Top-Rated Episodes
Handsome, charmed PI Lance White (Tom Selleck) may speak lines that sound like they're from a 1940s B movie, but everyone is so attracted to him they hang on his every word. That is, everyone except ...
S6.E7
The special guest of a P.I. convention dinner is found murdered in the restroom, and Jim unhappily finds himself once more having to team up with flawless Lance White (Tom Selleck), while accident ...
S3.E7
Jim gets called before a grand jury where he promptly gets thrown into jail for contempt.
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Title: The Rockford Files (1974–1980)
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Cast
| Complete series cast summary: | |||
| James Garner | ... | Jim Rockford 122 episodes, 1974-1980 | |
| Noah Beery Jr. | ... | Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford 121 episodes, 1974-1980 | |
| Joe Santos | ... | Dennis Becker 112 episodes, 1974-1980 | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Series about an ex-convict-turned-private-investigator named Jim Rockford who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work. He isn't a coward, and he isn't lazy -- just rather on the cautious side, that's all. And he bears a very strong resemblance to Western television hero Bret Maverick. Rockford is sometimes assisted (and sometimes deterred) in his cases by friends Dennis Becker (a police detective), Evelyn "Angel" Martin (his cowardly former cellmate) and pretty Beth Davenport (his lawyer). Written by Marty McKee <mmckee@wkio.com>
Plot Keywords:
ex convict | beach | police detective | malibu california | different gags during credits |Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
27 March 1974 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Jim Rockford, Private Investigator See more »Filming Locations:
Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA See more »Company Credits
Production Co:
Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions, Cherokee Productions, Universal Television See more »
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
(123 episodes)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
4:3
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(Main Title Theme)
Written by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Jim Rockford's trademark move, the J-turn, or reverse 180 (later named a "Rockford", as in "pulling a Rockford" in his honor), did not appear in the first season, nor was it used in the sixth and final season. See more »Goofs
Throughout the series Rockford's trailer, parked in a parking lot, has electricity and running water, yet there is no evidence of a power line or plumbing attached to the unit. What's more,it often changed position, alternating with it sometimes being parked parallel to the beach and sometimes perpendicular to it. See more »Quotes
Jim Rockford: Hey, I'm sorry Dad, you just caught me at a bad time. Reading that detective fiction doesn't help. I mean things aren't like that you know? They're not black and white. They're aren't any heroes left, they die young. (pointing to a book cover) His gun is deadly? Mine's in a cookie jar.See more »
Crazy Credits
The credits for guest stars, writers and other upper-level crew did not always appear right away, sometimes appearing as late as ten minutes into the episode. See more »Soundtracks
The Rockford Files(Main Title Theme)
Written by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter
See more »
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As essayed by James Garner, Jim Rockford is one of the best characters in TV history - in, I might add, one of the best series. The Rockford Files never ceased to be entertaining during its '70s run and remains so in syndication. There's something comfortable about the show, probably because of the well-drawn characters that we feel we know.
If we didn't love Rockford so much, I guess we'd call him a loser. But we love him too much and are pulling for him too much to ever call him a loser. He never has any money. He lives in a dilapidated trailer on the beach. He's not married. He was in prison, though he didn't commit the crime and was pardoned. Helluva way to treat one of our ex-servicemen (Korea). His father, Rocky, was a truck driver and wants his boy Jimmy to take it up. It's steady, and he might get beat up less.
Jimmy, however, would rather be a private investigator. In order to do this, he occasionally runs afoul of police lieutenant Chapman and gets his buddy Dennis in trouble for using the power of the police to do him a favor. He also sometimes winds up embroiled with his con friend and former cellmate, Angel Martin, always in trouble and always looking for the main chance. And if attractive attorney Beth Davenport isn't hitting him up for pro bono help, he needs her to bail him out of jail.
It all sounds a little sad but it's endlessly fun, with some really classic episodes and great dialogue. This is also the series that launched Tom Selleck. In two episodes, he played perfect detective Lance White, a man who, unlike Rockford, couldn't take a wrong step and is beloved by every human being with whom he came in contact. The juxtaposition between Rockford and White is hilarious.
As Rockford, Garner is perfect, and the cast uniformly excellent, particularly Noah Berry, Jr. as his dad. If the clothes and the cars are dated, the acting, the relationships, and the story lines are not. The Rockford Files is one of the classics.