50 Fun Facts About The Fugitive

Who plays Dr. Richard Kimble in the 1993 film The Fugitive?

All three of the other names were auditioned or considered for the part before Ford took it.

What is the name of the Deputy U.S. Marshal who leads the hunt for Kimble in the film?

The TV series' Gerard was a police lieutenant named Philip; the film renamed him Samuel and made him a marshal.

What kind of surgeon is Richard Kimble in the film?

The TV-series Kimble was a small-town paediatrician; the film made him a Chicago vascular specialist.

Kimble escapes custody after the prison bus crashes into the path of what?

The wreck was filmed for real, in a single take, using a locomotive with its engine removed.

Who directed the 1993 film?

Davis had shot several earlier films in Chicago, which is why Ford pushed to film there.

The film is based on a 1960s TV series that was itself loosely inspired by the trial of which real doctor?

Sheppard, convicted in 1954 of murdering his wife, insisted a 'bushy-haired man' had done it; F. Lee Bailey later won him a retrial.

Which actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Fugitive?

It was the film's only win from seven nominations, which included Best Picture.

How many Academy Award nominations did The Fugitive receive?

The nominations included Best Picture, cinematography, sound and editing; every one of its team of editors was recognised.

For how many weeks was The Fugitive the number-one film at the U.S. box office?

It knocked Rising Sun off the top spot and went on to earn nearly $368 million worldwide.

The Fugitive was the third-highest-grossing film of 1993 worldwide. Roughly how much did it gross?

About $184 million of that came from the U.S. and Canada, where an estimated 44 million tickets were sold.

Which 1999 film finally broke The Fugitive's record for the biggest August opening weekend?

The Fugitive had taken the record from Unforgiven and held it for six years.

The 1998 sequel U.S. Marshals brought back Gerard and his team. Who plays the fugitive they chase?

Ford's Kimble does not appear, though the hospital he worked at gets a mention.

Kimble's colleague Dr. Charles Nichols is played by which Dutch actor?

The part was recast after the original choice, Richard Jordan, fell ill with a brain tumour; Jordan died three weeks after the film opened.

Which actor was originally cast as Dr. Nichols but had to be replaced after falling ill?

Jordan, best known for Logan's Run and Gettysburg, died in August 1993, three weeks after the film's release.

Which two actors did the director consider for the role of Gerard before the part went to Jones?

Jones ended up with the Oscar and a sequel of his own; Hackman and Voight both worked with Davis on other films.

Ford said he took the role partly to do what for a part, something the Warner Bros. chairman had refused?

Chairman Robert Daly said he was 'paying for Harrison Ford's face' and wanted it unobstructed; Kimble shaves early in the film anyway.

The bus-and-train wreck was staged on which scenic rail line?

The wreckage was left in place outside the Dillsboro depot and can still be seen from the excursion trains.

Roughly how much did the wreck sequence cost to film?

The wreck took weeks to plan and was rehearsed with a boxcar and a log car before the single real take.

Though set in rural Illinois, most of the film's location shooting outside Chicago took place in which state?

Bryson City, Dillsboro and Sylva in Jackson County stood in for Illinois; a few scenes were shot in Blount County, Tennessee.

Kimble's famous leap into the water was filmed at which dam?

The dam sits at Deals Gap on the North Carolina-Tennessee line; some of the interior spillway shots were done in Chicago's old freight tunnels.

During which Chicago event does Kimble lose Gerard in the crowd?

The scene was shot during the real 1993 parade, with Mayor Richard M. Daley visible marching in it.

Another feature film was shooting during the same 1993 Chicago parade as The Fugitive. Which one?

Michael Apted's thriller and Davis's crew occasionally ran into each other along the route in 21-degree cold.

The one-armed man, Fredrick Sykes, lives in which historic Chicago neighbourhood?

Ford uses the pay phone in the Pullman Pub and runs along the rooflines of the neighbourhood's rowhouses.

According to the director, whose idea was it to film in Chicago?

Ford grew up in Chicago and had seen Davis's earlier films shot there; Davis had assumed the winter weather would be too harsh.

Which cinematographer, hired a week into production of The Fugitive, earned an Oscar nomination?

Chapman, who shot Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, said he only took the job for the money and never got on with Davis.

Per Davis, credited screenwriter David Twohy's main contribution to the finished film was which sequence?

Davis said he never met Twohy; the pharmaceutical plot was worked out on set by Davis, Ford, Jones and others, uncredited.

Which actress's role as a potential love interest for Kimble was cut down heavily in editing?

The filmmakers decided a romance for a man hunting his wife's killer was unworkable; Moore survives as the doctor who catches him at the hospital.

Which future Glee star, as Dr. Kathy Wahlund, rewrote her scene with Ford just before shooting it?

She recalled that Ford simply did not like the scene as written, which was typical of a shoot where pages changed daily.

Because of Ford's limited availability, how long did Davis have to finish the film between wrap and release?

Seven editing suites ran around the clock at Warner Hollywood Studios, and every editor got an Oscar nomination for it.

Who composed the film's score?

The soundtrack came out on Elektra in 1993; a complete-score edition followed from La-La Land Records in 2009.

What is the name of the drug at the centre of the film's conspiracy?

Kimble had found the drug caused liver damage, and the tissue samples he sent for review had been swapped to hide it.

What is the name of the pharmaceutical company developing the drug?

The producer of the film was named Peter MacGregor-Scott, which may explain half the name.

Disguised as a janitor, Kimble searches which Chicago institution's records for patients with prosthetic arms?

While there he corrects a misdiagnosed boy's chart and saves his life, which is what tips off a doctor and security.

How does Kimble travel to the hotel to unmask Nichols, getting attacked by Sykes on the way?

Sykes shoots a police officer on the train, so the cops assume Kimble did it and order him shot on sight.

Two pieces of evidence help convict Kimble: a large life-insurance policy and what else?

Helen's dying call is heard as an accusation; only later is it clear she was calling out to her husband for help.

The Fugitive was the first major American film in nearly a decade to be screened in which country?

The last had been First Blood in 1985; The Fugitive took about $3 million there in 1994, of which Warner saw roughly $400,000.

What grade did audiences give the film in CinemaScore polling?

The top grade is rare; the film also sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 87 on Metacritic.

The Fugitive placed at what position on AFI's list of 100 Years...100 Thrills?

The 2001 list was topped by Psycho, Jaws and The Exorcist.

Who starred as Richard Kimble in the original 1963-67 TV series?

Janssen won a Golden Globe for the part in 1965 and was Emmy-nominated three times.

The TV series was created by which writer-producer, also behind Maverick and The Rockford Files?

Huggins served as executive producer on the 1993 film as well; Quinn Martin's company produced the series.

In the TV series, what was Richard Kimble's medical specialty and home town?

The fictional town of Stafford was also home to Lt. Gerard, the detective from whose custody Kimble escaped.

What share of American households watched the series' two-part finale 'The Judgment' in August 1967?

More than 78 million people tuned in; the record stood until Dallas revealed who shot J.R. in 1980.

The one-armed man in the TV series went by which name?

The film renamed him Fredrick Sykes and gave the role to Andreas Katsulas; on TV he was played by Bill Raisch.

Which uncredited actor narrated the opening and closing of every episode of the TV series?

Conrad, later TV's Cannon, delivered the finale's last line: 'Tuesday, August 29th: The day the running stopped.'

The TV series won the Emmy for Outstanding Dramatic Series in which year?

The show was nominated five times in total; its first three seasons were in black and white and only the fourth in colour.

Kimble tells Gerard in the storm drain that he did not kill his wife. What does Gerard reply?

The line pays off at the end when Kimble reminds Gerard of it and Gerard asks him to keep it a secret that he does care.

What was the production budget of The Fugitive?

The film held the number-one spot in the US for six weeks and ended up among the year's biggest hits worldwide.

Which Kimble hopeful felt too old for the part, despite being just a year older than Ford?

Baldwin, Costner and Douglas also auditioned before Harrison Ford, who was not the original choice, landed the role.

Where did The Fugitive hold its premiere on July 29, 1993?

Warner Bros. put it into US cinemas a week later on August 6, where it stayed at number one through most of the summer.

Which co-writer's early story draft formed the basis of the screenplay Jeb Stuart shared credit on?

Director Andrew Davis later said Ford, Jones and others effectively served as uncredited writers, especially on the pharmaceutical plot.