A dragnet traps Dr. Kimble to within a few city blocks while he hides out in a house owned by two men. One of the men believes Kimble is innocent and the other does not, and wants to turn hi... Read allA dragnet traps Dr. Kimble to within a few city blocks while he hides out in a house owned by two men. One of the men believes Kimble is innocent and the other does not, and wants to turn him over to the police.A dragnet traps Dr. Kimble to within a few city blocks while he hides out in a house owned by two men. One of the men believes Kimble is innocent and the other does not, and wants to turn him over to the police.
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Introductory Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title makes reference to the endgame where in chess it is the stage of the game when there are only a few pieces left on the board.
- GoofsAt the beginning Kimble accidentally gets his photo taken when he momentarily looks back over his shoulder when another couple gets their photograph taken by a street photographer. When it happens in real time, the couple is looking at the photographer. But later when the resulting photo is seen in a close-up, the man and woman are looking at each other.
- Quotes
Narrator: [Act I Opening Narration. Viewers see a street vendor/photographer, taking pictures of couples] This is the instrument
[a camera]
Narrator: and this its operator
[the photographer. He hands photo he has taken to a young couple]
Narrator: The subject: newlyweds, and a day to remember - always.
[Viewers see Richard Kimble walking down the street]
Narrator: This is the Fugitive, and as Fate would have it, he is the target. And this is the sound
[camera clicks]
Narrator: , like that of a trigger or of a trap.
[the newlyweds view the picture in their hotel room and toss it into a waste basket]
Narrator: This is the picture which vanity, not Fate, discards.
[Cleaning woman empties wastebasket into an outside trash container, but the photo falls onto the ground]
Narrator: But Fate is not finished with Richard Kimble. It is only a matter of time and place.
[Hotel manager discovers picture on the ground. He believes the couple has accidentally left it behind and decides to mail it to them. While he is typing their address on an envelope, the photo lies on the counter beside him]
Narrator: This is the place, and with a common, ordinary act of a man buying cigarettes
[Man spots the picture on the counter and recognizes Richard Kimble. The man is a police officer]
Narrator: now is the time, and Fate is swift and sure.
- SoundtracksTheme from The Fugitive
Music by Pete Rugolo
An interesting scene shows Gerard roughly treating a guy who sets up a hot dog stand for the crowds at the stake-out. Gerard asks the guy "Don't you realize a man is fighting for his life in there?" It's interesting to wonder what the source of this reaction was. Was Gerard feeling a bit of sympathy for Kimble? Or did it simply offend his sense of the gravity of his job?
Ed Peterson's book on the series says that this was the last episode filmed for the year and that it "plays very much like a finale" for the show. I certainly doubt that they would have ended the series on the note of Kimble dying in the flames of that car. Indeed, after Gerard has announced that this is the way it ends, Fielder shows up saying that he and Kimble got out of the car before it crashed and that Kimble has escaped, so it's not the end of the game at all. Peterson said everybody knew the series had already been renewed, so this episode was not intended to be a true "end game" for the series. What's interesting is that the opening reverts back to the "irony" introduction that was used before "Never Stop Running", four episodes previously. It makes me wonder if this was really the last filmed episode. Maybe the happy ending was added on later when they were renewed? Maybe it was supposed to be ambivalent whether Kimble was actually in the burning car or not?
Details
- Runtime51 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1