Stay in Touch
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
Sign in
03-22-2020 12:46 PM
Monday, 2:00 a.m. Eastern-- The Fugitive, Episode 12. "Glass Tightrope". David Janssen, Leslie Neilsen, Diana Van der Vlis, Edward Binns
Another great one! One of my favorites, actually. Kimble is working for a socially prominent family who run a mid-size city's finest department store. Leslie Neilsen has married into that family, and runs the store, but his position is an uneasy one. He's bright, capable, but originally from the "wrong side of the tracks", and others (even sometimes his high-strung wife) don't hesitate to remind him of it.
Kimble inadvertently witnesses something that Leslie wants to hush up. Kimble likes his boss, and he tries to awaken his temporarily dormant conscience, without risking his own imperiled fugitive status. The results are explosive.
I'm trying to be cagey and not give too much away! The fun in this episode is its exploration of relationships, especially the complex one between Diana Van der Vlis, the "Lady MacBeth"-like department store heiress, and her hunky, ambivalent, but basically honorable husband, Leslie. (It's neat to see the often daffy Neilsen in a serious, earnest role.)
Diana Van der Vlis was one of those Sixties' actresses whose elegant style and throaty, trans-Atlantic purr, seemed to fit her best for spoiled, socialite roles. She's perfect here as one who will stop at almost nothing to maintain her comfortable status quo. Love it when she tangles with Kimble!
Edward Binns is reliably good as a canny department store detective. There's even an amusing sort of sub-plot with one of Kimble's opportunistic, harum-scarum co-workers:
"Glass Tightrope" is a rather stylish envelope for further examination of the issues of ethics, honesty, and personal responsibility that characterized last week's meaty episode.
03-22-2020 12:56 PM
03-22-2020 05:05 PM
Hey, that's so true, @Pearlee ! Van der Vlis is just the same type-- they could be sisters. Although Dina Merrill I sort of associate with 'sunnier' roles. Here, Diana Van der Vlis is playing not only "patrician", but sort of slinky and with an underlying malevolence-- lethal combo!
But, in the end, she's no match for our Kimble....
03-23-2020 06:16 PM
03-23-2020 06:29 PM
Ha! I recorded it last night, @Pearlee , and watched it today as a lunch time "treat". Yup, I had that same thought-- although I don't think I'd have been precocious enough at the age you were when you first saw it to realized Kimble's boo boo.
His voice wasn't like anyone else's. So yeah, it's weird he didn't disguise it. Incidentally, I've wondered about David Janssen's accent. Think he was originally from Nebraska, then I'm thinking his mother took him to California, maybe? His accent sounds much more "Eastern" than it does Midwestern to me. He doesn't have the distinct, hard "r"-- he tends to drop the r's in words....
Just idle thoughts that pass through my mind while watching! Loved that episode.
03-23-2020 06:38 PM
Speaking of directing in the other thread, @Pearlee , I was amazed to see in the credits that Ida Lupino directed this episode of "The Fugitive"! No wonder it's so good!
03-23-2020 06:38 PM
03-23-2020 06:40 PM
03-23-2020 06:40 PM
Yeah, I've wondered if the lost Jewish father and a boy's yearning to know and have his Dad, accounts for the sensitivity and sometimes naked vulnerability you see in his acting....
03-23-2020 06:45 PM
Oh, yeah, @Pearlee , finally "Girl from Little Egypt" is on the horizon. The one in between I think is "Terror at High Point" which is ok but not a particular favorite. I do love the way Kimble relates to the mentally challenged young man though-- and Jack Klugman is good.
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
*You're signing up to receive QVC promotional email.
Find recent orders, do a return or exchange, create a Wish List & more.
Privacy StatementGeneral Terms of Use
QVC is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or practices of the above referenced third-party linked sites nor liable for statements, claims, opinions, or representations contained therein. QVC's Privacy Statement does not apply to these third-party web sites.
© 1995-2024 QVC, Inc. All rights reserved. | QVC, Q and the Q logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. 888-345-5788