One-Shot Wednesday
On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot.
The Fugitive
In the 1993 action-thriller The Fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) during Chicago's annual St. Patrick's Day parade. This sneaky getaway allows Kimble more time to find the one-armed man who murdered his wife.
This screenshot illustrates how The Fugitive’s director, Andrew Davis, filmed this segment “documentary-style, grabbing what [he] could from the actual parade.”
Pictured are parade participants dressed as clowns, with one in the foreground juggling bowling pins. Alongside their float, they march down N. Dearborn St. in front of The Daley Center. Can you spot the Picasso statue in the background?
More specifically in terms of production, The Fugitive's director captured most of the parade chase with hand-held and Steadicam cameras. Then, he edited the shots together to depict Kimble’s slipping away unnoticed.
But one of the final shots in this scene—of Kimble escaping into the crowd as Gerard searches—occurs in the same frame. “That moment was without a cut," recalls Davis. "It was fantastic."
You can watch the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade scene in full below and read more about it in this 2023 interview.
Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday!
Think you’re a Chicago screen buff?
On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title!
You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling.