The Fugitive is a 1947 American drama film, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the 1940 novel The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene.

In another town, the priest seeks sanctuary, but the crazy Native tracks him down and tells him that "El Gringo" is dying and he must return, to give him last rites.

The priest's execution by firing squad brings an outpouring of public grief and shows the authorities that it is impossible to stamp out Catholicism as long as it exists in people's hearts and minds.

The Fugitive was filmed on location in Taxco de Alarcón, Cholula, Cuernavaca, and the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City.

"[2] John Ford was helped by Mexican director Emilio Fernández, who served as an associate producer of the film.

He introduced Ford to Dolores del Río, Pedro Armendáriz and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (all people Fernández previously worked with).

"[4] Bret Wood has written: "Ford is best remembered today for his boisterous adventure films, such as The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956) or She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949); and for his crusty, unpretentious demeanor, often denying the existence of thematic subtext in his work and refusing to discuss his artistic intentions as a director.

But The Fugitive belongs to an earlier, lesser known faction of his work, self-consciously 'arty' films that demonstrated his interests in German expressionism, English literature and religious ideology.

The Fugitive is perhaps Ford's last great 'art film', a high-minded show of faith, a lovingly crafted paean to his own Catholicism.