"The Rockford Files" Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs: Part 2 (1979)

User Rating:

9.6/10   

Director:

William Wiard

Writers:

Juanita Bartlett (writer)
Stephen J. Cannell (creator)

TV Series:

"The Rockford Files" (1974)

Original Air Date:

12 October 1979 (Season 6, Episode 3)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Police | Detective | Answering Machine | Sting Operation | Malibu

Cast

James Garner	...	Jim Rockford
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford #2 (as Noah Beery)
Joe Santos	...	Police Lt. Dennis Becker
Lauren Bacall	...	Kendall Warren
Dana Wynter	...	Princess Irene Rachevsky
Carmine Caridi	...	Tommy Manette
James Luisi	...	Lt. Doug Chapman
Michael Lombard	...	August 'Gus' Fairfield
Christopher Thomas	...	Freddie Danzig
Leo Gordon	...	Charlie Martell (as Leo V. Gordon)
Stuart Margolin	...	Evelyn 'Angel' Martin
Jack Garner	...	Capt. McEnroe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Luis Delgado	...	Officer Billings
Alfred Dennis	...	Paul Juliano Sr.
Paul Marin	...	Attorney Eyler
T. Miratti	...	Paul Juliano Jr.

Runtime:

60 min

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions

Quotes:

Jim Rockford: This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your name and message, I'll get back to you.
Janelle: [Beeep] Jim, this is Janelle. I'm flying tonight so I can't make our date, and I've got to find a safe place for Danny. He loves you Jim! It's only two days and you'll see, Great Danes are no problem...

The Big Sleep

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Even though its a pleasure seeing Lauren Bacall back in action in a detective film, stretching this story into a two parter killed the pace of both these episodes. It would have made a much better story if they'd managed to keep it to one.

Bacall puts in fine performance though, tough, sassy and sexy in a hard boiled way. The scene where she joins Garner in conning some information out of a florist is reminiscent of one of her old scenes with Bogie. Even though she's four years older than Garner (and sorry to say, looks it) they still have a lot of chemistry together.

As an added bonus, Jim's hapless bodyguard friend Charlie Mantel ("Maverick" veteran Leo Gordon) apparently has recovered from the last time Rockford hired him to guard his blind psychiatrist girlfriend--just in time to get beat up and sent back to the hospital again. It's a wonderful running joke that only devoted fans of the series would even pick up.