Another good episode in this high-quality series. Kimble is deck hand on a yacht chartered by Felice Greer (Anne Francis) to go to Mexico. The captain has been replaced by Ralph Schuyler (Charles Bronson) who is a govt agent hoping that Felice will lead him to her husband Oliver (Charles Drake), an embezzler. Schuyler's agency has also zeroed in on Kimble as a background check reveals that his past is a blank, but they don't know who he really is. Schuyler has to get his fingerprints while at sea to get them traced. He does it and send the prints in on a cigarette pack cellophane wrapper. Felice picks a quiet Mexican port as their destination and Schuyler thinks the husband is there. Before they get to the port, a fire aboard ship wounds Schuyler and he is laid up in bed with burns. Once in the port, Kimble takes a letter from Felice to the local hotel for her husband as Felice stays on the boat to care for Schuyler and avoid leading authorities to her husband. While at the hotel, Kimble gets a note meant for Schuyler that identifies the fingerprints as Richard Kimble. Kimble also sees the husband has his secretary with him masquerading as his wife. Kimble goes back to the boat with the message. While he is gone, Schuyler gets on the boat's radio and learns about Kimble's identity. The wife's note brings the husband to the boat and announces he and Felice will sail off together. Down in the cabin, Schuyler who pulls out a pistol and arrests Kimble. He forces Kimble up on deck and now Schuyler covers him and the wayward couple. Schuyler faints due to his injuries and Felice ends up with the gun. Kimble tells Felice about the fake wife. It comes out that she had converted the embezzled money to rare coins. Oliver denies everything so Felice starts tossing coins overboard to get Oliver to talk. He confesses and Felice is mad. Kimble and Oliver fight. The Mexican police show up. Felice tells Kimble to run. He gets away. Oliver gets wounded by the Mexican police and Schuyler ends up with half of a victory.
The cast is good. Always liked Anne Francis. She doesn't have great range as an actress but what she does do, she does very well. There is a depth to her that makes her more than just another pretty face. Tough but vulnerable makes her appealing. Charles Drake can do the bad guy with a veneer of good breeding with the best of them. This is one of Charles Bronson's last TV roles as he moves exclusively to movies. He had already done big supporting roles in several well received movies (The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape come to mind) so he was a star on the rise. The producers probably felt they were lucky to get him. Unfortunately, he is miscast here. With his craggy looks and intense, slightly menacing demeanor, he would be great at infiltrating a drug ring or biker gang, but he is too rough around the edges for this assignment. The undercover guy here needed to have a high "likeability" factor and be able to project warmth and sincerity to win over Felice. That ain't Bronson! Also, the script does him no favors. He is the skipper of the boat hired by Felice, so he is the 'hired help" so to speak. Some of the remarks he says to Felice are totally inappropriate and makes her wary and suspicious of him. Maybe the director did that to provide a clear contrast with the likeable Kimble. If so, it worked.
Stray thoughts. Felice throws two coins overboard that she identifies as a1894 liberty head dime worth $12,500 and a1875 Philadelphia three-dollar gold piece ($19,000). Good research by the writers as that was about right for the mid 60s. Assuming the 1894 dime is from the San Francisco mint, the few out there today go for over a million dollars each.
As a kid in the mid 60s, my family watched The Fugitive every week as my mother loved David Janssen. There are two trends obvious throughout its four-year run. One I spotted as a kid - women always fall in love with Kimble after about two days. Those that don't fall in love still like him enough to help him escape even if it costs them, as in this episode. I guess if Kimble had showed up at our house, my mother would have helped him get away. The other trend that I didn't notice back then but is clear now is how many times Kimble gets drawn into police business through no fault of his own but because of the actions of the people around him. This episode is 4-17. Just a quick look back reveals it happens in 4-16, 4-13, 4-11, 4-9, and 4-8. Kimble is very unlucky in that regard. He is like Caine in "Kung Fu". That guy could get into more trouble just walking down a road minding his own business.
Once again, Kimble gets away with nothing and in Mexico, no less. The next episode is in Nebraska, so he travels fast. In the final scene with closing narration, is that the Coronado bridge in San Diego behind him? I think it is. This is a good episode that loses a star for Bronson but do see it.
The cast is good. Always liked Anne Francis. She doesn't have great range as an actress but what she does do, she does very well. There is a depth to her that makes her more than just another pretty face. Tough but vulnerable makes her appealing. Charles Drake can do the bad guy with a veneer of good breeding with the best of them. This is one of Charles Bronson's last TV roles as he moves exclusively to movies. He had already done big supporting roles in several well received movies (The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape come to mind) so he was a star on the rise. The producers probably felt they were lucky to get him. Unfortunately, he is miscast here. With his craggy looks and intense, slightly menacing demeanor, he would be great at infiltrating a drug ring or biker gang, but he is too rough around the edges for this assignment. The undercover guy here needed to have a high "likeability" factor and be able to project warmth and sincerity to win over Felice. That ain't Bronson! Also, the script does him no favors. He is the skipper of the boat hired by Felice, so he is the 'hired help" so to speak. Some of the remarks he says to Felice are totally inappropriate and makes her wary and suspicious of him. Maybe the director did that to provide a clear contrast with the likeable Kimble. If so, it worked.
Stray thoughts. Felice throws two coins overboard that she identifies as a1894 liberty head dime worth $12,500 and a1875 Philadelphia three-dollar gold piece ($19,000). Good research by the writers as that was about right for the mid 60s. Assuming the 1894 dime is from the San Francisco mint, the few out there today go for over a million dollars each.
As a kid in the mid 60s, my family watched The Fugitive every week as my mother loved David Janssen. There are two trends obvious throughout its four-year run. One I spotted as a kid - women always fall in love with Kimble after about two days. Those that don't fall in love still like him enough to help him escape even if it costs them, as in this episode. I guess if Kimble had showed up at our house, my mother would have helped him get away. The other trend that I didn't notice back then but is clear now is how many times Kimble gets drawn into police business through no fault of his own but because of the actions of the people around him. This episode is 4-17. Just a quick look back reveals it happens in 4-16, 4-13, 4-11, 4-9, and 4-8. Kimble is very unlucky in that regard. He is like Caine in "Kung Fu". That guy could get into more trouble just walking down a road minding his own business.
Once again, Kimble gets away with nothing and in Mexico, no less. The next episode is in Nebraska, so he travels fast. In the final scene with closing narration, is that the Coronado bridge in San Diego behind him? I think it is. This is a good episode that loses a star for Bronson but do see it.