The Countess (27 Sep. 1974)

A woman meets a man on a lonely stretch of highway while Rockford is filming the exchange from a hillside. Jim is working for the woman. Her name is Deborah Ryder and she is being ... See full summary »

Director:

Russ Mayberry

Writers:

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

Stars:

James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Susan Strasberg

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
James Garner	...	Jim Rockford
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford (as Noah Beery)
Susan Strasberg	...	Deborah Ryder
Art Lund	...	Mike Ryder
Richard Gautier	...	Carl Brego (as Dick Gautier)
Gretchen Corbett	...	Beth Davenport
Joe Santos	...	Dennis Becker
Harold J. Stone	...	Sorrell
Tom Atkins	...	Alex Diel
Todd Martin	...	Policeman
James Cromwell	...	Terry
Florence Lake	...	Old Woman
Jean Le Bouvier	...	Woman (as Jean LeBouvier)
Melvin F. Allen	...	Cab Driver (as Mel Allen)

Storyline

A woman meets a man on a lonely stretch of highway while Rockford is filming the exchange from a hillside. Jim is working for the woman. Her name is Deborah Ryder and she is being blackmailed by Carl Brego. He has information of her sordid past and ties to organized crime that she doesn't want revealed. Jim is confident he can get Brego off her back but things go sour for him when Brego is killed and the police think Jim did it.

---

Plot Keywords:

car chase

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1974 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Malibu Pier, Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions, Cherokee Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The message left on Jim's answering machine is: "Hey, Rockford! Very Funny! I ain't laughin' You're gonna get yours."

---

Goofs

When Becker is talking to Jim on the phone and puts him on hold, none of the buttons light up on his phone. Becker even uses the excuse that one of his other lines is flashing to stall him.

---

Quotes

Jim Rockford: We're all scared to death. I guess that's a penalty we pay for living in a world where all the price tags end in 99 cents and they sell mortuary plots on billboards next to the freeway. What you do is... you just keep laughing. Just... keep laughing.

User Reviews

big improvement

I feel this episode was a big improvement over the preceding one, that one titled Dark and Bloody Ground, as Rockford seems to be more the guy we're used to and the story is more coherent than the former. Susan Strasburg co-stars as someone Jim knew back in Chicago, then she married into wealth and is now known as a countess(a word that is used too many times in this episode). She hires Rockford for a reason I can't quite recall, and he's plunged into a world of socialite snobs, including a character played by Richard Gauthier; he looks like he has a dead skunk covered with oil on his head, as he makes the women swoon. This may've been Tom Atkin's first appearance as Alex Diel, who despises Rockford, and is a good foil to Dennis, who calls Jim a pal. Beth makes her 2nd appearance as the attorney, and has a nice scene reading Diel the riot act in regards to Jim's supposed guilt. Another reason I liked this segment better than the last one I mentioned is there's more scenes with the trailer, the beach, the Firebird, and more interaction with the other main characters mentioned above.

Just about the only scene which I didn't totally buy was when Jim and the husband are tangling in a car, and when the car is heading down a big slope, Jim is already outside the car. It turns out the husband who had Jim at gunpoint dies from his injuries. I know Jim can't die, but it would've been extremely difficult for him to escape a car moving that quickly down a hill. Other than this scene, this is a fine episode in the 1st season of what was to become a terrific show.