Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



The Fugitive (1993)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

The Fugitive (1993)

In director Andrew Davis' suspenseful action-thriller - a production of the episodic ABC-TV series from 1963 to 1967 that earlier starred David Janssen as the wrongly-accused fugitive doctor, and his quest for a mysterious one-armed man who killed his wife:

  • the opening murder scene - Helen Kimble (Sela Ward), the wife of the "fugitive" character Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), was assaulted and killed in her bedroom (seen in nightmarish flashbacks); as she passed away, she phoned 911 with the report of an assault in her house: "He's trying to kill me...Richard" - although her words were interpreted as damning and accusatory
The Murder of Helen Kimble
in Her Bedroom
Richard Kimble's Attempted CPR
  • the spectacular collision between the CORRECTIONS prison bus (transporting prisoners including the "fugitive" Kimble to death row for execution by lethal injection) and a train in the opening train wreck scene; fellow prisoners executing an escape attempt caused the bus to crash into a guard rail, roll down a steep road-side ravine, and settle on railroad tracks - in the path of an oncoming train; it slammed into the middle of the bus and sent the flaming metal carcass skidding along the tracks; Kimble (in a yellow prison suit) successfully jumped clear of the initial collision, but with his feet still shackled, he had to dodge part of a derailed train car that was still aimed straight at him
  • the reaction of federal Deputy US Marshal Samuel Gerard's (Tommy Lee Jones): "My, my, my, my, my. What a mess!" after he drove up to the scene
  • Gerard's pursuit instructions to his men to catch a fugitive: ("Listen up, ladies and gentlemen. Our fugitive has been on the run for 90 minutes. Average foot speed over uneven ground, barring injury, is four miles an hour. That gives us a radius of - six miles. What I want out of each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Checkpoints go up at 15 miles. Your fugitive's name is Dr. Richard Kimble - Go get him!")
  • the chase sequences and the unforgettable dive of wrongly-accused murder suspect/fugitive Kimble from the end of a drainage pipe and down into a cascading waterfall as he shouted back to the uncaring deputy - "I didn't kill my wife!"; later, Gerard described: "He did a Peter Pan right here off of his dam!"
In Storm Drainage Pipe Over a Dam: "I didn't kill my wife"
  • the exciting finale in which Kimble battled, while eluding his police pursuit, the real villain - his own colleague Dr. Charles Nichols (Jeroen Krabbe); both Nichols and one-armed (with a mechanical prosthetic) ex-cop Frederick Sykes (Andreas Katsulas) (the actual hit-man) were eventually found to be guilty of killing Kimble's wife Helen (although Nichols' and Sykes' intended target was Kimble himself); Nichols sought revenge for Kimble's denouncement of his falsified drug research with switched samples and pathology reports in order to get FDA approval for a dangerous drug known as Provasic, and make millions from a deal with a pharmaceutical company)
Exciting Finale:
Gerard's Revealing Confessions to Richard
Richard, I know you're innocent!
I know about Frederick Sykes! I know about Dr. Charles Nichols!
Give it up. It's time to stop running!
  • in the end scene in the Chicago Hilton Hotel's corridors (near where the drug had been presented by Nichols during a pharmacon conference), Gerard realized that Kimble was innocent and yelled out: "Richard, I know you're innocent! I know about Frederick Sykes! I know about Dr. Charles Nichols! Richard, he borrowed your car the night of your wife's murder, he had your keys! No forced entry, Richard! He telephoned Sykes from your car, Richard! Richard, give it up! Richard, I'm either lying or I'm gonna shoot you, what do you think? Give it up, it's time to stop running!"; Kimble prevented Nichols from grabbing a gun and shooting at Gerard by whacking his legs and knocking him unconscious; after having surrendered, Kimble stated his long-held belief: "They killed my wife," and Gerard assured him: "I know it. But it's over now!"; and he was relieved himself: "Whew. You know, I'm glad. I need the rest"
  • the concluding scene of Kimble and Gerard seated in a car, when Kimble's handcuffs were removed; Kimble noted: "I thought you didn't care"; Gerard responded: "I don't. (laughter) Don't tell anybody, OK?"

The Prosthetic Arm of the One-Armed Killer

Wrongly Accused and Convicted Husband
Richard Kimble




The Train-Bus Collision - Jumping to Safety

Sam Gerard: "What a mess!"


Kimble - Apprehended But Soon To Be Freed


Ending Scene - Removal of Kimble's Handcuffs

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