Dick picks up a ride from John Milford and they stop for coffee . And Dick gets a hamburger. Milford heads for the bathroom before the food gets there and two cops enter. Dick gets nervous as they look at him like they recognize him, and tries to eat his burger in one bite before paying the check. The cops stop him as he leaves and bring him Milford's jacket, thinking it to be his. They ask for his name and he gives them the driver's license in the jacket. The cops are impressed to see that Dick is Leonard Hull. Dick doesn't know who the hull that is, but he figures it's better than being Richard Kimble. Anyways, this Hull guy is supposed to testify against crime boss Blacky Blackbird, and is taken into protective custody. Given that another witness has already been murdered, it seems improbable that Hull would pick up a hitchhiker. Unless, of course, that hitchhiker was Richard Kimble. Great. Sheriff Ed Asner takes Dick to see Mrs Hull in a hotel room, and Dick is sure his goose is cooked. Surprisingly, she acts like Dick is her husband, but really thinks he's been sent to kill her. And she doesn't turn him in as not her husband because... she wants to make a deal with him? OK. Kimble convinces her he's not a hit man, and she sends the cop guarding the door to get the paper, get the paper, while they get away. Meanwhile, the real Hull is arrested by the cops, one of which is James Doohan. Beam me out of here Scotty, says Hull, but Doohan says he can't do that yet. Hull tells Asner that he's Leonard Hull, and Asner high tails it to the motel, but the only one in the room is the tied up cop. Kimble has spunk. Asner hates spunk. Now, the real hit man is after Dick and the dame, and shoots her in the arm. Dick is surprised that for once, he's not the one who got shot. So Dick and the hit man duke it out, with Dick getting the Duke thanks to a distraction from the Mrs., who does the right thing by covering for Dick as Blackbird gets indicted. So it looks like it's bye bye Blackbird. Kind of a far fetched story, in that the woman didn't fall in love with Dick.
4 Reviews
3/23/63 "Masquerade"
schappe121 June 2015
Kimble picks up a ride as a hitch-hiker from a guy who generally meets his description and who disappears, except for his jacket, from a diner when the cops show up. The cops roust Kimble, who has grabbed the Jacket, which has the guy's wallet in it. He's Leonard Hull so Kimble decides to pretend to be Leonard Hull, which proves a mistake because the police want Leonard Hull even more than they'd want Richard Kimble.
Hull was part of a political machine that rules the state. The local sheriff, played by Ed Asner, isn't part of it and in fact the head of the machine, (unseen in this episode) is being investigated in Washington and he doesn't like to mess around: a previous witness has been murdered. Hull was one of his henchmen and Asner wants him as a material witness. He now thinks Kimble is Hull and puts him protective custody- very protective custody, the last situation Kimble wants to be in. He's not only sentenced to death as Richard Kimble, he's got people who want to murder him as Leonard Hull. Yet he can't admit he isn't Hull or he'll be sent to be executed.
The situation gets more complicated when Kimble is introduced to Hull's wife, (Norma Crane),who plays along, believing him to be a hit man who is after her. She wants to make a deal with him. Then Hull shows up and is assumed by the police to be a hit man who wants to kill Hull! The writer's imaginations were really on over-drive at this point, figuring deliciously complicated situations for Kimble to get into. And it's always interesting when Kimble has to deal with real crooks, emphasizing the difference between them and him, even if the world doesn't see it.
Hull was part of a political machine that rules the state. The local sheriff, played by Ed Asner, isn't part of it and in fact the head of the machine, (unseen in this episode) is being investigated in Washington and he doesn't like to mess around: a previous witness has been murdered. Hull was one of his henchmen and Asner wants him as a material witness. He now thinks Kimble is Hull and puts him protective custody- very protective custody, the last situation Kimble wants to be in. He's not only sentenced to death as Richard Kimble, he's got people who want to murder him as Leonard Hull. Yet he can't admit he isn't Hull or he'll be sent to be executed.
The situation gets more complicated when Kimble is introduced to Hull's wife, (Norma Crane),who plays along, believing him to be a hit man who is after her. She wants to make a deal with him. Then Hull shows up and is assumed by the police to be a hit man who wants to kill Hull! The writer's imaginations were really on over-drive at this point, figuring deliciously complicated situations for Kimble to get into. And it's always interesting when Kimble has to deal with real crooks, emphasizing the difference between them and him, even if the world doesn't see it.
Plot summary
ynot-1616 December 2006
Kimble, in Oklahoma, has hitched a ride, and speculates on the character of the driver. When they get to a diner, a series of circumstances involving police requires Kimble to assume the identity of the driver, Leonard Hull (actor John Milford), who gets away. Kimble is surprised to learn that Hull is a witness in a major prosecution of organized crime figure Buddy Blackburn.
Though Blackburn is never on screen, he is a huge influence lurking in the background. Blackburn has sent a hit man to kill Leonard Hull and his estranged wife (actress Norma Crane) to prevent Mr. Hull from testifying against him, and just in case Mrs. Hull might have been told something.
The sheriff (actor Ed Asner), believing Kimble to be Hull, takes him to see "his wife" Mrs. Hull at a motel where she is in protective custody. Kimble is surprised when Mrs. Hull does not report him as an impostor, but instead tries to coerce him into helping her escape the police and Blackburn. By the time the real Leonard Hull shows up and is detained by police (including actor James Doohan, Scotty on Star Trek), Kimble and Mrs. Hull have escaped, but they face danger every step of the way.
Though Blackburn is never on screen, he is a huge influence lurking in the background. Blackburn has sent a hit man to kill Leonard Hull and his estranged wife (actress Norma Crane) to prevent Mr. Hull from testifying against him, and just in case Mrs. Hull might have been told something.
The sheriff (actor Ed Asner), believing Kimble to be Hull, takes him to see "his wife" Mrs. Hull at a motel where she is in protective custody. Kimble is surprised when Mrs. Hull does not report him as an impostor, but instead tries to coerce him into helping her escape the police and Blackburn. By the time the real Leonard Hull shows up and is detained by police (including actor James Doohan, Scotty on Star Trek), Kimble and Mrs. Hull have escaped, but they face danger every step of the way.
Almost the best
ColonelPuntridge25 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This installment of "The Fugitive" is, so far, tied for first place, among the ones I've seen so far. (The other contender is "Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want to Meet" from Season 2.) This one, "Masquerade", is taut and gritty, and sad but not sentimental (except for a bit of mush at the end, a little token just to remind you that it is mainstream early-1960s TV). The plot is absorbing and full of twists and surprises, but it's still quite easy to follow. Just don't miss any of it - if you need to get something, wait for a commercial, as the show starts with a surprise and then another surprise, and the surprises keep coming and each one is, well, surprising. Best of all, in this installment Kimble doesn't indulge in any gratuitous goody-goody self-sacrificing heroics as he does in too many other episodes. And he doesn't give long speeches to any youngsters or weaklings about how to deal with adversity or how to be a man or any of that nauseating TV-good-doctor-guff which pollutes too many other episodes. Here he only has one clipped one-liner of virtue-signalling.
In fact, there's only one change I would make in this, and it's a BIG SPOILER so if you want to enjoy the climax, STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!! Near the end of the story, Kimble has a ferocious must-win fight against an assassin who has been hired to kill him (or rather, to kill the person he has been mistaken for) and also to kill the dark-and-ruthless-but-tragic female lead. Kimble knocks the bad-guy's gun away, and they fight a classic TV combat-bout, with fists, kicks, grappling, flips, and makeshift weapons like stones and heavy fragments of wooden beams. And of course, the bad guy finally gets the upper hand around Kimble's throat, and the woman, who has been watching but not active, saves the day at the very last moment by distracting the bad-guy for a few seconds so that Kimble can break free and knock him out. If I had been the writer, I would have had her pick up something heavy and clobber the bad-guy her own self, instead. Have her be the rescuer rather than just another female who needs to be rescued. But that's only my personal preference. Ten stars out of ten!
In fact, there's only one change I would make in this, and it's a BIG SPOILER so if you want to enjoy the climax, STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!! Near the end of the story, Kimble has a ferocious must-win fight against an assassin who has been hired to kill him (or rather, to kill the person he has been mistaken for) and also to kill the dark-and-ruthless-but-tragic female lead. Kimble knocks the bad-guy's gun away, and they fight a classic TV combat-bout, with fists, kicks, grappling, flips, and makeshift weapons like stones and heavy fragments of wooden beams. And of course, the bad guy finally gets the upper hand around Kimble's throat, and the woman, who has been watching but not active, saves the day at the very last moment by distracting the bad-guy for a few seconds so that Kimble can break free and knock him out. If I had been the writer, I would have had her pick up something heavy and clobber the bad-guy her own self, instead. Have her be the rescuer rather than just another female who needs to be rescued. But that's only my personal preference. Ten stars out of ten!
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