TV and Movies

[Oznell]

2:00 a.m. Eastern--  The Fugitive, "Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want to Meet"   David Janssen, Pat Hingle, Dabney Coleman, Mary Murphy, Tom Skerrit, Dabbs Greer, Burt Mustin

Here we have another one I was NOT anticipating with glee, gang, sorry to say!  Hitchhiking, and cruel fate, leaves Kimble in fictional "Bixton, Arizona", and ultimately at the mercy of yet another malign, megalomaniacal sheriff (Pat Hingle).

HIngle gives an all-in, energetic performance, as he did before as the reporter in "Search in a Windy City".   Film and TV crossover actors like a young Tom Skerrit and Mary Murphy appear.  Dabney Coleman is a repeat performer-- once again, still not looking (to me) like the later Dabney Coleman.  (And Dabbs Greer is here, probably just to create the usual confusion-- at the time-- with his similarly-named confrere, Dabney Coleman!)

There's even veteran performer Burt Mustin, fondly remembered as "Gus",  the fireman, in "Leave it to Beaver".

None of this is enough to make me wade through the entire episode again, although I was drawn to watch the intense ending, for the staging and performances.  (The youtube version I watched had problems with audio synchronization near the end;  therefore I'm posting a different one below, in hopes it is better.)

Edited to add--  Just checked-- the one I posted is also a dud, audio-wise, near the end!  I'm putting up another one below, which, although I haven't watched the whole thing, seems to be better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRHhVX3vOoY

[drizzellla]

Oznell, I would just like to thank you for trying to find the best audio version on You Tube. Thank you for looking out for us. I appreciate your effort.

[twinsister]

@Oznell - I'll watch with an open mind and I'd like to second what @drizzellla said - thanks for trying to provide a good link.

I'm not a fan of Pat Hingle, but he does play that type well.  

[Pearlee]

Dabney C. Looks soooooo different. Some of it has to do with his not having a mustache. Also Skerritt looked very different younger and without a mustache but not inrecognizeable. Of course, watching TF initially and for many years afterwards these  two men were acting but still unknowns. Contrast these two with Robert Hogan who was still very recognizable as a young man in TF. Skerritt has a Donald Trump mouth-- too small in scale for the rest of his face.

. 

[Oznell]

You're most welcome, it's my pleasure @drizzellla and @twinsister .   We must have decent video, else how would we all dissect each episode within an inch of its life, ha.

Your mention of Tom Skerritt reminded me of something, @Pearlee .   I remember ages ago reading something about how Tom Skerritt was expected to get a huge boost from MASH (the movie),  but his performance was overshadowed by the chemistry that Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould had, or something.  I think (but couldn't swear to it) that his part suffered in the editing room, getting cut down so that Sutherland and Gould could shine.  If true-- gosh, that must be such a disappointment for an actor....

[Pearlee]

@Oznell  That's an interesting tidbit about Skerritt, But frankly, I never thought he had enough star quality or charisma or charm to be an A-lister, despite being a good actor. And then if course there's his mouth...😄

Too funny, dissecting the epis....😆

[Gooie]

Did anyone catch a subtle suggestion that Pat Hingle’s character, Joe Bob, might have had the wrong reasons for entertaining young boys? He seems to enjoy spinning stories and taking the boys for ice cream while he is on duty. He also seems to have founded a Boy Scout-like club (Apache Rangers) but doesn’t seem to have the respect of at least one of the boys’ (Johnny) father. This behavior is outwardly benign and could be totally innocent. But consider the first scene with Neely Hollister (a deliberately very young looking Tom Skerritt). Why does he react to Joe Bob’s presence with initial disgust (he turns away as if he can’t even look at him). Then, when Joe Bob tells Neely’s sister to come with him, Neely reacts violently even though there is clearly no attraction between the two. Later, Joe Bob chooses Neely to accompany him ALONE to work in another part of the park, away from Deputy Floyd and Richard Kimble. Then, with just the two of them in Joe Bob’s car, Joe Bob taunts Neely for “funnin’ around with all the pretty young girls in town, making us old men feel jealous.” Jealous of what? Not being able to get young girls? Or.... jealous of rejection from a boy who has become old enough to break loose from his molester? Neely’s father seemed to have had some trouble in the past with Joe Bob. Could he have put a stop to something he suspected was wrong in a younger Neely’s relationship with Joe Bob? Maybe I’m writing something into the story that the writer did not intend. Then again, such storylines of child molestation were rare on TV in those days. But one more suggestion that this was a possibility is the title of the episode. In so many true cases of secret molestation, when the culprit is exposed, it is often said that he was “the nicest fella you’d ever want to meet”.

[Oznell]

Very interesting take on the characters and motivation, @Gooie .   As you say, such issues were rarely or obliquely addressed then, but you have highlighted some apt signifiers, that make one think.  Even if a writer wasn't consciously suggesting that scenario, it's always possible and even probable that a writer's own perhaps buried experiences or observations would surface in subtle, unrecognized form in his or her work....

Great to have your input, @Gooie --  welcome!

[drizzellla]

What a shot um up episode. Glad the Sheriff's aim was off when he was shooting at Kimble who was lying on the ground.

I am sad that "Gus" ratted out Kimble.

And no way would I have figured out that was Dabney Coleman, if Oznell hadn't mentioned it. Even though I knew, I had trouble recognizing him.

For an hour show every week. There are some strenuous story lines. And David Janssen is in everyone.

[Tique]

@Gooie  welcome! You certainly made me think. The first scene with the boys did seem a little out of place but it was in there for a reason. Neely's reaction when Joe Bob told Thelma he wanted to speak with her and then closed the door was a deliberate action to bait Neely and further agitate him. I sensed a little hesitation from Floyd about leaving once Thelma arrived but wasn't sure if it was due to his attraction or his being somewhat suspicious of JB. I didn't get fear from Thelma just intense dislike similar to mine. 

@drizzellla  Charley the corner man was doing his job. Joe Bob paid him to tell on people and the people who did wrong probably paid him not to tell on them. Of course Kimble, being a stranger, had no way of knowing that. The story might have turned out completely different if Kimble had only given Charley "a little something". In Charley's defense I don't believe he knew the real Joe Bob and Charley was probably one of those people who described JB as the "nicest fella you'd ever want to meet".