Face of a Fugitive
Encyclopedia
Face of a Fugitive is a 1959 Western
film directed by Paul Wendkos
. It stars Fred MacMurray
and Lin McCarthy and was based on the short story
"Long Gone" by Peter Dawson, the nom de plume of Jonathan H. Glidden (older brother of Luke Short
). Dawson was the author of 120 Western short stories and novelettes as well as 15 book length Western serials. The working title
was Justice Ends with a Gun.
Jim Larsen is handcuffed to Deputy Marshall George Allison (Francis De Sales) who is taking Larsen aboard a train to begin a 5–10 year prison sentence. Without animosity, Larsen tells the deputy that he will use his time in prison to plan more bank robberies. This new robbery would be foolproof as Larsen feels that he was only caught by using a partner; the next time will be singlehanded. Boarding the train, Larsen overpowers the deputy, takes his pistol and handcuffs one of his arms to the guardrail on the rear car of the train. Suddenly, Larsen's younger brother Danny (Ron Hayes
) unexpectedly comes from the train to free Larsen, even though Larsen was handling his escape fine. The elder Larsen chides Danny that he does not need help from anyone.
Danny explains that he has brought Jim a horse, and they flee. As they ride off the deputy produces a hidden derringer
from an ankle holster, aiming at them. He mortally wounds Danny who kills the deputy. The two board another train by hiding in the baggage car
. Jim explains his escape plans to Danny enroute, but Danny dies. Jim places his brother's corpse in a mail sack and throws it off a bridge passing over a river and vows to be alone in the future.
The train's first stop is the Enterprize Mine where Jim changes into his father's business suit
which Danny brought, and Jim reboards the train as a passenger. The only vacant seat is next to Alice (Gina Gillespie
) a six year old girl who has been visiting her grandfather who is the Marshall at the Enterprize Mine. The talkative Alice guesses that as she does not recognise Jim, he must be a visiting mining inspector. Using the name Ray Kincaid, Larsen plays along with her guess and gathers information on the next town, Tangle Blue, Wyoming. Mark Riley (Lin McCarthy), an earnest but inexperienced sheriff who is young Alice's uncle, and a group of deputies stop the train to search for the deputy's murderer, but they are satisfied with "Ray Kincaid the mining inspector" due to his travelling with Alice. The deputies say that the wanted poster depicting the deputy's murderer with Jim Larsen's face will be arriving on the next day's train and everyone will be checked entering or leaving the town.
Larsen/Kincaid arrives in town, meeting Alice's mother, the widow Ellen Bailey (Dorothy Green). Uncle Mark is having problems with rich landowner Reed Williams (Alan Baxter) fencing off what he thinks is his land but which the government declares open range
.
Larsen/Kincaid uses his remaining money to have a shave then buy a horse and tack
, a set of work clothes, and a pistol, belt and ammunition to replace the pistol he threw away during the search on the train. Larsen/Kincaid finds all the roads away from Tangle Blue are guarded by deputies who are preventing anyone leave the town until the wanted posters come in. Returning to town and desperate for cash, he decides to earn some money as being a deputy for Mark.
Larsen/Kincaid attends a dance with Ellen who wants to leave Tangle Blue. He proves his worth by stopping a showdown between Williams' gang and Mark. Escorting her and Alice home, they pass some deputies who have discovered Danny's unidentified body in the sack that the river has brought to town. Though Larsen/Kincaid tries to avoid getting involved with Ellen, they fall in love.
As part of his duties in enforcing the law, Mark cuts down Williams' barbed wire
fences, that Williams' gang of toughs re-construct. Sheriff Mark reminds Larsen/Kincaid of Danny, and Mark is being menanced by Williams and his gang who threaten to kill Mark if he cuts down their fence one more time. Returning to town to drink, Williams and his gang menance Larsen/Kincaid who responds by beating up Williams, but Larsen/Kincaid is soon worked over by his Williams' gang.
The next day Larsen/Kincaid is the only deputy willing to go with Mark to cut down Williams' fence. Mark cuts down the fence then returns to town to meet the train arriving with the posters depicting the face of the fugitive leaving Larsen/Kincaid to watch the fence. Though having the chance to escape, he notices one of Williams' toughs Purdy (James Coburn
) repairing the fence. Larsen re-cuts the barbed wire by shooting the strands with his Winchester rifle
that sets the strands to wrap around Purdy. He singlehandedly takes on Williams and his gang.
. It also features an early film score by the prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith
.
Larsen: All you gotta do is figure out which it is.
Sheriff: No one is as important enough to walk wherever he wants. He's bound to run into something that will stop him.
Larsen: Don't you touch my whiskey unless I invite you!
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film directed by Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos was an American television and film director....
. It stars Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
and Lin McCarthy and was based on the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"Long Gone" by Peter Dawson, the nom de plume of Jonathan H. Glidden (older brother of Luke Short
Luke Short (writer)
Luke Short was a popular Western writer.Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of...
). Dawson was the author of 120 Western short stories and novelettes as well as 15 book length Western serials. The working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
was Justice Ends with a Gun.
Plot
Bank robberBank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
Jim Larsen is handcuffed to Deputy Marshall George Allison (Francis De Sales) who is taking Larsen aboard a train to begin a 5–10 year prison sentence. Without animosity, Larsen tells the deputy that he will use his time in prison to plan more bank robberies. This new robbery would be foolproof as Larsen feels that he was only caught by using a partner; the next time will be singlehanded. Boarding the train, Larsen overpowers the deputy, takes his pistol and handcuffs one of his arms to the guardrail on the rear car of the train. Suddenly, Larsen's younger brother Danny (Ron Hayes
Ron Hayes
Ronald G. Hayes was an American television actor who, as an activist in the environmental movement, worked for the establishment of the first Earth Day, observed on April 22, 1970. He was a member of the Sierra Club and a founder of the ecological interest group Wilderness World...
) unexpectedly comes from the train to free Larsen, even though Larsen was handling his escape fine. The elder Larsen chides Danny that he does not need help from anyone.
Danny explains that he has brought Jim a horse, and they flee. As they ride off the deputy produces a hidden derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
from an ankle holster, aiming at them. He mortally wounds Danny who kills the deputy. The two board another train by hiding in the baggage car
Baggage car
A baggage car or luggage van is a type of railway vehicle often forming part of the composition of passenger trains and used to carry passengers' checked baggage, as well as parcels . Being typically coupled at the front of the train behind the locomotive, this type of car is sometimes described...
. Jim explains his escape plans to Danny enroute, but Danny dies. Jim places his brother's corpse in a mail sack and throws it off a bridge passing over a river and vows to be alone in the future.
The train's first stop is the Enterprize Mine where Jim changes into his father's business suit
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
which Danny brought, and Jim reboards the train as a passenger. The only vacant seat is next to Alice (Gina Gillespie
Gina Gillespie
Gina Gillespie is a former American actress who had a brief but extensive career in television and film during her childhood and youth.- Early life :...
) a six year old girl who has been visiting her grandfather who is the Marshall at the Enterprize Mine. The talkative Alice guesses that as she does not recognise Jim, he must be a visiting mining inspector. Using the name Ray Kincaid, Larsen plays along with her guess and gathers information on the next town, Tangle Blue, Wyoming. Mark Riley (Lin McCarthy), an earnest but inexperienced sheriff who is young Alice's uncle, and a group of deputies stop the train to search for the deputy's murderer, but they are satisfied with "Ray Kincaid the mining inspector" due to his travelling with Alice. The deputies say that the wanted poster depicting the deputy's murderer with Jim Larsen's face will be arriving on the next day's train and everyone will be checked entering or leaving the town.
Larsen/Kincaid arrives in town, meeting Alice's mother, the widow Ellen Bailey (Dorothy Green). Uncle Mark is having problems with rich landowner Reed Williams (Alan Baxter) fencing off what he thinks is his land but which the government declares open range
Open range
Open range may refer to: vast areas of grassy land that is owned by the federal government.*Rangeland, vast natural landscapes*Open Range, the 2003 Western movie co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner...
.
Larsen/Kincaid uses his remaining money to have a shave then buy a horse and tack
Horse tack
Tack is a term used to describe any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack...
, a set of work clothes, and a pistol, belt and ammunition to replace the pistol he threw away during the search on the train. Larsen/Kincaid finds all the roads away from Tangle Blue are guarded by deputies who are preventing anyone leave the town until the wanted posters come in. Returning to town and desperate for cash, he decides to earn some money as being a deputy for Mark.
Larsen/Kincaid attends a dance with Ellen who wants to leave Tangle Blue. He proves his worth by stopping a showdown between Williams' gang and Mark. Escorting her and Alice home, they pass some deputies who have discovered Danny's unidentified body in the sack that the river has brought to town. Though Larsen/Kincaid tries to avoid getting involved with Ellen, they fall in love.
As part of his duties in enforcing the law, Mark cuts down Williams' barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
fences, that Williams' gang of toughs re-construct. Sheriff Mark reminds Larsen/Kincaid of Danny, and Mark is being menanced by Williams and his gang who threaten to kill Mark if he cuts down their fence one more time. Returning to town to drink, Williams and his gang menance Larsen/Kincaid who responds by beating up Williams, but Larsen/Kincaid is soon worked over by his Williams' gang.
The next day Larsen/Kincaid is the only deputy willing to go with Mark to cut down Williams' fence. Mark cuts down the fence then returns to town to meet the train arriving with the posters depicting the face of the fugitive leaving Larsen/Kincaid to watch the fence. Though having the chance to escape, he notices one of Williams' toughs Purdy (James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
) repairing the fence. Larsen re-cuts the barbed wire by shooting the strands with his Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
that sets the strands to wrap around Purdy. He singlehandedly takes on Williams and his gang.
Cast
- Fred MacMurrayFred MacMurrayFrederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
as Jim Larsen/Ray Kincaid - Lin McCarthy as Sheriff Mark Riley
- Dorothy Green as Ellen Bailey
- Alan Baxter as Reed Williams
- Myrna FaheyMyrna FaheyMyrna Fahey was an American actress best known for her role as Maria Crespo in Walt Disney's Zorro, and as Madeline Usher in the film version of Edgar Allan Poe's, The Fall of the House of Usher...
as Janet Hawthorne - James CoburnJames CoburnJames Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
as Purdy - Gina GillespieGina GillespieGina Gillespie is a former American actress who had a brief but extensive career in television and film during her childhood and youth.- Early life :...
as Alice Bailey
Production
The film was shot at the Bell Moving Picture Ranch, Corriganville (the ghost town) and on the Sierra RailroadSierra Railroad
The Sierra Railroad Company a privately owned common carrier which has a freight division which handles all track maintenance and freight operations for all branches owned by the Sierra Railroad Company...
. It also features an early film score by the prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
.
Quotes
Williams: You're butting into something that doesn't concern you. Either you're extra good with that gun, or you're bluffing.Larsen: All you gotta do is figure out which it is.
Sheriff: No one is as important enough to walk wherever he wants. He's bound to run into something that will stop him.
Larsen: Don't you touch my whiskey unless I invite you!