Fatso

Kimble (Bill Carter) is jailed for a minor traffic accident, and makes friends with Davy, played by actor Jack Weston. Davy is overweight, and of below-normal intelligence. He is in jail for public drunkenness. When Davy is released, Kimble, whose prints have been sent to the State Police and whose identity will soon be discovered, uses the opportunity to escape. The problem: Davy wants to tag along. Kimble has no time to argue and leaves with Davy right behind.

They hop a train to Davy's home, where he was summoned by his mother because his father is dying. Davy has been away for years. To Kimble's surprise, they are a wealthy family with a horse ranch.

Davy's father (David Sr.) and brother (Frank) despise and ridicule him, to the dismay of his mother, who loves Davy and just wants a happy family. Davy despises himself for being fat and a dummy, and also for a past action that embarrasses him. When Kimble stands up for Davy against Frank, he gains an enemy whose suspicions of Kimble lead to danger. Kimble must solve an old mystery, and put Davy on track to a happier future, before he can escape.

Harrowing story of the kindly person Davey Lambert played by the dazzling actor Jack Weston about a fat man who has been suffered bullying since when he was blamed to burn his father's horse barn, Dr. Kimble shares the cell with him, when after a car's crash he tries to escape stealthily, Davey is hold there for be drunk, he will be loose at 11:30 to take a bus, Kimble introduces himself as Bill Carter, then Davey a sort of insure man feels comfy about the newest friend, they escape from the jail and headed to Davey's home, a huge farm of horse breeding, they weren't welcome by Davey's young brother Frank who have an ironic smile calling him as Fatso, also remembering the new horse barn nearby, however is widely praised by his mother Mrs. Maggie (Glenda Farrell), once more Davey asking for Bill follow him when he must meet his sick father, whose received him frostily, for first time Dr. Kimble confess for someone who he is, just Davey had this proof of confidence, meanwhile the adamant hound Lt. Philip Gerard already knows his whereabout, thus Dr. Kimble decides slip out at once, not before finds the awful truth about the horse barn's fire, he suspects that Davey wouldn't make such thing knowing deeply his human nature, but letters has been arrived from unknown sender, further directed by the prolific Ida Lupino, one of best compelling stories about a true friendship!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

When the story begins, Davey Lambert (Jack Westin) and Bill Carter (Richard Kimble...played by David Janssen) are in jail together. They make a break for it and travel to Davey's family home. There 'Bill' is shocked to see that his brother, Frank, and father treat Davey like he's worthless. Frank calls him Fatso and constantly makes fun of him and Bill even caught Frank whipping Davey--and Bill knocks the crap out of Frank. It seems that the two blame Davey for being a coward and stupid, worthless person...and Bill is determined to straighten this out because even though he's on the run, he's also a very decent guy and never neglects to help others. He needs to get Davey to stop drinking or running to avoid facing his problems...to give him the strength to be a man and demand better from his family and others. But at the same time, he is worried as Frank now has it out for him...and Frank is a real jerk!! How much of a jerk? Watch the show and find out for yourself.

This is one of the better episodes of "The Fugitive"...which is saying a lot considering how good the show was week after week. The story is exceptional and the acting very effective. Well worth seeing.

Kimble was now in Kentucky, (I would have liked more continuity in his locations so we can kind of follow him across the country). He gets blamed for a car accident, (he was hitch-hiking and the car owner wanted him to take a turn at driving), and winds up in jail. He breaks out with his cell-mate, "Fatso" Lambert, (Jack Weston), who was sleeping off a drunk. Kimble accompanies Fatso to his family's horse ranch, where he is not well-received. It seems that, while drunk, he burned down the horse barn and several horses died. His younger brother, Frank, (Burt Brinkerhoff), seems particularly hostile. Kimble has taken a liking to the simple, under-confident Fatso and manages to find out who really burned down the barn.

Not one of the more memorable episodes but it illustrates Kimble's compassion, an important 'hook' the writers use to get in involved in other people's stories. It made the series about more than just a man on the run.

As you can tell from the date, the whole country was about to become in engaged in figuring out what happened. And were about to show plenty of compassion of our own over something we've been "hooked" on ever since.

Jack Weston plays his role well as the title character ("Fatso"). His portrayal has a lot of dimensions, from his eagerness to please to his nervousness around those who disparage him. He works great with David Janssen, and together they elevate this episode that's at once poignant, humorous, and uplifting. Credit also goes to director Ida Lupino, who helmed three episodes of The Fugitive, with this being her first.

Davey "Fatso" Lambert is described as a slow learner, somewhat below average mentally. His mother loves him but his brother is jealous. Davey's the first-born. He's David Lambert, Jr. – named after his father. So his brother makes sure to turn his father against Davey. Coming from this family dynamic, Davey is rather starved for approval and friendship. When nice Dr. Kimble shows up (sharing a jail cell with him) and doesn't belittle him like others but instead offers friendship, Davey responds with enthusiasm. He sticks with Kimble when Kimble makes a break for it and even offers to hide him out at his family's large ranch. Kimble in turns helps Davey, getting him to understand that he turns to food and alcohol to ease the pain of his emotional wounds.

The director captures Davey's angst well. One of my favorite scenes is when Davey looks to Kimble for reassurance and silently pleads for help and Kimble silently nods back. Davey is sometimes childlike. Kimble openly observes Davey throughout the episode. In this episode, Kimble's not the one who's scared. Actress Glenda Farrell plays Davey's mother, a warm, friendly, motherly type who's rather wonderful in her role. This is a great hour of television, showcasing actors and a director who are at the top of their game.