The Rockford Files (1974–1980)

TV Series  -   -  Crime | Drama | Mystery
7.9
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Reviews: 39 user | 19 critic

The cases of an easy going private investigator.

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Title: The Rockford Files (1974–1980)

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Season:

6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Year:

1980 | 1979 | 1978 | 1977 | 1976 | 1975 | 1974
Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 22 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete series cast summary:
...
 Jim Rockford (122 episodes, 1974-1980)
...
 Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford (120 episodes, 1974-1980)
...
 Dennis Becker (111 episodes, 1974-1980)
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Storyline

Series about an ex-con-turned-private-investigator named Jim Rockford who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work. He isn't a coward, and he isn't lazy--just a bit on the cautious side, that's all. And he bears a very strong resemblance to Western TV hero Bret Maverick. Rockford is sometimes aided (and sometimes deterred) in his cases by friends Dennis Becker (a police detective), Angel (his cowardly former cellmate) and pretty Beth Davenport (his lawyer). Written by Marty McKee <mmckee@wkio.com>

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

13 September 1974 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Jim Rockford, Private Investigator  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (123 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

4:3
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Rockford's friends had a number of nicknames for him. His father called him "Sonny," the policeman Dennis Becker called him "Jimbo" and Gandolfh Finch's nickname for Jim was "Rockfish". See more »

Goofs

Throughout the series, the Los Angeles Police Department responds to calls at Rockford's trailer in Malibu although it is not part of their jurisdiction. The Los Angeles County Sheriff would be the proper agency. See more »

Quotes

Jim Rockford: [Grabbing Angel by the lapel and throat & walking him back against a fence] Angel, you are driving me crazy, you understand me, I'm going crazy, I can't take it anymore!
Angel Martin: Jimmy!
Jim Rockford: Years and years and years, I'm goin out of my mind, with your stupid and ridiculous lies and games, year after year!
Angel Martin: You're jammin' my windpipe!
Jim Rockford: [ripping his hands from Angel's neck, showing Angel his trembling hands] Look at me, look at me, look at me!
Angel Martin: Jimmy?
Jim Rockford: Just don't say anything, just don't - say - anything!
Angel Martin: Jimmy?
Jim Rockford: [...]
See more »

Crazy Credits

The credits for guest stars, writers and other upper-level crew did not always appear right away, sometimes appearing as late as ten minutes into the episode. See more »

Connections

Followed by The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A. (1994) See more »

Soundtracks

"The Rockford Files"
(Main Title Theme)
Written by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter
See more »

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User Reviews

One of the greatest
10 December 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

As essayed by James Garner, Jim Rockford is one of the best characters in TV history - in, I might add, one of the best series. The Rockford Files never ceased to be entertaining during its '70s run and remains so in syndication. There's something comfortable about the show, probably because of the well-drawn characters that we feel we know.

If we didn't love Rockford so much, I guess we'd call him a loser. But we love him too much and are pulling for him too much to ever call him a loser. He never has any money. He lives in a dilapidated trailer on the beach. He's not married. He was in prison, though he didn't commit the crime and was pardoned. Helluva way to treat one of our ex-servicemen (Korea). His father, Rocky, was a truck driver and wants his boy Jimmy to take it up. It's steady, and he might get beat up less.

Jimmy, however, would rather be a private investigator. In order to do this, he occasionally runs afoul of police lieutenant Chapman and gets his buddy Dennis in trouble for using the power of the police to do him a favor. He also sometimes winds up embroiled with his con friend and former cellmate, Angel Martin, always in trouble and always looking for the main chance. And if attractive attorney Beth Davenport isn't hitting him up for pro bono help, he needs her to bail him out of jail.

It all sounds a little sad but it's endlessly fun, with some really classic episodes and great dialogue. This is also the series that launched Tom Selleck. In two episodes, he played perfect detective Lance White, a man who, unlike Rockford, couldn't take a wrong step and is beloved by every human being with whom he came in contact. The juxtaposition between Rockford and White is hilarious.

As Rockford, Garner is perfect, and the cast uniformly excellent, particularly Noah Berry, Jr. as his dad. If the clothes and the cars are dated, the acting, the relationships, and the story lines are not. The Rockford Files is one of the classics.


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