The cases of an easy-going ex-convict turned private investigator.The cases of an easy-going ex-convict turned private investigator.The cases of an easy-going ex-convict turned private investigator.
- Won 5 Primetime Emmys
- 9 wins & 27 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCo-writer/co-producer David Chase would go on afterwards to create another famous series, The Sopranos (1999). As a little tribute to this series, a scene in a first season episode of The Sopranos is set in a retirement home where the residents are watching television. Though the picture can't be seen, the theme music for The Rockford Files (1974) can be heard.
- GoofsThroughout 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. Also, it often changed position: sometimes it was parked parallel to the beach, and sometimes perpendicular to it.
- Quotes
Jim Rockford: Yeah well, we got snarled up in a case in August. I ended up doing 90 days on a county honor farm.
Lance White: Well, I'm sorry about that Jim, but I had my client's interests to protect, and you did break into that hotel room.
Jim Rockford: What client? Who where you working for? Nobody seemed to know.
Lance White: Well, that was kind of a strange one, those three little boys hired me.
Jim Rockford: The triplets? They were only eight years old.
Lance White: Yeah well, when their folks were killed by the mob, I kind of took 'em in. Finally, I made arrangements for them to live on a friend's farm in Vermont.
Jim Rockford: Isn't that nice? A happy ending. We all got to go to a farm.
- Crazy creditsThe message left on the answering machine at the opening credits changes from episode to episode, usually as some kind of gag. Occasionally it dealt with some part of the forthcoming story. Frequently the voice was of supporting actors on the show, either as themselves or as a completely unrelated character.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 28th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1976)
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.
- blanche-2
- Dec 10, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Jim Rockford, Private Investigator
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 4:3