Always loved this particular episode with young Kurt Russell and his father Bing in appearance together. But the reason I'm writing is my discovery as to where this episode was shot. Look up 12444 Magnolia Blvd. in Los Angeles and Wilkinson Ave., and you can see the same structures still standing, especially the castle like turrets that is now a post office building. May not be much, but I always find this location trivia really fascinating. As for the rest of the episode, it's interesting to see the "kids" in a Fugitive episode start to look like kids in the 60's wearing longer hair and tight surfer jeans instead of the standard phony look that did not reflect the times. And also the reference to Mail Order Lee Harvey Oswald type rifles didn't escape this viewer.
7 Reviews
The Allure of Convention
mduggan-706-99404216 June 2010
This episode is sandwiched between two in which Richard Kimble is first outlaw, and later hiding out in a fishing community with laws of its own. The scene here is by contrast highly conventional, with Kimble working as daytime bartender Bob Stoddard, and Lois Nettleton playing the waitress Susan—both in rather silly outfits for the restaurant's Viennese atmosphere. They have a friendly dating relationship. Susan suddenly finds herself guardian for her orphaned 12 year old nephew, Gary. As we viewers know, Kimble would like a child, and at first he is far more enthused than she about the boy's arrival in her life. Lois has the life of a modern mother much more than most women in this series. She works all day, and sends her nephew to find friends on the streets. He falls in with a local tough (played convincingly by Kurt Russell) who persuades him to lie, cheat and steal. The social worker tells Lois she needs a man in her life, and indeed a working woman who is raising kids on her own really does need a partner, and one who can commit. Kimble on the run can't be that man. The very family that is so alluring to him dooms the relationship between Susan and Kimble. The magnet of the conventional world is strong for Kimble, and may not be so strong for many viewers, who have mortgage payments, kids, and reliable spouses. Other Fugitive episodes are appealing because viewers can fantasize about having no responsibilities. But it is also interesting to see Kimble's take on an ordinary life—something he longs for, but cannot have. The show reminds us once again that family is precious. The chemistry between Lois Nettleton and David Janssen is strong, as it was also in "Man on a String." The child actor who plays Lois' nephew is also quite good.
You you buy something like this by mail....no questions asked?!?!
planktonrules28 April 2017
Richard Kimble has been posing as Paul Stoddard and has been working for some time at a restaurant. He's happier than usual in this role and has been dating his co-worker, Susan (Lois Nettleton). However, there is a fly in the ointment....Susan's nephew. He's an orphan and has recently come to live with her. But the kid has troubles and has fallen in with some VERY strange new friends. It seems that he and the other boys are pooling their money to buy a war surplus rifle...and the kids appear to be between about 8 and 12! And, apparently, in the old days you could buy one of these by mail...no questions asked*!!!! This is insane...and now the boys have a very powerful weapon AND they know who Paul Stoddard really is...and it's vigilante time!!
*I am not anti-gun. I have a few guns myself...but the idea of children mail ordering an Enfield rifle is just nuts!! Apparently gun laws in the States were insanely lax back in the day!! It's obvious that this was the point of the show---and it's a very reasonable point to make! This alone makes "In a Plain Paper Wrapper" an episode worth seeing.
*I am not anti-gun. I have a few guns myself...but the idea of children mail ordering an Enfield rifle is just nuts!! Apparently gun laws in the States were insanely lax back in the day!! It's obvious that this was the point of the show---and it's a very reasonable point to make! This alone makes "In a Plain Paper Wrapper" an episode worth seeing.
4/19/66 "In a Plain Paper Wrapper"
schappe121 December 2015
Kimble is a bartender again, developing a relationship with a waitress, (Lois Nettleton), who has been given custody of a nephew, (Pat Cardi), who desperately wants to fit in with the kids in his new neighborhood. The local gang is led by Kurt Russell and their dream is to obtain a rifle via mail order. They have the money for the gun but not the postage. They allow the new kid in if he will pay dues, which happens to be the amount of the postage.
Cardi resents Kimble at first and when he finds out he's a fugitive, the gang decides to "bring him in" with their new rifle. Meanwhile, a social worker is investigating Nettleton to see if she's supplying a good home. Knowing that a convicted murderer is romancing her won't help her case.
There's a lot of building suspense, aided by a strong musical score. But the climax is unconvincing and disappointing. Kurt Russell had previously played Lt. Gerard's son in "Nemesis", (10/13/64). Bing Russell, Kurt's Dad, shows up as a cop at the end. He winds up tossing the rifle into his police car and expressing disgust with the fact that a rifle could be so easily obtained by minors. I wonder what today's NRA would think of that?
Cardi resents Kimble at first and when he finds out he's a fugitive, the gang decides to "bring him in" with their new rifle. Meanwhile, a social worker is investigating Nettleton to see if she's supplying a good home. Knowing that a convicted murderer is romancing her won't help her case.
There's a lot of building suspense, aided by a strong musical score. But the climax is unconvincing and disappointing. Kurt Russell had previously played Lt. Gerard's son in "Nemesis", (10/13/64). Bing Russell, Kurt's Dad, shows up as a cop at the end. He winds up tossing the rifle into his police car and expressing disgust with the fact that a rifle could be so easily obtained by minors. I wonder what today's NRA would think of that?
Plot summary
ynot-164 December 2006
Kimble works at a restaurant with waitress Susan Cartwright, played by actress Lois Nettleton. Kimble has been dating Susan, and the mutual attraction seems genuine and strong. But her life is changed when her nephew, 12 year old Gary, arrives, after her sister and brother-in-law are killed in an accident.
Gary, seeking approval of the local boys, participates in sending away for a rifle by mail order, which was legal back then. One of the boys is played by actor Kurt Russell (who a year earlier played Phil Gerard Jr. in "Nemesis").
Trouble arises when Gary recognizes Kimble from news coverage in his former hometown. The boys come up with a plan to use the rifle to capture Kimble. Gary is disturbed when he comes home to find Kimble there as his aunt's date. Kimble faces danger from the boys and from a nosy child welfare worker investigating to see if Susan will be a fit parent.
Gary, seeking approval of the local boys, participates in sending away for a rifle by mail order, which was legal back then. One of the boys is played by actor Kurt Russell (who a year earlier played Phil Gerard Jr. in "Nemesis").
Trouble arises when Gary recognizes Kimble from news coverage in his former hometown. The boys come up with a plan to use the rifle to capture Kimble. Gary is disturbed when he comes home to find Kimble there as his aunt's date. Kimble faces danger from the boys and from a nosy child welfare worker investigating to see if Susan will be a fit parent.
Kids! What can you do?
Guad4213 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Kimble is doing another bartender gig and getting involved with the waitress Susan played by Lois Nettleton. Her nephew, Gary, is coming to live with her. Richard has two problems this week. A gang of kids buying a mail order rifle and a nosy child welfare worker Shaw (Michael Strong) who wants to check Kimble out as he might be the closest thing to a male authority figure in the boy's life. Kimble prepares to leave rather than be checked out by child welfare. As often happens, the woman guest star falls in love with Kimble. He tells her the truth about why he has to leave. Gary overhears the confession and rounds up the neighborhood kids who just bought a mail order rifle. The kids decide to "arrest" Kimble themselves. Gary has a change of heart and, while wrestling with Kurt Russell over the gun, the rifle goes off and wounds Gary. Kimble applies first aid as the cops show up, then he slips away.
It is interesting the child welfare does such a thorough job they even want to do a background check on a casual boyfriend but when the boy is wounded in a gun accident, it doesn't make much of an impression on them and Susan will get to keep her nephew.
The cast is good. Lois Nettleton was an excellent actress and has chemistry with Janssen. Michael Strong plays the bureaucrat "just doing his job". Kurt Russell played a character similar to the the part he played in an earlier episode as Lt Gerard's son - kind of a pain. Good to see his father, Bing, appear as a cop in the end. Bing also shows up in the other Fugitive episode with Kurt.
Directed by the recently passed Richard Donner, the episode moves right along. As always, Kimble wants some semblance of normalcy, but it is not to be. The chemistry between the characters is such that you will think they had a good chance to make a go of it. Of course, the rifle could have been obtained by having one of the kids get it from the house where his hunter father kept it in the closet but the mail order part is a comment on how Lee Harvey Oswalt did the same thing in getting his rifle and how easy it was to do back then.
This is a well done outing with a fine cast. Do see it.
It is interesting the child welfare does such a thorough job they even want to do a background check on a casual boyfriend but when the boy is wounded in a gun accident, it doesn't make much of an impression on them and Susan will get to keep her nephew.
The cast is good. Lois Nettleton was an excellent actress and has chemistry with Janssen. Michael Strong plays the bureaucrat "just doing his job". Kurt Russell played a character similar to the the part he played in an earlier episode as Lt Gerard's son - kind of a pain. Good to see his father, Bing, appear as a cop in the end. Bing also shows up in the other Fugitive episode with Kurt.
Directed by the recently passed Richard Donner, the episode moves right along. As always, Kimble wants some semblance of normalcy, but it is not to be. The chemistry between the characters is such that you will think they had a good chance to make a go of it. Of course, the rifle could have been obtained by having one of the kids get it from the house where his hunter father kept it in the closet but the mail order part is a comment on how Lee Harvey Oswalt did the same thing in getting his rifle and how easy it was to do back then.
This is a well done outing with a fine cast. Do see it.
Question about 1970's technology
lfhaneman15 September 2021
I can add anything to the very fine reviews available in this site. Great episode, one of the less predictable. However, I have a burning question... near the end, as the police are taking the boys away and Bing Russell is putting the rifle in the car - a neighbor in the curb is holding something to her ear. When I watched this 2 days ago (September, 2021), she looks like most of my neighbors - someone in a cell phone. Except they weren't invented, so this couldn't have even been sloppy staging. Is it a transistor radio or maybe police band radio that she was using to monitor police? Anyone have ideas?
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