With the French Heel Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind? (5 Jan. 1979)

A fashion model friend of Jim is found dead on the ground below her balcony. The police believe it's suicide, but having gotten a desperate phone call from her, Jim believes it's murder.

Director:

Ivan Dixon

Writers:

Rudolph Borchert, Roy Huggins (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
Rene Auberjonois	...	Masters
Erin Gray	...	Margaret 'Alta' Hatch
W.K. Stratton	...	Police Sgt. Frank Dusenberg
Marisa Pavan	...	Sophia
Howard Witt	...	Bancroft
Chris DeRose	...	Luigi (as Christopher DeRose)
Chris Palmer	...	Carol Calcoat
Jim B. Smith	...	Officer Kline
John Zenda	...	Security Chief
Albert Carrier	...	Monty
Margueritte Ray	...	Margo Adams (as Marguerite Ray)
Michael Des Barres	...	Keith

Storyline

A fashion model friend of Jim is found dead on the ground below her balcony. The police believe it's suicide, but having gotten a desperate phone call from her, Jim believes it's murder.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1979 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 30, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 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 Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When being hired by Masters (played by 'Rene Auberjunois'), Jim hesitates, but then quotes his rate as "$250 per day, plus expenses," which is higher than his heretofore typically quoted rate of "$200 per day, plus expenses."

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Quotes

Jim Rockford: This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your name and message, I'll get back to you.
John Cooper: [beeep] Jim, Coop. I'm at that address you wrote down for that poker game tonight. This is a gas station, it's closed, there's no one around and now my car is stalled! You gotta call me at four six six
[click!]
John Cooper: ...

User Reviews

not too bad for season 5

I haven't been entirely impressed with season 5 so far, but this episode is perhaps one of the better ones I've seen since watching the re-runs on cable. I'll disagree a bit with the other reviewer for this episode, as that person was more critical than me, but I digress. This time, a lady friend of Rockford(he has plenty of them)calls him from a payphone(remember them?)to tell him she's about to be killed; soon after we find her on the ground of her apartment. The police suspect suicide, but Jim doesn't think so; ergo, we have the plot of this episode which has Jim hanging out at fashion shows because his "friend" was a popular fashion model. You'll recognize appearances by Rene Auberjonois(plays the role perfectly) and Erin Gray as the model's friend. A few moments, both good and bad, stand out for me; first, Jim goes undercover donning a huge cowboy hat looking very funny. Secondly(bad), as Jim is being led to an isolated building to be shot, he is saved by a mouse; yes I said that correctly. It seems the evil thug about to kill Rockford is afraid of a little mouse who happens to fall on his shoulder, and distract him enough for Jim's escape. This is what you'd call a face palm moment. Lastly, since this episode is from 1979, the word "disco" is mentioned a few times during the fashion show near the end as the model's parade these hideous clothes for the critics, who are as appalled as I was.

Finally, the best aspect of this segment is Auberjonois' performance as the eccentric clothes designer and fashion show host. There is another funny scene is which he and rival insult each other at a funeral for the model. It was also nice seeing Rocky in the beginning, playing cards with Jim for a tiny bit.