In order to track down bail jumpers, Ralph 'Papa' Thorson goes on a series of routine and not-so-routine searches. Sometimes he takes down his quarry easily. At other times, he's forced to extreme measures which result in the injury or death of a lawbreaker. And then again, there are other moments when his own life is on the line. It's all enough to make Thorson question what he has done with his life.

LeVar Burton's role was not in the original script. Steve McQueen liked his work and figured there should be more roles for him, so the role of Tommy Price was written in.

Ralph 'Papa' Thorson:
I'm getting too old for this shit.

Continuity: In the elevated train sequence, the villain "Bernardo" is shown outside the train car as "papa" is first shown on the roof of the train. In the next cut, he is still inside the train, about to exit.

from opera "La Traviata"
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi (as Verdi)
Performed by Pamela Hicks