The Fugitive (1947)

Director:

John Ford
(more)

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screenplay)
Graham Greene (novel)

Release Date:

3 November 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Anti--Catholic and anti-cleric policies in the Mexican state of Tabasco lead the revolutionary government to persecute the state's last remaining priest.

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Fugitive | Police | Mexican | Indian

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	A Fugitive
Dolores del Rio	...	An Indian Woman (as Dolores Del Rio)
Pedro Armendáriz	...	A Lieutenant of Police (as Pedro Armendariz)
J. Carrol Naish	...	A Police Informer
Leo Carrillo	...	A Chief of Police
Ward Bond	...	El Gringo
Robert Armstrong	...	A Sergeant of Police
John Qualen	...	A Refugee Doctor
Fortunio Bonanova	...	The Governor's Cousin
Chris-Pin Martin	...	An Organ-Grinder (as Cris-Pin Martin)
Miguel Inclán	...	A Hostage (as Miguel Inclan)
Fernando Fernández	...	A Singer (as Fernando Fernandez)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Mel Ferrer	...	Father Serra (uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Man (uncredited)
José Torvay	...	Mexican (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford
Emilio Fernández		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Dudley Nichols		(screenplay)
Graham Greene		(novel "The Labyrinthine Ways" also published as "The Power and The Glory")

Produced by
Emilio Fernández	....	associate producer (as Emilio Fernandez)
Merian C. Cooper	....	producer (uncredited)
John Ford	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Richard Hageman		(musical score)

Cinematography by
Gabriel Figueroa

Film Editing by
Jack Murray

Art Direction by
Alfred Ybarra

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jesse Hibbs	....	assistant director
Zacarías Gómez Urquiza	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Manuel Parra	....	properties

Sound Department
José B. Carles	....	sound (as Jose B. Carles)
Galdino R. Samperio	....	sound (as Galdino Samperio)

Music Department
Lucien Cailliet	....	orchestration
Richard Hageman	....	musical director

Other crew
Merian C. Cooper	....	presenter
Mel Ferrer	....	directorial assistant (as Melchor Ferrer)
John Ford	....	presenter
Jack Pennick	....	executive assistant

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• Argosy Pictures (as An Argosy Pictures Production)
• Productora Mex. Desconcida (uncredited)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1948) (France) (theatrical)
• M.P.E.A. (1949) (Austria) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

"El fugitivo" - Mexico
"El fugitivo" - Argentina, Spain
"A menekülő" - Hungary
"Befehl des Gewissens" - West Germany
"Begunac" - Yugoslavia (Serbian title) (literal title)
"Der Verfolgte" - Austria
"Dieu est mort" - France
"Domínio de Bárbaros" - Brazil (DVD title)
"Domínio dos Bárbaros" - Brazil (original subtitled version)
"El fugitiu" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Elämisen oikeus" - Finland
"Fugarul" - Romania
"Kaçak" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"La croce di fuoco" - Italy
"Magten og æren" - Denmark
"O Fugitivo" - Portugal
"O stavros tou martyriou" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Rätten att leva" - Sweden

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Mexico | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12 | West Germany:12 (f) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1998) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on January 5, 1948 with J. Carrol Naish and Ward Bond reprising their film roles.

Quotes:

A Refugee Doctor:Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. A man is entitled to a little pride.
A Fugitive:Not in my profession.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Columbo: How to Dial a Murder (#7.4)" (1978)

Soundtrack:

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

Visually extraordinary but desperately disappointing

I've not had much luck catching up on the John Ford films I haven't seen this year, and The Fugitive is yet another in this year's run of terrible disappointments.

Visually the most strikingly beautiful of his career, it's also a horrible mawkish wail of unconvincing public piety that constantly feels like he's trying to buy his way into heaven. As if bowdlerizing the point out of Graham Greene's source material to make a plaster saint of his hero wasn't bad enough, Henry Fonda's mostly dreadful performance is the final nail in the coffin. Ford always managed to get the very least out of Fonda, and here Hank's clearly plain embarrassed by the part, proving woefully ineffective as he fails to make much of an impression for far too much of the running time. With all traces of character removed from the role, leaving him with nothing to work with, it's not until the last couple of reels that he actually becomes a remotely credible character instead of a poorly drawn walking religious icon – "Hey, look everybody, I'm suffering for your sins just like Christ!" Until then, it's up to Pedro Armendariz to hold the fort as the policeman who has replaced religion with a new faith, politics, although even his missionary faith in atheism is somewhat undermined here by Fonda's nameless priest being a sober believer rather than the drunken fallen angel of the novel. Along with Ward Bond's Gringo bank robber (bizarrely introduced with the theme from Stagecoach!), he's one of the few people Fonda encounters on his journey to martyrdom you can actually care about or believe in. Certainly Dolores Del Rio's Madonna/Whore figure is so horribly idealised that it feels like being beaten up by a posse of boxing nuns every time she appears in 'God-light.' There are a few good scenes and a strong ending, but the horrible overindulgence of much of the film – like the endless treacle of the opening baptisms – is almost enough to make the Pope convert to Judaism. Compared to this, The Passion looks subtle. Beautiful shots of horses riding, though.