IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Anti-Catholic and anti-cleric policies in the Mexican state of Tabasco lead the revolutionary government to persecute the state's last remaining priest.Anti-Catholic and anti-cleric policies in the Mexican state of Tabasco lead the revolutionary government to persecute the state's last remaining priest.Anti-Catholic and anti-cleric policies in the Mexican state of Tabasco lead the revolutionary government to persecute the state's last remaining priest.
- Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations
Dolores Del Río
- An Indian Woman
- (as Dolores Del Rio)
Pedro Armendáriz
- A Lieutenant of Police
- (as Pedro Armendariz)
Chris-Pin Martin
- An Organ-Grinder
- (as Cris-Pin Martin)
Miguel Inclán
- A Hostage
- (as Miguel Inclan)
Fernando Fernández
- A Singer
- (as Fernando Fernandez)
Rodolfo Acosta
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Mel Ferrer
- Father Serra
- (uncredited)
Jack Pennick
- Man
- (uncredited)
José Torvay
- Mexican
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- John Ford
- Emilio Fernández(uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsWhen the Priest is on line getting ready to board a ship, he is approached by a young boy that was baptized by him. The boy informs him that his mother is dying and wishes for the priest to come home with him to give her the last rites. What is not explained is how did the boy just happen to know that the priest was in town and getting ready to board a ship at that precise moment and in the third class section.
- Quotes
A Police Informer: [to the priest] He's dying, Father. He wants you to come. You cannot refuse a man who is dying, Father. He has so much to confess.
- ConnectionsFeatured in John Ford (1992)
- SoundtracksBury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
("The Dying Cowboy") (uncredited)
American folk ballad based on an older sea song (1932)
Variation heard as theme for the Gringo (Ward Bond)
Featured review
Heavy Handed Symbolism
When Herbert J. Yates of Republic Pictures made a deal with John Ford to produce The Quiet Man he first made Ford agree to do one of his cavalry epics with John Wayne because he wanted a surefire moneymaker before taking a chance on The Quiet Man. The cavalry picture was Rio Grande.
He must have been talking to the folks at RKO who lost their collective shirts when the public stayed away in droves from The Fugitive. It got great critical acclaim and no box office at all.
My guess is that The Fugitive was sold all wrong or was made a year or two too early. If it had been sold as an anti-Communist as opposed to a pro-Catholic film it might have done better in those beginning years of The Cold War.
The Fugitive is based on a Graham Greene novel The Power and the Glory and it is about a priest in an unnamed South American country who is a fugitive because of his calling. An anti-clerical government has taken control of the country and they are doing their best to drive the Catholic religion out of the country.
Henry Fonda turns in a good sincere performance as the cleric, but he's about as convincingly Latino as Toshiro Mifune. The other members of the cast are well suited for their roles.
The best performance in the film is from that chameleon like actor J. Carrol Naish who could play any kind of nationality on the planet. He's the informer who rats out Henry Fonda to the police. Very similar to what Akim Tamiroff did to Gary Cooper in For Whom The Bells Toll and Naish's own performance in another Gary Cooper film, Beau Geste.
This was the first of three films Pedro Armendariz did with John Ford in an effort to broaden his appeal beyond Mexican cinema. Dolores Del Rio as his estranged wife was already familiar to American audiences from the silent screen.
The original novel by Greene had the priest as somewhat less than true to all his vows. He's a drinker and a womanizer. Del Rio's character is also quite tawdry. And this from Greene who was a well known Catholic lay person. But this Hollywood in the firm grip of The Code so a lot of what Greene wrote had to be softened by Ford for the screen. It lessened the impact of the film.
And with the whitewashing of Fonda's character came some rather heavy handed symbolism of Fonda as a Christlike figure.
Still The Fugitive might be worth a look for Ford, Greene, and Fonda fans.
He must have been talking to the folks at RKO who lost their collective shirts when the public stayed away in droves from The Fugitive. It got great critical acclaim and no box office at all.
My guess is that The Fugitive was sold all wrong or was made a year or two too early. If it had been sold as an anti-Communist as opposed to a pro-Catholic film it might have done better in those beginning years of The Cold War.
The Fugitive is based on a Graham Greene novel The Power and the Glory and it is about a priest in an unnamed South American country who is a fugitive because of his calling. An anti-clerical government has taken control of the country and they are doing their best to drive the Catholic religion out of the country.
Henry Fonda turns in a good sincere performance as the cleric, but he's about as convincingly Latino as Toshiro Mifune. The other members of the cast are well suited for their roles.
The best performance in the film is from that chameleon like actor J. Carrol Naish who could play any kind of nationality on the planet. He's the informer who rats out Henry Fonda to the police. Very similar to what Akim Tamiroff did to Gary Cooper in For Whom The Bells Toll and Naish's own performance in another Gary Cooper film, Beau Geste.
This was the first of three films Pedro Armendariz did with John Ford in an effort to broaden his appeal beyond Mexican cinema. Dolores Del Rio as his estranged wife was already familiar to American audiences from the silent screen.
The original novel by Greene had the priest as somewhat less than true to all his vows. He's a drinker and a womanizer. Del Rio's character is also quite tawdry. And this from Greene who was a well known Catholic lay person. But this Hollywood in the firm grip of The Code so a lot of what Greene wrote had to be softened by Ford for the screen. It lessened the impact of the film.
And with the whitewashing of Fonda's character came some rather heavy handed symbolism of Fonda as a Christlike figure.
Still The Fugitive might be worth a look for Ford, Greene, and Fonda fans.
helpful•3611
- bkoganbing
- May 16, 2006
- How long is The Fugitive?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content