The Fugitive (1963–1967): Season 2, Episode 25 - May God Have Mercy - full transcript

It's taken me a
long time, Kimble.

Not long enough.

I came to check
on your condition.

As soon as you're well enough,
you'll be extradited to Indiana,

I'm taking you back
to Stafford myself.

Are you gonna strap me
on the fender of your car?

A QM Production.

Starring David Janssen
as Dr. Richard Kimble.

An innocent victim
of blind justice,

falsely convicted for
the murder of his wife,

reprieved by fate when
a train wreck freed him



en route to the death house.

Freed him to hide
in lonely desperation,

to change his identity,
to toil at many jobs.

Freed him to search
for a one-armed man

he saw leave the
scene of the crime.

Freed him to run before
the relentless pursuit

of the police lieutenant
obsessed with his capture.

The guest stars
in tonight's story:

Telly Savalas, Carol
Rossen, Normal Fell.

Also starring Barry Morse
as Lieutenant Philip Gerard.

A man on the run
assumes many identities,

each one reflecting in some
way the life he has left behind.

Thus, Dr. Richard Kimble,
now known as Harry Reynolds,

works as an orderly
in a Michigan hospital.



Once a respected pediatrician,
he finds a hint of security

in the familiar
hospital routine.

For no man, not even
a convicted murderer,

can completely abandon his past,

nor can his past abandon him.

Reynolds, where's Toby?

Playing with the
girls in X-ray again?

I haven't seen him.

Sent him down to the
lab a good half-hour ago.

Find him, will you?

I need the lab
reports on Leonetti.

Who?

Leonetti in 307.

Well, go on. It's getting late.

Well, I get off at midnight.

Why don't you meet
me in the parking lot,

and, uh, we'll, uh...

Yeah?

The, uh, nurse would
like the lab reports.

Oh.

Oh.

Hey, uh, cover for me.
Will you cover for me, pops?

Tell her the doctor couldn't
operate without me, huh?

Ten months.

That's all, huh?

Ten lousy months.

Maybe a year.

Believe me, Victor, if
there was anything...

I'm a healthy man, doctor.

Look at me.

I'm strong like a bull.

Those tests could
be wrong, you know.

You could be wrong too.

Frequently.

But not this time.

You doctors, all so smart.

What right have you got to
sentence a man to death, huh?

And what am I supposed to do?

Lay down and
die, just because...

Just because you said so?

You insisted on
knowing the truth, Victor.

Listen.

Do me a favor, will you?

And don't tell my
wife about this.

She knows we've
been running tests.

I told her it was for an ulcer.

I think she should know.

What for?

Is she gonna make me better?

Victor, you're not
being fair to yourself.

You're going to
need Anne's help.

Listen, doc.

Four years ago, it
was our little daughter,

Jeannie.

She needed that big
heart operation, you know?

Well, now this... This
business with me.

Well, I just...

I just don't want Anne to know

the same thing's
gonna happen to me.

All right, Victor.

I won't say anything
until I have to.

You can tell Anne
you have no ulcers.

She can take you home tonight.

Nice work, fink.

Telling Old Horseface I
was goofing off in X-ray.

Well, I don't care
what the inspector said.

The zoning commission
approved every house in that tract.

All right, leave it on my desk,

and I'll take
care of it tonight.

Is that you out there, Anne?

Hello, darling.

Congratulations.

No ulcers.

Aren't you pleased?

Sure.

Sure, I'm pleased.

Oh, the building inspectors
are giving us a few problems.

I...

I'm gonna go down
to the office tonight.

Oh, well, can't that
wait till tomorrow?

Tomorrow.

How many tomorrows
does a guy have? Heh.

No, I'd better
take care of it now.

Darling, are you sure it's
just the building inspectors

that's bothering you?

I wasted two days here.

Victor, I saw him too.

Who?

Dr. Kimble.

What are you talking about?

Uh, haven't you seen him?

You mean you saw
him here, in this hospital?

Oh, well, darling, now,

that must have been
my imagination. I...

Show me where he is.

Victor, wait.

He's like a buzzard,
that Kimble. A vulture.

Every time somebody
dies, poof, there's Kimble.

Victor, stop it. Please.

First, Jeannie, and
then his wife, and now...

You go on home, Anne.

I'll take a cab when I
get finished at the office.

Promise me you won't call
the police. Please, Victor.

He's a murderer, isn't he?

You know better than
that. You were at the trial.

You heard him testify.

Darling, back in Stafford,

everyone who really knew
him felt he was innocent.

His wife knew him
and she's dead,

and Jeannie knew
him and she's dead too.

And why, hm?

Because he was out
of town on vacation

instead of being there with her.

Operator?

I want the police.

Dr. Kimble.

If you want a doctor...

No, don't play games.
You don't have the time.

Anne Leonetti. Do you remember?

You're a long way from home.

Yes, well, my husband and I
left Stafford about a year ago.

Uh, Victor's developing
some real estate here.

He knows you're here, doctor,

and I'm sure he's
called the police by now.

You'd better hurry.

He still blames me
for Jeannie's death?

Yes.

And you don't?

I never did.

Thank you.

Go out emergency or
whatever and I'll drive around...

Doctor?

Yeah, that's our boy, all right.

He calls himself Harry Reynolds,

spelled f-i-n-k.

I had him figured out
right from the start.

Not a sign of him.

He was here in the ward
just a few minutes ago.

Call headquarters, Joe.

Tell them to drop
a net over this area.

Uh, Victor's overcoat's
in the back seat.

You'd better wear it
to hide those whites.

All right.

You let me off
at the next signal.

The bus depot's just
a few blocks from here.

Look, Anne, they can
hold you for aiding...

If I'd kept quiet, you
wouldn't be in this mess.

Victor never would've seen you.

You know why he hates you?

I mean, the real reason?

Yes.

He blames me for
Jeannie's death.

No, no, no.

Nobody could have
saved her. I know that.

And Victor knows that too.

But once he stops blaming
you for Jeannie's death,

he'll have to blame himself.

Anne, I want to
thank you for this.

Don't thank me, doctor.

Forgive me, and my husband too.

When Jeannie
had that fatal attack,

I was in New York.

I went there to see
George Fogarty.

He's one of the leading
cardiac specialists.

About Jeannie?

He was the only man I
knew that could save her.

I had persuaded him to come
to Stafford, but by that time...

You did that for us?

Why didn't you tell us?

We had no idea.

Jeannie was gone.

All the good
intentions in the world...

Stay out of this.
Get out of here.

Don't get mixed up in it.

There he is.

Kimble!

Hold it, Kimble! We'll shoot!

What's the matter?

Congratulations.

The police just shot Kimble.

They shot him?

Did you finally get
what you wanted, Victor?

All of a sudden
everything's my fault, huh?

The man's a killer,
so they shot him.

He got everything he deserves.

Now, how do you
know what he deserves.

Who are you to pass
judgment on him?

You who have created
nothing but overpriced,

undersized houses,
instant slums,

suddenly your moral sense

is so outraged...
Wait a minute, Anne.

They gave us a good
living, those houses.

Oh, Anne,

our life could have
been so perfect.

It still can be perfect, Victor,

if you'd just let
yourself forget.

We could have had more children.

We still can.

Oh, we'd still have
our little Jeannie

if your friend,
Kimble... Stop it, Victor.

He told us she needed
open-heart surgery.

He recommended one
surgeon after another.

But you didn't
trust his judgment,

and that's why she died, Vic...

Oh, Anne, don't.

The man you hated
so much, Victor,

was in New York when
Jeannie had her last attack.

Did you know that?

He went there
with his own money,

on his own time,

to get a heart specialist
for our daughter.

The best man in the country.

The one surgeon

that even you
would have to accept.

Who told you?

He did.

What did you expect?
He'd use any excuse.

Uh, operator, I'd
like to place a call

to New York City, to
Dr. George Fogarty.

Uh, no, I'm, uh...
I'm sorry, you'll...

You'll have to
look up the number.

Thank you.

Lieutenant, can you toss a
few crumbs to the reporters?

It's the lieutenant, boys.

How about some
pictures, lieutenant?

Settle down. Settle down!

Where's Kimble?

Now, this is a hospital,
not a press club.

First of all, his condition.

The doctor says the bullet tore
some tendons in his shoulder,

severed some blood vessels.

He's lost a lot of blood
and he's still in shock.

Right now, they're just
trying to keep him alive.

He faces a death
sentence in Indiana,

which is a lot tougher to
beat than a gunshot wound.

I've been in touch
with the Indiana police.

If Kimble survives, we'll
arrange to have him extradited.

Now, we're running a
check on his fingerprints

for final identification.

Yes, this is Lieutenant Gerard.

Now, just a minute.

We've had false alarms before.

Are they sure it's Kimble?

I'm not about to go running
off to Michigan on some wild...

All right.

Let me know as soon as they
have the final word on his ID.

They've actually
got him in custody?

They've actually got
somebody in custody.

I wish they'd make sure who
before they blast me out of bed.

Call the airport,
will you, dear?

Get me a reservation on
the earliest plane to Selby.

How do you feel this morning?

Well, I don't think I'm
ready for the Olympics,

but I'll make it.

Welcome back, killer.

You think you can
crawl through those bars?

Bars on the windows,
bars on the doors,

a big hunk of fuzz with a
gun on his hip out there.

Cool it, man.

You're here for keeps.

I hope you're not.

Hey, I'm your favorite ward boy.

I, uh, got lonesome down there

so I asked for this job.

This little nurse, she
needs my kind of company.

You know what I mean?

What happened to
your little friend in X-ray?

Gloria?

Well, she's been
asking about you,

since she heard
you're a wife-killer.

Ain't that a kick?

Well, tell her not
to be too impatient.

Yeah, they'll, uh...

They'll be taking me
down to X-ray pretty soon.

Well, sorry.

No x-rays ordered.

Toby, take care
of the dirty laundry.

How do you like that?

She loves me. Heh.

Someone taking care of you?

You're the man in charge?

I'm Lieutenant Cermak.
Could I talk to you, please?

Well, I'm kind of busy.
Maybe one of these other off...

No, please, it's important.

I've been walking the streets
all night thinking about it.

Okay. Right in here.

Well, what's on your mind?

I want to confess to a crime.

Murder.

Ben, get a stenographer
and a tape recorder

and bring 'em in here.

You're a murderer, huh?

Who's your victim?

Dr. Kimble's wife.

He didn't kill her.

I did.

Well, did you send
a car to the airport

to pick up Lieutenant Gerard?

Flight 12.

Right. Fine.

Yeah.

Oh, send her right in.

Lieutenant, Mrs. Leonetti.

Sit down, Mrs. Leonetti.

I'd like to see my
husband, please.

I'm sorry. He refuses
to see anyone.

Uh, yes, but I'm his wife.

I have a right to see him.

Well, he has his rights too.

If he doesn't wanna
see anybody...

That confession that he made.

You don't believe that, do you?

Oh, yes, ma'am.

I'm afraid I do. But
that's nonsense.

He couldn't possibly
have killed Helen Kimble.

Why not?

Oh, well, I was...

with him at home that night.

Was anyone with you?

Did anyone see you together?

No, but, I, uh...

Mrs. Leonetti, I examined
your husband's story

every way I know.

He's familiar with every
detail of that killing.

Now, the only one who
could possibly tell us more

would be the victim herself.

Cermak.

Oh, fine, fine.
I'll be right out.

Lieutenant Gerard? I'm Cermak.

Well, how do you do, lieutenant?

Come in. Thank you.

Tell me, are you certain this
man you're holding is Kimble?

Yes, it's Kimble.

I'm afraid I have a
little surprise for you.

Toby, please get
the lunch trays ready.

I'm going to take the TPRs.

Ah.

Your shoulder bothering you?

Where exactly does it hurt you?

The anterior portion
of the clavicle.

You were a doctor, weren't you?

My daughter was dead,
and Kimble was alive,

and that's all I
could think about

all the way over to
the Kimbles' house.

I went around to the back,

and I could hear them arguing,

Kimble and his wife.

After a while, the doctor
came out and he, uh...

He drove away.

He was still mad. I could tell.

How could you see him?

Was the porch light on?

There's no porch in that house.

All right. Go on.

Well, I saw... Helen
was alone in there.

Helen?

Mrs. Kimble.

You knew her that well?

Yeah. We used to
play bridge with them.

And I'm a contractor.

I'm the one who
built their house.

Well, anyway, I knew
Helen was in there,

and I started to think.

Why murder Kimble?

Death is no punishment.

The real punishment is grief.

If Helen were murdered,

he'd really have
something to grieve about.

I don't know, I... I
guess I was pretty upset.

And how did you
get into the house?

The back door.

It was locked.

Yeah, well...

I knocked on the
door a few times.

Helen heard me. Let me in.

How was she dressed?

She had on a...
What do you call it?

A... A cocktail dress.

She was wearing a housecoat.

A cocktail dress.

Light in color.

Sort of bluish-gray.

Try it again, Leonetti.

Bluish-gray.

The dress had a cloth belt...

and I used that
belt to strangle her.

All right.

So you strangled her,
left her on the sofa...

No.

She was on the floor.

With the belt still
around her neck?

I tossed it aside on
the floor someplace

and I got out of there.

Ah, no, the, uh, back
door was left open.

I used the front door.

I might have left
it open, though.

Where did you go from there?

I started across
the front lawn and...

Oh, yeah, there was
a man standing there.

A man?

Yeah.

I guess he heard
the noise in the house

and stopped to take a look.

Anyway, he saw me, and
he took off like a jackrabbit.

This, uh, man,
was he a stranger?

Would you know him
if you saw him again?

I don't know.

All I remember about him
was, his, uh, empty sleeve.

Coat sleeve.

Yeah, it looked to me
like he had one arm.

Quite a bit of swelling.

The wound looks clean, though.

Must be some bone
fragments in there, after all.

Any x-rays taken last night?

No.

Better get him downstairs
for some pictures.

We'll locate those bone chips
and remove them, Kimble.

Nothing to be concerned about.

Thank you, doctor.

They're pretty busy in X-ray,

but I'll try to get you down
there as soon as possible.

There, that should do it.

Are you always this
considerate of criminals?

Funny.

I never thought of you as one.

It's taken me a
long time, Kimble.

Not long enough.

I came to check
on your condition.

As soon as you're well enough,
you'll be extradited to Indiana.

I'm taking you back
to Stafford myself.

Are you gonna strap me
on the fender of your car?

Meantime, I'd like to
ask you some questions

about Victor Leonetti.

How well did you know him?

His child was my patient.

He blames you for her death.

Have I been convicted
of that one too?

In a way.

Leonetti's the noble citizen

who turned you in.

A man who'd do a thing like
that would be capable of anything.

Even murder.

What do you think?

Is he capable of murder?

I am in no mood
for a psychiatric...

He claims he is.

In fact, he claims he
murdered your wife.

Leonetti killed Helen?

Oh, his confession
is a work of art.

Must have done
a lot of research.

He even found room
for your one-armed man.

Why would he kill Helen?

His way of punishing you.

Of course, his wife
claims his story is false but,

uh, she can't
explain why he told it.

What's his reason?

Delayed conscience.

Of course, he, uh...

He may be one of those cranks
who dabbles in self-destruction.

Either way, his
confession may clear you.

How does that strike
your conscience?

What am I supposed to do?

Insist that I'm the guilty one?

Do you believe he's a murderer?

Well, neither do I.

Well, looks like you're
gonna get that x-ray after all.

Doctor.

"Doctor."

Dig that.

How are you feeling?

All right.

Gerard arrange the pass for you?

My request.

Well, I know what he wants.

He wants me to
announce to the world

that Victor is innocent
and that I'm the murderer.

Is that what you want too?

I want to help my husband.

Yesterday you wanted to help me.

But only because I was
trying to keep my husband

from making a terrible mistake.

I'm still trying.

You're that sure he's innocent?

I know he didn't kill Helen.

Well, neither did I. Anne,
you can't expect me to...

I don't expect anything, doctor.

But I'll be honest with you.

If I could force you to
say that you were guilty,

I think I'd do it.

If I could bribe or
threaten or frighten you,

I'd do it.

I cannot let my husband
throw his life away.

His life doesn't seem
to mean much to him.

Yes, well, maybe I'm
partly responsible for that.

Well, don't you know
why he's in this hospital?

Well, he thought
he had some ulcers.

Uh, they were
running some tests.

Ulcers? Who told you that?

Uh, Victor did. And
the tests were negative.

Well, then you haven't
spoken to Dr. Becker?

No. Why should I? What
difference would that make?

Sorry to break in on you,
but we have to get you

down to X-ray,
Dr. Kimble. Yes, could we...

Wait just one
moment... I'm sorry,

we don't have any time.
Toby, will you help me please.

Look, Anne, see Dr. Becker.

Tell him you want the truth.

Come on... Come on,
doc, it's traveling time.

Hold it, mac. We're
coming through.

A sort of bluish-gray.

Try again, Leonetti.

Bluish-gray.

Oh, I can't buy it.

I just can't buy it.

Can't or won't?

You know, we can't
hold Leonetti much longer

unless we file charges.

Kimble's been
tried and convicted.

In the eyes of the law,
he's the guilty man.

"The eyes of the law."

Leonetti just poked a finger in
the clear blue eyes of the law.

All yours, Toby.

Will you tell her the
doctor wants the plates

developed and dried right away?

You bet. I'll wait for 'em.

Will you help him back, please?

So near and yet
so far, right, killer?

On your feet.

Come on.

On to the table.

Toby, I left some
film in there rinsing.

Would you take it out, please?

Right.

Hey, congratulations.

What?

You and Toby. He told me.

What are you talking about?

Oh, never mind.

Thank you, Toby.

I have a right to
know the truth.

Dr. Becker was
only... The truth.

That's great stuff, isn't it?

Knowing about the truth.

Hey, listen to me...
Like picking up a rock,

and seeing everything
you don't want to see.

Jeannie dying by inches,

Kimble dying in
the electric chair,

and bigshot Victor Leonetti,

never sick a day in his life,

and dying because
he deserves to die.

Don't talk that way.
You said it yourself!

Jeannie died because of me.

Well, you're right. She did.

And Kimble, in
custody because of me.

Is that why you made
the false confession?

To punish yourself?

Ah, what do you
mean, false confession?

To undo what you
did to Dr. Kimble?

That's hero stuff,
and I'm no hero.

You think that's heroic?

A man who'd do
something like that

is only selfish.

Don't you understand, Victor?

You've got an advantage

that hardly anyone else gets.

Advantage?

Ten months to live and
you call that an advantage?

I call that a blessing, a gift.

Do you know how many people
have less time than you have,

and they are not lucky
enough to know it?

But you know.

And you know that you
cannot waste any time.

You have to make
every single minute count.

And that's ten months.

And those ten
months are our lifetime,

our happiness.

We don't have anything left.

Please, Victor.

Please, don't throw it away.

You tell that, uh, lieutenant...

that I want to see him.

And you tell him to hurry up,
because my time is valuable.

The doc wants them
developed right away, doll.

We'll wait for 'em.

I need some help, Toby.

Stay put, killer.

What have you been
saying about me?

What?

I'll talk to you later,

after you take him
back to his room.

Well, you were
right about Leonetti.

And Kimble.

We'll have to take one... Toby!

Don't scream.

Don't scream.

Help. Nurse!

Help!

Help!

Somebody!

Nurse!

Help!

Somebody get me out of here!

Help. Please.

Oh!

Reynolds, what are you doing?

He grabbed me.

He might have killed me.

What's happening in here?

Look what he did.

They should be finished
with the x-rays by now.

Kimble. He's gone.

Hey.

What's going on?

There's a prisoner's escaped.

A man with an injured shoulder
dressed in hospital whites.

I ain't seen him.

I sure hope I don't.

Lieutenant, I'd
like to thank you.

Thank me?

Yes, for, uh, letting
me see Dr. Kimble.

It...

Well, it changed a
lot of things for us.

Listen, I want to make sure
that Kimble gets a good lawyer.

We'll pay all of the legal
expenses. All of them.

Yes, well, uh, I'll tell him

when I find him.

The death sentence
comes in many forms,

affecting each man
in a different way.

For some, it means
an end to pain.

For others, it becomes
a challenge to live.

For Richard Kimble,

the challenge is repeated

with every new turn of the road.