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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
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The Murder of Helen Kimble
in Her Bedroom
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Richard Kimble's Attempted CPR
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- 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"
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- 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
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Richard, I know you're innocent!
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I know about Frederick Sykes! I know about Dr.
Charles Nichols!
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Give it up. It's time to stop running!
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- 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?"
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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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