Synopsis

After being wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, Chicago vascular surgeon Richard Kimble escapes custody following a devastating train collision. Hunted by relentless U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, Kimble uses his medical expertise and resourcefulness to investigate the crime himself. As the pursuit closes in, he uncovers evidence of a conspiracy and races to expose the real killer before he is captured or executed.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts the premise of the 1963-1967 television series of the same name, which starred David Janssen. The movie updates the story into a large-scale Chicago-set action thriller.

• The Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade chase was added after production had begun. Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones filmed within the real parade crowd, using handheld Steadicam photography and little conventional rehearsal.

• Ford injured ligaments in his leg during the woodland sequences. He postponed surgery until filming ended, allowing Kimble's limp to remain part of the character's physical performance.

• The police interrogation scene was improvised. Ford reportedly did not know the questions in advance, so his reactions were spontaneous.

• Julianne Moore's role was substantially reduced during editing. Story material in which her character provided further help to Kimble was removed, leaving her with only a brief appearance.

• The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Tommy Lee Jones won Best Supporting Actor, making the performance one of the film's most enduring elements.

• The Fugitive became one of 1993's biggest theatrical successes, earning more than $350 million worldwide against a reported production budget of approximately $44 million.

• The film was followed by U.S. Marshals in 1998. That movie continued the law-enforcement characters' stories, but Harrison Ford did not return as Richard Kimble.