Coulter City Wildcat (12 Nov. 1976)

Rocky is forced to sign oil lease rights he owns away, leading Jim to investigate who and why someone wanted Rocky's seemingly worthless leases so badly.

Director:

Russ Mayberry

Writers:

Don Carlos Dunaway, Roy Huggins (creator),

Stars:

James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos

Cast

Episode cast overview:
James Garner	...	Jim Rockford
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford (as Noah Beery)
Joe Santos	...	Dennis Becker (credit only)
John Anderson	...	Gerald A. O'Malley
Dennis Burkley	...	Howard
Gretchen Corbett	...	Beth Davenport
Patricia Stich	...	Phyliss
Noble Willingham	...	Claude Orzeck
Jerry Hardin	...	Walter Link
Sharon Compton	...	Beehive
Hal Bokar	...	2nd Bidder
John Clavin	...	1st Bidder
Gordon Hurst	...	Willie
Richard Kennedy	...	Thomas Snowcraft - 3rd Bidder
Ed Deemer	...	Detective

Storyline

Rocky is forced to sign oil lease rights he owns away, leading Jim to investigate who and why someone wanted Rocky's seemingly worthless leases so badly.

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Plot Keywords:

car chase

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1976 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions, Cherokee Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Jim Rockford: This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your name and message, I'll get back to you.
Shirley: [Beeep] It's Shirley at the Plant and Pot. There's no easy way to tell you this Jim. We did everything we could... Your fern died...

User Reviews

There Will be Rockfords

I consider this one of the better episodes of the fine Rockford Files mainly because the partnership between father and son, Rocky and Rockford, and how they care for each other, even though it's not always evident in many of the shows. Their relationship isn't cold by any means, but it appears that neither really open up about their true feelings; many times Jim happens to turn down Rocky's request to go fishing because he's usually "busy" or his mind is on other things. Now, Rocky is the one turning down his son's request this time around because it appears that he's in a grumpy mood because he's aging and the mail isn't what it used to be; one of the envelopes in the mail is regarding an oil lease, and some goons soon rough up Rocky and make him sign the lease over to someone else. The remainder of the episode is basically father and son for most of the scenes, as they see who and why Rocky was assaulted and who has his lease; I can't quite recall the particulars of why he has the lease in the first place, but a shady character sold it to him. Along the way, you may recognize Noble Willingham as some sort of oil lease authority, who breaks the bad news at the end of the episode that the Rockford's won't get the $42,000/day they thought they were getting. This is a very picturesque episode with many terrific shots of the highway, oil field, and a small town, but perhaps the most important moments revolve around how father and son work together to make things right and enjoy spending time with each other.