Come Watch Me Die

The doc is a small Nebraska town, possibly like Janssen's home town, Naponee. Anyways, a guy is seen running from a home with blood on him. Two people are discovered dead in there. The guy steals John Anderson's car, but is soon caught. The dead couple are Bruce Dern's parents, so he's not happy, but then again, he never seems happy. Bruce played 5 different characters in the series, but he's always pretty much the same guy. So the sheriff requisitions a school bus from where Kimble works to take everyone to the county seat, which apparently is very, very far away. When Dick takes the bus to the sheriff, he is deputized to go for a ride along. The deputy brings a big jug of liquor with him, because he doesn't want to drink alone. When everyone is sufficiently liquored up, they plan to murder the suspect, which doesn't sit well with the doc. I mean, he was innocent, so he feels for guys who may be innocent. But it turns out the guy's not innocent after all. He escapes, but Dick captures him at great personal risk, and he's kind of a hero to the good cops at the county seat. He is even offered a job in law enforcement! Kimble says thanks but no thanks, and quickly walks away.

This is a one of those delicious situations the writers have set up for Kimble to get trapped in. It kind of combines "In Cold Blood", (the book wasn't published until 1966 but the murders had taken place in 1959), with "3:10 to Yuma", (the original movie had come out in 1957). Kimble is working as a farm hand in Nebraska when a guy named Bellows is seen running from a house. Inside a man and woman have been murdered. Kimble is pressed into service to drive Bellows to the county seat, along with a drunken deputy and members of the posse that caught him, one of whom is (red alert!) Bruce Dern, the couple's son who, when joining in the drinking, decides he wants Bellow lynched. Kimble escapes with Bellows, who seems like a nice guy. But he still intends to deliver him to the sheriff, even at risk of his own life. One of the really good episodes of this classic series.

Bellows (actor Robert Doyle) is seen leaving a Nebraska farmhouse by Benjy (actor Randy Boone) and Charley (actor Bruce Dern). Inside they find their parents murdered. Bellows runs off and steals a car. He wrecks the car and runs off again, but is captured.

Richard Kimble (using the name Ben Rogers), working in the area as a mechanic for farm machinery, is stopped by the posse, but soon is recognized as innocent.

The sheriff wants to bring Bellows and 4 witnesses to the county seat for legal proceedings, so he secures a bus from Kimble's boss. Since the boss is busy that night, he taps Kimble to be the driver. Kimble reluctantly goes, and reluctantly gets sworn in as a deputy to help guard the prisoner while the real deputy does some of the driving.

The drunken witnesses hatch a plan to lynch Bellows, disturbing Kimble greatly, since Bellows is proclaiming his innocence.

Kimble's efforts to save Bellows work out badly, and Kimble falls under suspicion of being a confederate of Bellows. Kimble must fight hard to recapture the fugitive and restore his own (Ben Rogers') reputation.

The fact that the fight scene was so badly done at the end AND the episode still earns an 8 means it must have been a very good one indeed...and an ironic one as well.

The story begins with a guy running out of a house. When the two workers see this, they enter the house and find the husband and wife dead...murdered. Soon the young guy who MAY have committed the murders is apprehended. But in this loser town, the folks would sooner hang him and be done with it instead of take him to the jail at the county seat. For that reason, in a REALLY ironic twist, Richard Kimble joins the men taking the prisoner to jail...as he is well aware that the man might not make it there and the posse just hang him. When the deputy in charge gets drunk, the hanging appears imminent...and Kimble escapes out a window with the suspect. What's next? See the show.

The notion of a wanted criminal being deputized makes this an interesting episode...especially when the man is accused of murder as well. All in all, a very interesting story BUT one that really looked shabby during the big fight scene at the end. Rarely have I ever seen stuntmen double this badly for the star of the show...and it's obvious to anyone watching that that is NOT David Janssen involved in most of the fight!

FYI...this is the second episode in season one where Bruce Dern appears. In both, he lived in a crappy small town and was essentially a very trashy, awful person.

Thankfully a phrase uttered by the character Bellows, has provided a title for me. I'm cherry-picking the re-run of the series and realised I hadn't actually seen this one. Deliciously ironic, Kimble finds himself deputised as a lawman in some hole in the corner midwest town. Bellows is a ne'er do well who appears to have murdered an elderly couple. Certainly the circumstantial evidence points to him; running from the scene, stealing a car and washing blood from his shirt. Bowers, the local law, needs to get the man to the county court but, perversely, all of the witnesses, including the victims' sons, have to travel in the same bus, along with Kimble and a jug of corn liquor. Between themse!ves the witnesses conspire to lynch Bellows rather than risk him being let off through lack of concrete evidence. Aware of their scheme, Kimble flees with Bellows when the party is forced to stay overnight at a motel. .But can the prisoner be trusted? Worse, Kimble is suspected of being Bellows' accomplice, and the County Sheriff asks for a police check on his alias, Ben Rogers. When things are ultimately resolved Kimble is commended for ensuring justice was done. The Sheriff receives a reply to his enquiry, asking for a fingerprint check. Kimble looks worried but, the Sheriff just smiles and crumples the paper in his hand.

Yet another instance of small town citizens deciding for themselves what is right or wrong. Fugitive regular Bruce Dern, as one of the victims' sons, always has a deranged look about him . And, the other "upright" citizens, including lawman Bowers, don't need much persuasion once the jug has been passed around.