"The Rockford Files" Paradise Cove (1979)

User Rating:

9.9/10   

Director:

Stephen J. Cannell

Writers:

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

TV Series:

"The Rockford Files" (1974)

Original Air Date:

28 September 1979 (Season 6, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Jim's Malibu neighbourhood becomes the site of a treasure hunt for a stash of gold bullion, stolen fifty years earlier. |

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 Det. Dennis Becker
Mariette Hartley	...	Althea Morgan
Leif Erickson	...	Carl Colton 'C.C.' Calloway
Byron Morrow	...	John McLinton
Frederick Herrick	...	Cliff Calloway
Stuart Margolin	...	Evelyn 'Angel' Martin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christine Avila	...	Nurse
Tony Brubaker	...	Kermit Wilson
John Davey	...	Rudy
Luis Delgado	...	Officer Billings
Raymond O'Keefe	...	Jake Sands
Branscombe Richmond	...	Frankie Reva
Jerry Summers	...	Mick Jarrow

Series Cast

These people are regular cast members. Were they in this episode?

James Luisi

...

Lt. Doug Chapman

Runtime:

60 min

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions

Quotes:

Evelyn 'Angel' Martin: [trying to sound menacing] Hey! Buckaroo, I don't let nobody outta my sight. This is the Big One! This is the Big Score! I don't sleep. I sit on my blanket with my gun on my lap and I keep an eye on you all night long...
Jim Rockford: [unimpressed, he looks at Althea Morgan] Yeah, Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt; terrific ending. Almost everybody ate a bullet!

Treasure of Sierra Rockford

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This season opening episode, written, produced and directed by Steven Cannell is one of the series best. The mystery is good, there's a lot of humor mixed in and everyone gives a strong performance.

The story opens with Jim having suffered a judgment in court against him in a case where he hit CC Calloway ("High Chapparel" star Leif Erickson) and awarded him $35,000 in damages (why Rockford's insurance company isn't responsible for this is beyond me). Calloway has been working for a long time to try and get Rockford thrown out of the beach community for some time, and now appears to have a chance to do it.

Marriette Hartley (who starred with Garner in a series of popular Poloroid commercials) plays Althea, a court appointed receiver that has to determine if Rockford can pay the $35,000 or if his entire worth should be liquidated--including his business, his trailer and all his personal property.

But with all this going on, Cannell gives us a great little mystery involving buried gold, 1930's rum runners and a lot of old skeletons of Paradise cove. Add Angel Martin and his lust for a big score, and you have one of the best episodes of the 6th season.

Hartley and Garner display a lot of the chemistry that made them work so well in the commercials. Erickson is excellent as the bad guy in this episode and Stuart Margolin is in top form. Another nice character is CC's nephew, who keeps trying to act tough ("I ain't afraid of you") but bolts at the first sign of trouble.

If nothing else, this episode should have proved that there was still a lot of life left in this series.