I'd have to, wouldn't I? I mean, we'd be partners.

[HOWE CHUCKLES]

You could drift in style,

right out of the country, if you wanted to.

Away from the police, away from Kimble.

Kimble? He's been bugging me for years. Says I killed his wife.

HOWE: Well, did you, Fred?

I want more than half. I'm taking the big chance.

Equal partners, Fred, equal partners.

Fred, did you kill Kimble's wife?

No, but I was there and saw the man who did.

But you never said anything.

Wasn't supposed to be in that house, pal.

No skin off my nose if the doctor burns.

You dirty dog.

Now, Fred, this is important.

The man you saw has got to be my client.

Now, would you recognize him now?

Sure.

- We're leaving for Stafford right now. - Not me.

Not without his name.

Fred, you're so suspicious.

Of course.

[CHUCKLES]

Hey, Jeanie!

Hi, Dan.

You just parked here trying to pick up some girls?

Well, it's a nice night for it.

Well, if I see any, I'll tell them you're here, okay?

They got you working nights?

Well, a little moonlighting, you know, gotta pay off my yacht somehow.

[DAN CHUCKLES]

- Hey, I'm late, I gotta get going. - Okay, I'll see you.

There's a police car parked out front.

It must mean Johnson's still with him.

Shut the door.

He was beaten to death.

Do you think it was Johnson?

Well, he's done it before.

He had an attaché case with a file folder on Johnson.

That doesn't seem to be here.

Letter objecting to his phone bill.

What's this?

Let me see.

Speed writing.

Dick, the first word is "Johnson."

- What else? - Uh, three thousand... The bail.

Um...

The next, let's see.

Staf... It says Stafford.

Go on.

And there's a name...

Could be the name of the man who put up the money.

Lem... Leonard. That's it, Leonard.

Well, what is it?

Taft.

Taft?

It's written right there.

Dick, he's your own brother-in-law.

- You can't think... - I don't know what to think.

No, no, he couldn't have.

Well, I've got the APB out on Johnson.

What about Kimble? He could have followed them here.

Maybe, but he wouldn't kill him.

Now, why do you say that?

I don't know, I just don't think he did.

Sorry, sir. We just assumed as long as Howe's car was parked in front,

we had the situation under control.

- You didn't see anyone leave? - No, sir.

In fact, while we were there, no one came in or out except Jean.

- Who? OFFICER: Jean Carlisle.

- When did she get here? - About a quarter of eight.

She left about 15 minutes later.

Said she was on a job and got stood up.

- Who's Jean Carlisle? - She's a stenotypist.

Works for the department.

Come to think of it, she's from your home state, lieutenant.

Whereabouts?

I don't know, some small town, I think.

Do you have her address?

I'm going to Stafford.

Oh, I suppose you have to.

That's where the answer is. Maybe it's been there all along.

I'm sort of needing a few answers myself.

I guess I'm just curious.

It's like reading a novel without the last chapter.

Or a math problem. Or...

Who am I kidding? I'm kidding me, that's who.

I'm not looking at the problem. I'm in it.

- You don't have to be, Jean. - Yes, I do.

I'm sorry, Dr. Kimble. But, yes, I do.

And it doesn't even matter whether you want me to be or not.

I want you to be.

Now, practical, practical. You'll need a car.

Take mine.

- What if I'm caught? - Well, you can say you stole it.

- But you won't be. - I'll take it as far as San Diego.

- No... - Then I'll get a bus.

- No arguments. - Yes, sir.

I'll get word to you somehow.

It's hard to believe that Len's mixed up in this. But...

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Look, the bedroom.

I'll get rid of whoever it is.

[KNOCKING CONTINUES]

Just a minute.

- Miss Carlisle? - Yes.

I'm Lieutenant Gerard. May I come in?

- Well, uh... - It's an Indiana badge, Miss Carlisle.

Stafford, to be exact.

Oh, really, well, I used to live in Stafford. Come in.

Come in, please.

Uh, I understand you were working tonight, Miss Carlisle.

Well, you are a policeman, aren't you?

Well, I thought I was working. A deposition.

I got there, I waited around and nobody showed up.

A man was killed in that building tonight

- just around the time you were there. - Oh, gee, I'm sorry.

- Did you see anybody at all? - No, not a soul.

Have you seen Richard Kimble?

Dr. Kimble?

Well, how would I, I mean...?

Let's see, I haven't seen him since, um, his trial, I guess.

He's here in Los Angeles.

He was seen yesterday at the produce market with a young woman.

Ah. Now I see, that's why you're here.

I'm a young woman, I was from Stafford

therefore, I must be hiding Kimble under my bed or someplace. Really...

No one's accusing you of that, Miss Carlisle.

Well, I tell you the truth, lieutenant.

I'm not even sure I'd know Richard Kimble if I saw him.

In that case, I guess I've been wasting my time.

And yours too.

- Good night. - Good night, lieutenant.

[FOOTSTEPS RECEDING]

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

He still suspects something. You've got to get out of here.

- Is there a back door? - No.

There's one car down there.

Take the car and drive away. They'll follow you.

By the time they get somebody back here, I'll get a cab.

- But how will you get out of town? - Same way we planned.

You drive the car somewhere.

Leave the keys and then take off somewhere.

- They'll stay with you, not the car. - Then you take a cab where I left it.

Okay, let's see, there's a little art theater, the Little Olympus

on Wilshire and Paxton. I'll park the car on Paxton...

I guess I better call the cab.

[JEAN SIGHS]

You better go before my cab gets here.

Oh, Dick, I'm going to see you again.

Yeah. Come on.

[HORN HONKS OUTSIDE]

All right, hold it, Kimble.

I'm sorry, your fare already left.

[ENGINE STARTS]

Come on, hands behind you.

Gerard, for the first time I feel I'm really close to something.

It had to happen someday.

You knew that.

I'm sorry.

You just ran out of time.

[HANDCUFFS CLICK]

[TRAIN HORN BLARING]

NARRATOR: A free man,

Fred Johnson boarded a train that will take him east,

to Indiana, to Stafford.

[HORN BLARING]

NARRATOR: Hours later, two men boarded another train

which will bring them to the same destination.

For one of these, the moment of arrival

will be one of grim and long-sought triumph.

For the other,

his homecoming will mark only one more stop

on his way to a destiny

decreed in a court of law four years before.

Richard Kimble is on his way home.

And to an overdue appointment with death.