when herbert j. yates of republic picture make a deal with john ford to produce the quiet man he first make ford agree to do one of his cavalry epic with john wayne because he want a surefire moneymaker before take a chance on the quiet man . the cavalry picture be rio grande . he must have be talk to the folk at rko who lose their collective shirt when the public stay away in drove from the fugitive . it get great critical acclaim and no box office at all . my guess be that the fugitive be sell all wrong or be make a year or two too early . if it have be sell a an anti communist a oppose to a pro catholic film it might have do well in those begin year of the cold war . the fugitive be base on a graham greene novel the power and the glory and it be about a priest in an unnamed south american country who be a fugitive because of his call . an anti clerical government have take control of the country and they be do their best to drive the catholic religion out of the country . henry fonda turn in a good sincere performance a the cleric and but he about a convincingly latino a toshiro mifune . the other member of the cast be well suit for their role . the best performance in the film be from that chameleon like actor j. carrol naish who could play any kind of nationality on the planet . he the informer who rat out henry fonda to the police . very similar to what akim tamiroff do to gary cooper in for whom the bell toll and naish own performance in another gary cooper film and beau geste . this be the first of three film pedro armendariz do with john ford in an effort to broaden his appeal beyond mexican cinema . dolores del rio a his estranged wife be already familiar to american audience from the silent screen . the original novel by greene have the priest a somewhat less than true to all his vow . he a drinker and a womanizer . del rio character be also quite tawdry . and this from greene who be a well know catholic lay person . but this hollywood in the firm grip of the code so a lot of what greene write have to be soften by ford for the screen . it lessen the impact of the film . and with the whitewashing of fonda character come some rather heavy hand symbolism of fonda a a christlike figure . still the fugitive might be worth a look for ford and greene and and fonda fan .