Passage to Helena

Police, investigating an unrelated crime, call out to Kimble. Fearing the worst, he runs, but ultimately is captured and put in the jail in Wyler County, Montana. In the next cell is Rafe Carter (actor James Farentino), a convicted killer on his way to be executed. Deputy Sheriff Emery Dalton (actor Percy Rodriguez), against the advice of the sheriff, takes both prisoners to Helena. Carter is taken to be executed, while Kimble (posing as Thomas Barrett) is taken to be identified, Dalton figuring he must be wanted for something. Carter is a racist who continually taunts Dalton, who is black.

Dalton and his assistant, Deputy Lockett, run into real problems as Carter has friends ready to bust him loose. Ultimately, Dalton, wounded and on foot, has to march the two prisoners alone 50 miles to Helena. Kimble is determined to escape, but is disturbed by Carter's plan to kill Dalton to make good his escape.

Richard Kimble is arrested following a routine traffic stop. While it turned out that Kimble was not guilty of what they thought, he did resist arrest...which makes the Sergeant (Percy Rodrigues) very suspicious. They decide to keep him in jail for a day or so in order to find out why he reacted the way he did. Kimble is placed in a cell across from Rafe Carter (James Farentino)...a man wanted on murder charges. Little do the police realize that BOTH their prisoners are wanted for murder!

Much of the film consists of the Sergeant and the two prisoners trekking to nearby Helena. Why are they trekking? Because Rafe's gang attacks the police vehicle--killing a deputy and leaving the car inoperable. What's next?

This episode is exciting and Farentino's performance and how his character was written really helps. I also liked seeing Rodrigues playing a 'normal' role. While he was a very good black actor, here he plays a man with authority...something rare to see on TV at the time...and he does it very well.

Kimble rarely does anything stupid in his travels but he does here, seemingly just to create the situation he'll have to find a way to get out of. He's in a small town in Montana, looking for transportation to Helena, when a police car pulls up and tells him to wait. They only want to question him about a stolen truck. But he runs from them and then slugs a policeman in an attempt to get him away. That gets him a bunk in jail for resisting arrest, next to a captured, racist killer played by James Farentino. A black deputy, played by Percy Rodriguez, is assigned to transport the two of them to Helena- Farentino to be executed and Kimble to be identified as the thief who stole the truck, (which he isn't). To get there they have to go through the "hill country", which is full of Farentino's friends and relatives, who disable the vehicle Rodirguez is using and wound him in the progress. He preservers, dealing with Farentino's taints and Kimble's silence. They wind up in a farm house where a lonely woman seems fascinated with Farentino, who falsely pleads his innocence and suggests that if she helps him, they could go off together.

That scene seems rushed and doesn't ring true, as most of the scenes in this one don't. Farentino seems much more the city boy than the country boy. But the powerful Rodriguez makes this watchable with his performance as a highly principled man in a world that so often disappoints him.

This is one of a small handful of Fugitive episodes that I remember from decades ago. I vividly remember Percy Rodrigues as the sheriff. I actually avoided watching it again until recently because I didn't want my memories to be ruined in case it's not how I remembered it or in case my current adult perception is different from my childhood's. As it turns out, I still love this one. I am so impressed with Percy Rodrigues. He does not have a false note in any of his line readings or actions. There is so much dignity in his persona.

As much as David Janssen was perfect for TV, so was Percy Rodrigues. Their close-ups are captivating. How they react to other actors, how they use their eyes to convey emotion, how they hold their bodies.

The story is almost superfluous. Two lawmen escort two prisoners through the mountains towards the city of Helena. Dr. Kimble is one of the prisoners. The other is a dangerous killer with friends who want to help him escape. The sheriff's truck is ambushed and they end up having to go a long distance on foot. The prisoners are determined to escape.

This installment of "The Fugitive" would be a dead lemon - two or three stars - but Percy Rodriguez makes it well worth watching. He's so intense. He starts off playing his character as kind of generic, someone we don't care much about. But by the time he has to make his climactic decision, we're praying for him to do the right thing.