Kill the Messenger (27 Oct. 1978)

When an already overly stressed Dennis Becker is lumped with the unwelcome task of finding out who murdered Deputy Chief Town's unfaithful wife, Jim decides to lend a hand in the investigation.

Director:

Ivan Dixon

Writers:

Roy Huggins (creator), Stephen J. Cannell (creator),

Stars:

James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	Jim Rockford
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford (as Noah Beery)
Joe Santos	...	Dennis Becker
W.K. Stratton	...	Police Sgt. Frank Dusenberg
Byron Morrow	...	Deputy Police Chief Eugene W. Towne
Pat Finley	...	Peggy Becker
James Luisi	...	Lt. Doug Chapman
Alex Colon	...	Nick 'Captain Crunch' Donofrio
Ed Harris	...	Police Officer Rudy Kempner
Tony Crupi	...	Bandit
Don Diamond	...	Lieutenant Alverez
Lee Farr	...	Booking Suspect
Robert Cleaves	...	Leo Benbrook
Nancy Parsons	...	Miss Buettner
Frank McRae	...	Junior

Storyline

When an already overly stressed Dennis Becker is lumped with the unwelcome task of finding out who murdered Deputy Chief Town's unfaithful wife, Jim decides to lend a hand in the investigation.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1978 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Mayfair Market, 1234 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, 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?

Trivia

Thirty three years later the Hollywood High School main entrance steps used in this episode were used in the episode 'Thursday' (4.10) of "Southland"

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Quotes

Peggy Becker: Has everyone got a glass? Now we are going to have a toast. Okay, are you ready? To my husband Lieutenant Becker.
[reaction of delight from everyone]
Police Det. Dennis Becker: That's right, and Deputy Town called me and said that's it!
Jim Rockford: Great! That's really great! Lieutenant! I told you Rocky, I told everyone he was going to do it! That's great!
Police Det. Dennis Becker: [grinning] There's only one problem: Lieutenant Chapman. From here on I've got to call him Doug!
[laughter all around]

User Reviews

Glengarry Glen Rockford

The most notable moment for me in this particular episode is the addition of a young and still balding Ed Harris, as he portrays a dirty cop who murders the wife of a police deputy, after they had an affair that supposedly went awry. This looks like one of the first acting gigs for Harris, although he doesn't get too much screen time here, which is unfortunate but he added presence in one of the final scenes when he takes Rockford hostage. I would also say that Dennis gets just about the same, if not more screen time than Rockford, as he's up for a promotion, but Chapman hands over the case of the dead deputy's wife to him, which puts him in a delicate situation as he must question the deputy himself, played solidly by Byron Morrow, who also starred in 4 other episodes; this is the only time I can recall Dennis having a partner, named Frank, who's usually moaning about his pregnant wife. Rockford helps his friend, but has to tread cautiously because he asks questions to the wrong people, and this could hamper Dennis' promotion. Pat Finley gets several scenes as the wife of Dennis(Peggy), as she plays it both tough and sympathetic in regards to her husband's predicament. The ending isn't exactly thrilling, as Rockford ends up taken hostage by the killer cop, but soon after, both Dennis and Frank come to the rescue, which involved getting Kempner(Harris)in a car accident, in which I thought he surrenders too easily without much of a fight. After this plays itself out, the deputy lauds Becker's performance on the job, as being both tough and sympathetic, and is soon given the promotion, as the news is given by Dennis himself at his own party. This is a decent episode with a few familiar faces around, but this is more of a Dennis vehicle, with Rockford more in the background than usual.