The Fugitive (1947 film)

The Fugitive
Directed by	John Ford Emilio Fernández (uncredited)[citation needed]
Produced by	Merian C. Cooper Emilio Fernández John Ford
Written by	Dudley Nichols
Based on	The Power and the Glory  by Grahame Greene
Starring	Henry Fonda Dolores del Río Pedro Armendáriz
Music by	Richard Hageman
Cinematography	Gabriel Figueroa
Editing by	Jack Murray
Studio	Argosy Pictures
Distributed by	RKO Pictures
Release date(s)	November 3, 1947 (1947-11-03)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States Mexico
Language	English

The Fugitive is a 1947 drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. The film was shot on location in Mexico, and utilised the skills of native cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.

Plot

A nameless priest is a fugitive in an unnamed Latin American country where religion is outlawed. Another fugitive, a murderous bandit dubbed "El Gringo", comes to town. He and a beautiful Indian woman conspire to help the priest escape. Taken to safety, he is then convinced by a police informant to return to the town on the pretense that "El Gringo" is dying and wishes to have last rites. The priest is captured and sentenced to death, but forgives the informant for betraying him. The priest's death brings an outpouring of public grief and shows the authorities that it is impossible to stamp out religion as long as it exists in people's hearts and minds.

Cast

• Henry Fonda as a fugitive
• Dolores del Río as a Native American woman
• Pedro Armendáriz as a police lieutenant
• J. Carrol Naish as a police informer
• Leo Carrillo as chief of police
• Ward Bond as El Gringo
• Robert Armstrong as police sergeant
• Rodolfo Acosta as Policeman (uncredited)

Reception

Tag Gallagher has written an extended discussion of the film in his book, John Ford: The Man and His Films (1986). He summarizes The Fugitive and its place in Ford's career as follows: "... once in Mexico, Ford jettisoned most of the script and, giving leave to his fancy, made a highly abstract art film. The Fugitive lost considerable money, caused a rift between Nichols and Ford, and has posed problems even for Ford’s most devoted followers. Only the director himself consistently defended it. 'I just enjoy looking at it.' 'To me, it was perfect.' And in terms of composition, lighting and editing, The Fugitive may be among the most enjoyable pictures."

Accolades

The film gained the prize of the International catholic office for cinema (OCIC) at the Venice film festival in 1948. According to this jury, this was a film "most capable of contributing to the revival of moral and spiritual values of humanity".^{[citation needed]}

External links

• The Fugitive at the Internet Movie Database
• The Fugitive at AllRovi