Good-day, Kittens & Dawgs! Thank you for joining me. This week’s TMP theme is On the Run, hosted Wandering through the Shelves. The basic rules simple; base on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell why I picked them. Grab your popcorn, coke, and follow me to the movies!
Filmed partly in the western North Carolina mountains is one of our favorite ‘On the Run’ all-time flicks starring Harrison Ford is “The Fugitive”. Accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble (Ford) a prominent surgeon, claims a one-armed assailant killed his wife and then attacked him. However, a jury finds him guilty. During the prison transfer, the bus crashes giving Ford a chance to prove his innocence while on the lam. It’s a fabulous action-thriller with US Marshall Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) heading the manhunt to capture Kimble!
Hollyweird left behind the bus/train crash scene in Dillsboro, North Carolina after the 1993 production, which I photographed a few times over the years most recently I shared them here.
Featured in my next movie selection are Mel Gibson and Golden Hawn from 1990, “Bird on a Wire”. For 15-years Rick Jamin (Gibson) was hidden in witness protection for putting away a drug leader when his former girlfriend Marianne crosses his path while working as a gas attendant. She thinks he’s been dead. Now the truth is out and the fun begins with Rick’s cover blown and dragging Marianne into trouble. It’s an action-comedy ‘On the Run’ film that will leave you in stitches!
What’s not to like about Mel Gibson? This is a fun film. He and Goldie make a great team!
Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a New York cab driver who watches the government and reports his conspiracy theories in a self-published newsletter. Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts) is a lawyer with the DA who befriended Jerry after he saved her from a mugging. She thinks he kooky but harmless with his paranoid delusions but when one of Jerry’s articles rubs the wrong people then everyone on Jerry’s mailing list ends up dead, except him and he’s next. Check out “Conspiracy Theory”!
Mel Gibson probably is my favorite actor from the 80s and 90s. That’s when he cranked out some of his top films.
That’s a wrap, folks! I hope y’all decide to come back tomorrow for a lot of Friday fun rolled into one post. There’s something for everyone photography (Skywatch Friday), blessings (Celebrate the Small Things), Friendly fill-ins, and lots of laughs (Friday Sillies)!
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AWWWWWW such great picks!!! The Fugituve is one of those films you forget how good it is. Worth it just to hear ‘I didn’t kill my wife’ …. ‘I don’t care!’
Never seen Bird on a Wire but I’m going hunt it down – looks hilarious. And I didn enjoy Conspircay Theory. Even though its a tad over the top.
Yeah, “The Fugitive” is an excellent film. Of course, we’re reminded of it every time visit the western North Carolina mountains because that’s where the train-bus scene was filmed.
I hope you can find “Bird on a Wire”. It really is a great movie and lots of fun. You’ll definitely enjoy it! Thanks for visiting!
I haven’t seen any of these but I’ll check out the one with Tommy Lee Jones.
Sonia, Tommy Lee Jones is a great actor!
Love all three of your picks. The Fugitive is a good flick but I did enjoy the TV Show with David Janssen. I saw the reruns but they were good and it was a huge hit in the day. The ending was the first tv show to actually have an ending and most of North America stayed in to see the finale. Bird On A Wire is fun and a good Goldie’s Hawn movie. The last film is actually quite well done and it took a while for me to adjust to Patrick Stewart I. This role.
I absolutely LOVE Tommy Lee Jones!!
Thank you for sharing!!
– Lisa
Those are great fits for the theme though I have to admit to only really liking one. The Fugitive is a fun thrill ride with Ford and TLJ making great opponents. I wasn’t a devout fan of the original but still watch it from time to time, it’s a very entertaining show.
I absolutely hated Bird on a Wire and thought Conspiracy Theory ran out of gas about half way through but then I’ve never been the biggest Gibson fan even before he went crazy and showed his true colors, except in The Year of Living Dangerously-that’s a fantastic film with terrific performances by all.
I went with older titles this week since I thought the biggest recent titles like Thelma & Louise would pop up repeatedly. My main three are tense so I appended a breezy comic take to balance things out a bit.
The Clouded Yellow (1950)-Fired and seeking tranquility after a case goes wrong British Secret Service agent David Somers (Trevor Howard) retreats to the Fenton country estate and a quiet job cataloging butterflies. Upon his arrival he meets and becomes enamored with the Fenton’s niece, the fragile Sophie (Jean Simmons). His peace is short-lived though when Sophie is framed for the murder of menacing handyman Hick. Escaping to London he uses his skills and a network of old friends to evade capture as both the police and the real murderer chase them across Britain as they attempt to flee to safety. Tidy thriller that benefits from location filming throughout England and a superior cast.
Dust Be My Destiny (1939)-Down on his luck but honest Joe Bell (John Garfield) gets into a fight with a crook and is sentenced to a work farm for 90 days. There he falls for Mabel Alden (Priscilla Lane), much to the displeasure of her stepfather Charles Garreth (Stanley Ridges) the farm’s foreman. Goaded into a fight Joe knocks Garreth out and the panicked pair flee. To avoid suspicion and hard up for cash the couple endure an audience wedding then learn Garreth has died and Joe is wanted for his murder. Moving from town to town to elude capture they try to build a new life when Joe get a job as a photographer on a newspaper after capturing pictures of fleeing bank robbers but destiny is still on their trail. Solid Warner Bros. social issue drama with two excellent lead performances.
You Only Live Once (1937)-Ex-con Eddie Taylor (Henry Fonda), recently released due to the influence of his fiancée Joan (Sylvia Sidney) the public defender’s secretary, attempts to stay to the straight and narrow after they marry. Things go wrong however when he’s accused and convicted for a bank robbery he didn’t commit in which six people were killed. Sentenced to fry in the electric chair he escapes on the eve of execution with the aid of a smuggled gun, accidentally killing the prison chaplain while fleeing. Taking Joan with him they go on the lam but only tragedy lays ahead. Bleak Fritz Lang directed film, an amalgam of the Bonnie & Clyde legend and Lang’s reaction to his first wife’s embrace of Nazism, is considered the precursor to film noir.
Lighthearted Extra-Midnight Run (1988)-Fun adventure comedy/buddy film of bounty hunter Robert DeNiro taking fugitive mob accountant Charles Grodin cross country to collect his reward and dogged every step of the way by the FBI, Mafia and other bounty hunters all of whom want Grodin for reasons of their own. DeNiro & Grodin have a spiky exasperated chemistry with each other that adds greatly to the comedy of the situation.
I have never seen Bird on a Wire, I will have to see if Netflix has that. I love your other 2 choices.
Ellen, I don’t believe Bird on a Wire is on Netflix but if you find it I highly recommend it. It’s gr8!!
Road movies and “on the run” movies are some of my favorite genres. The Fugitive television show was a favorite of mine and I now have a couple of seasons on DVD. The film version was also very good.
I wouldn’t want to be on the run in real life, but it’s fun to fantasize about. Of late, I’ve been enjoying the reality TV show called Hunted on CBS. The first season ended last night and it was fascinating to see people on the run competing for $250,000 if they could elude capture. I’m hoping they renew the show for next year as it’s pretty good.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Lee, I haven’t seen The Fugitive TV series or the new program on CBS. I may have to check out Hunted. We don’t watch a lot of regularly TV programs and usually wait for them to show up on Netflix. However, we have kept up with a few streaming them after airing through the network Apps. I really like having this an option. Thanks for popping by today.