Themes: Single Parents, Bank Robbery, Unlikely Criminals
Main Cast: Nick Nolte, Martin Short, Sarah Rowland Doroff, James Earl Jones, Alan Ruck
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Another of Disney's Touchstone Pictures rehashes of a lightweight French farce, Three Fugitives goes the trend one better by importing French director Frances Veber to supervise a shot-for-shot remake of his French original Les Fugitifs. Nick Nolte stars as a bank robber named Lucas, recently released from prison, who ambles into a bank to open up a checking account. Into the bank enters the inept Ned (Martin Short), who tries to rob the place and takes Lucas hostage. The police, knowing Lucas's criminal history, assume Lucas and Ned are pulling the heist together. With no choice in the matter, Lucas is compelled to engineer their getaway. Complicating the situation further is Ned's six-year-old daughter Meg (Sarah Rowland Doroff), who has been mute since the death of her mother. With his bank account depleted, Ned has robbed the bank to get money to send Meg to a special school. Meg loves her father, but finds herself drawn to the gruff Lucas. As the three go on the lam from the cops, the trio of misfits bond as a makeshift family. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Kenneth McMillan - Horvath; Stanley Brock - Release Sergeant; Bill Cross - Guard at Prison; Tim de Zarn - First Officer; Woody Eney - First Cop; Anthony Frederick - Cop with Phone; Lee Garlington - Woman Cop; Rhoda Gemignani - Radio Operator; Rocky Giordani - Bowles; Albert Henderson - Man in Raincoat; Kathy Kinney - Receptionist; Jack McGee - Fisherman; Bruce McGill - Charlie; Larry Miller - Second Officer; Charles Noland - Bartender; Jeff Perry - Orderly; Sy Richardson - Tucker; Clive Rosengren - Desk Sergeant; Dean Smith - Playboy; Paul Tuerpé - Reporter Three; Karl Wickman - Helicopter Pilot; David Arnott - Bank Teller; Lance August - Motorcycle Cop; Larry Cox - Orderly; Michael Siegel - Cop Four; Bruno Acalinas - Motorcycle Cop; John Aylward - Second Cop; Richard E. Butler - Watchman; George Catalano - Cop One; John C. Cooke - Thug; Rick Hall - Dog Handler; Terence Hollingsworth - Money Quick Customer; Maryssa Larose - Woman at Bank; Scott Lincoln - Passenger Cop; Yahoots Magoondi - Thug; John Procaccino - Highway Patrolman; R.L. Tolbert - Watchman; Way Ching Yu - Girl in Children's Home; Shani Ginsberg; Carrie Frazier; Dinah Lenney - Reporter One; Mike McDonald - Sergeant
Credit
Marjorie Stone McShirley - Art Director, Duncan Henderson - Associate Producer, Jim Van Wyck - Associate Producer, Shani Ginsberg - Casting, Carrie Frazier - Casting, April Ferry - Costume Designer, Arthur Anderson - First Assistant Director, Francis Veber - Director, Bruce Green - Editor, Francis Veber - Executive Producer, David McHugh - Composer (Music Score), Edouard Henriques III - Makeup, Duncan Henderson - Production Designer, Rick Carter - Production Designer, Haskell Wexler - Cinematographer, Lauren Shuler-Donner - Producer, Lauren Cory - Set Designer, Richard C. Goddard - Set Designer, Roland Tantin - Special Effects, Joe Dunne - Stunts, Francis Veber - Screenwriter, Richard L. Anderson - Supervising Sound Editor
Three Fugitives is a 1989 comedy film starring Nick Nolte, Martin Short, Sarah Rowland Doroff and James Earl Jones and directed by Francis Veber. It is a remake of Les Fugitifs, a 1986 French comedy starring Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard and also directed by Francis Veber. Nolte plays the lead role of Lucas, a man recently released from prison for armed robbery who, on the day he is released, gets taken hostage by Ned Perry (Short), an incompetent novice bank robber who robs the bank (to get money for treatment for his daughter) Lucas just happens to be in. The film is rated PG-13.
Plot
Detective Duggan (James Earl Jones) assumes they must be in it together and sets about tracking them down. Several chases, an accidental shooting, treatment from a crazy vet and other capers then follow, all the while Lucas trying to ditch his idiotic companion he nicknames 'asshole' and prove his innocence.
Whilst avoiding the law the two form an unlikely partnership to help cure the silent daughter and make good their escape. Before this they rescue the daughter from the care home she is in (with Perry predictably nearly ruining the whole affair with his clubfootedness) and run for Canada, pretending to be a married couple with a son. All appears well in the end. However, in the closing scene, Short's character heads into a Canadian bank to change some currency only to find himself taken hostage by a different bank-robber in the same manner he originally kidnapped Nolte's character. This comical approach to ending the film helps prevent the audience from having to see Lucas sadly say goodbye to Meg, with whom he since formed quite a bond.
Reaction
The film was given mixed reviews but was generally considered to be a mildly amusing film which worked quite well given the predictable nature of the plot.
The Toy (1976) ·Knock on Wood (1981) ·ComDads (1983) ·Les fugitifs (1986) ·Three Fugitives (1989) ·Out on a Limb (1992) ·Le jaguar (1996) ·The Dinner Game (1998) ·The Closet (2001) ·Shut Up! (2003) ·The Valet (2006) ·A Pain in the Ass (2008)
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