User Reviews

In an homage to Philip Marlowe (who Garner played in "Marlowe") Rockford takes a case in Bay City (the name of a town from the Marlowe books). He finds a murdered man in a motel room, then reports in to the police anonymously. To Rockford's surprise, the police rule it a suicide, despite the obvious evidence of murder. Rockford suspect the police of a cover up. The police suspect Rockford of being some sort of trouble making kook and decide to run him out of town.

But Rockford won't be so easily run and continues his investigation. There's a pretty good story here as it turns out both the cops and Rockford were wrong about each other and a third explanation is the truth.

Mills Watson makes the first of his four appearances on "The Rockford Files", each time playing a different character.

Rocky makes a brief appearance, loaning Jim his truck. There's still a touch of the grifter Rocky character from the pilot however, as he tells Jim to "top off" the gas tank when his truck holds 40 gallons.

This is a very good Rockford episode that includes a damsel in distress (or maybe not), crooked cops (or maybe not), an innocent victim (or maybe not) and a solid performance by James Garner (absolutely). Jim is hired by an old flame to find her husband. He ends up finding him in a hotel in Bay City (to Rockford fans, home of the Bay City Boys Club), but he isn't necessarily breathing. He doesn't let on to the cops (three very defensive, yet experienced policemen) that he was in the room and is discouraged when he hears that they are ruling it a suicide, when he knows from the evidence that it wasn't.

A great set up as it keeps the audience guessing if the police rigged the crime scene, if Rockford's client isn't telling the truth, or if there's a third hidden possibility in there that we haven't seen. I think that this episode really captures the character perfectly, as he is unflinching when calling out an old flame, but still loyal to the end. He is serious when it comes to his work, but shows his sense of humor, especially when dealing with the testy members of Bay City's police force.

The plot turns away from the people we know to people that we see and not hear from much - an insurance executive, a blond woman with a nice car and no lines, and a guy who never wears a shirt, even in pictures. There is a great chase scene with the shirtless wonder, and everything is quickly tied up.

It's a quick but satisfying ending and it also sets us up with the types of women that Jim will fall for in future episodes - smart, savvy types that operate under their own agenda. Beth falls into this category and it really adds depth to the Rockford character - he doesn't fall for the beautiful, ditsy secretary, he's looking for substance. A very good episode, minus the recurring characters (save for a brief Rocky appearance), but a great look into who Jim Rockford is and will be.