The Fugitive (1993 Film) - Plot

Plot

Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford), a surgeon in Chicago, arrives home one night to find his wife, Helen (Ward), fatally wounded by a one-armed man. Although Kimble makes an effort to subdue the killer, the man escapes. The lack of evidence of a break-in, his being the beneficiary of Helen's lucrative life insurance, and a misunderstood 9-1-1 call, result in his conviction of first degree murder in a court of law. On his way to death row aboard a bus, his fellow prisoners attempt an escape. The pandemonium results in a wounded guard and a dead driver, causing the bus to fall down a ravine and into the path of an oncoming train. Kimble escapes the destructive collision and flees the scene. Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Jones), and his colleagues Renfro (Pantoliano), Biggs (Roebuck), Newman (Wood) and Poole (Caldwell), arrive at the crash site and formulate a search plan to apprehend the escaped convicts. Kimble sneaks into a hospital to treat his wounds and change his appearance; he later makes a getaway in an ambulance.

Kimble returns to Chicago to hunt for the murderer and secretly acquires some money from his friend and associate, Dr. Charles Nichols (Krabbé). Posing as a janitor, Kimble enters Cook County Hospital's prosthetic department to obtain a list of people who had their prosthetic arm repaired shortly after his wife's murder. Gerard realizes that Kimble must be looking for the one-armed man. He begins a similar search to anticipate Kimble's next move. Later, Kimble breaks into the residence of a former police officer named Frederick Sykes (Katsulas), confirming that the man is the murderer and discovering that he is employed by a pharmaceutical company which is working on a new drug called Provasic. Kimble had investigated the drug in the past and revealed that it caused liver damage, which in turn would have prevented it from being approved by the FDA. He also deduces that Nichols, who is leading the drug's development, arranged a cover-up, and ordered Sykes to kill him; his wife's death was incidental. Gerard follows Kimble's lead to Sykes' home and draws the same conclusion.

As Kimble takes an elevated train to confront Nichols at the drug's presentation in a hotel, Sykes appears and attacks him. In the ensuing struggle, Sykes shoots a transit cop before being subdued and handcuffed to a pole by Kimble. Kimble arrives at the pharmacon conference and interrupts Nichols's speech, accusing him of falsifying his medical research and orchestrating his wife's consequent murder. They begin to fight while being chased by the marshals and police. During the related confrontation, Kimble, Nichols, Renfro and Gerard find themselves in the hotel's laundry room. Gerard calls out that he's aware of the conspiracy fabricated by Nichols. Hearing that, Nichols injures Renfro and confiscates his gun. Nichols then attempts to shoot Gerard, but Kimble attacks him from behind, rendering him unconscious. Kimble is exonerated and driven away from the scene by Gerard.