FUGITIVE, THE {ORIGINAL SERIES}: THE JUDGMENT, PART 1 {SERIES FINALE} (TV)
Summary
Part one of the final episode of this series of dramas about Dr. Richard Kimble, an innocent man convicted of his wife's murder. Unable to prove his innocence, Kimble escapes en route to prison and searches for the man he believes to be the murderer.
The one-armed man, under the alias "Fred Johnson," is arrested in Los Angeles for wrecking a nightclub. Under the direction of Lt. Gerard, the LAPD publicize the arrest in the newspaper, hoping to draw Kimble out of hiding. Kimble, working as a truck mechanic in Tucson, Arizona, sees the newspaper article, noting the photograph of Johnson. At the LA police headquarters, Jean Carlisle, a police stenographer and former resident of Stafford, Indiana, recognizes Lt. Gerard from Kimble's case. She calls Donna and Leonard, whom she was friends with years ago, and tells them about the arrest and asks for their help in getting in contact with Kimble. They work together to determine that he has hitched a ride on a truck to Los Angeles, and Jean finds Kimble at a local produce market, where the police are already looking for him. She convinces him to come with her and together they manage to get away just before one of the policemen recognizes Kimble.
Despite this setback, Lt. Gerard is still convinced that Kimble will reveal himself as long as they still have the one-armed man in custody. He interrogates Johnson, who claims that he has never been to Stafford, Indiana and did not kill Helen Kimble. He notes that he is tired of Kimble chasing him across the country. Lt. Gerard is unconvinced, pointing to various pieces of evidence which place Johnson in Stafford around the time of the murder, under the name "Gus Evans." He briefly becomes aggressive before releasing Johnson back into police custody. The media seizes upon Johnson's role in the Kimble case and speculates as to the police's intentions; Lt. Gerard decides to allow the story to circulate, believing that Kimble will notice and turn himself in. Meanwhile, Kimble stays with Jean in her apartment. He was friends with her father before he went to prison for embezzlement and died there. She feels she owes a debt of gratitude to the Kimble family; they were the only ones in Stafford who didn't shun her and her mother after what happened to her father. Kimble sees Lt. Gerard on the news asking that Kimble turn himself in. Kimble stays up all night contemplating such an action, and decides to do so after asking Jean to make sure that Johnson is still in police custody.
However, a bail bondsman named Arthur Howe arrives at the police station to pay for Johnson's bail, and the police have no choice but to accept it, despite the fact that they have no knowledge of who put up the money. Jean finds out and intercepts Kimble before he can turn himself in, telling him about the situation. They follow an undercover police car tailing Howe and Johnson in a taxi. They are led to the Los Angeles Zoo, where all parties try to avoid being discovered by each other. Howe sits down and informs Johnson that the mystery client has offered him a thousand dollars if he leaves town, but he convinces Johnson to stay and help him blackmail the client for more money. Both of them seem to have a vague idea of the client's identity, and Howe proposes they work together to discover it. Kimble tries to talk to Howe alone but there are too many police around, and Jean comes up with a plan to get Kimble into Howe's office later on. That night, Howe meets with Johnson in his office as the police stake out the place. Johnson tells Howe that he didn't kill Helen Kimble, but saw the man who did; they deduce that this man is the mystery client. Howe plans to have them both leave for Stafford, but Johnson first insists on learning the name of the man he saw, which Howe has in his files.
Jean sneaks Kimble into Howe's office, only to find Howe dead and Johnson missing. They search the office and discover a discarded note which seems to indicate that the mystery client, and therefore Helen Kimble's murderer, is none other than his brother-in-law Leonard Taft. Kimble is confused by this revelation, unsure of what to believe. They leave before the police arrive to investigate the crime scene, and Lt. Gerard learns that Jean entered the building just before the murder, and that she is originally from Stafford. Jean and Kimble prepare to leave for Stafford, but Kimble is forced to hide when Lt. Gerard arrives to question Jean. She seems to allay his suspicions and he leaves, but is waiting outside her apartment building in a police car. Kimble instructs her to misdirect the police while he calls a cab and escapes to Stafford on his own. They share a tender farewell as Lt. Gerard finds evidence of Kimble's presence in Jean's car. She leaves and Kimble prepares to escape, but Lt. Gerard intercepts him and holds him at gunpoint. He solemnly notes that Kimble "ran out of time," and with some remorse arrests him. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: August 22, 1967 Tuesday 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:49:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:63294
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Crime and criminals
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1963-1967
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Quinn Martin … Executive Producer
- Wilton Schiller … Producer
- George Eckstein … Co-Producer, Writer
- Don Medford … Director
- Roy Huggins … Created by
- Michael Zagor … Writer
- William Conrad … Narrator
- David Janssen … Cast, Dr. Richard Kimble
- Richard Anderson … Cast, Leonard Taft
- Joseph Campanella … Cast, Capt. Ralph Lee
- Michael Constantine … Cast, Arthur Howe
- Jacqueline Scott … Cast, Donna Taft
- Diane Baker … Cast, Jean Carlisle
- Skip Ward … Cast, Nat Harris
- Bill Raisch … Cast, Fred Johnson
- Barry Morse … Cast, Lt. Phillip Gerard
- Paul Comi … Cast, Policeman B
- Lloyd Haynes … Cast, Detective Franks
- James Nolan … Cast, Driver
- Don Lamond … Cast, Newscaster
- Seymour Cassell … Cast, Cabbie
- Paul Hahn … Cast, Plainclothesman
- Arch Whiting … Cast, Policeman
- Mark Allen … Cast, Trucker
- Michael Harris … Cast, Policeman
- Perry Cook … Cast, Attendant
- Tom Palmer … Cast
- John Ward … Cast