I thought this was a pretty funny look at the fringes of hollywood,the hangers-on,the semi-talented people and smarmy characters that are also very much a part of hollywood too.I like this episode. Pleshette as 'Jay Rockfelt' plays a great part as a smarmy creep that is as feckless as he is cowardly,a real piece of work. Rick Springfield plays it cool and low-key as a rock star who may not realize how shady some of his 'friends' are. The actors that play Rockfelt's parents do a fine job as well. The tale moves along quickly and has some great street scenes. Look for the very rare 'rainy-day in LA' scenes.
6 Reviews
Cement overshoes is what this client really deserves
bkoganbing28 May 2013
The fact that Jim Rockford is listed next to Jay Rockfelt in the Los Angeles phone book gets James Garner involved in a case of kidnapping and dog poisoning. The bad guys accidentally call Garner's phone and threaten bodily mayhem to his dog and his sister. As he has neither that does arouse his curiosity.
Which next leads to a scene not particularly relevant to the plot but nonetheless ironic and funny. Garner goes to the cop and not finding his friend Becker there has to deal with Lieutenant Chapman. James Luisi has a real hard on for Garner and with great pleasure tells him the cops aren't interested in his wild stories.
But Garner's not a detective for nothing and his own investigations lead him to a spoiled rich kid named Jay for Julius Rockfelt played by John Pleshette whose main past time is spending the hard earned money that his father Milton Selzer made in the garment business. It's he who has some gangsters on his case for a situation where he insulted some up and coming made guy who is going to get back at him.
Pleshette truly needs a new pair of cement overshoes, but that leads to something that is a common thread in The Rockford Files. Jim Rockford is a man of conscience and often he goes into a situation to help someone out who often doesn't deserve the help. Like Pleshette and as often as not it's because some innocent party is involved like Pleshette's sister. Or even a jerk like Pleshette might not deserve what's coming to him. What it does is make Jim Rockford one of the most admirable of heroes that television ever had.
This episode also features Rick Springfield as a British rock star who Pleshette cultivates, but who spurns him in the end. Not a person of character like Garner.
This is one of the best Rockford Files episodes, don't miss it.
Which next leads to a scene not particularly relevant to the plot but nonetheless ironic and funny. Garner goes to the cop and not finding his friend Becker there has to deal with Lieutenant Chapman. James Luisi has a real hard on for Garner and with great pleasure tells him the cops aren't interested in his wild stories.
But Garner's not a detective for nothing and his own investigations lead him to a spoiled rich kid named Jay for Julius Rockfelt played by John Pleshette whose main past time is spending the hard earned money that his father Milton Selzer made in the garment business. It's he who has some gangsters on his case for a situation where he insulted some up and coming made guy who is going to get back at him.
Pleshette truly needs a new pair of cement overshoes, but that leads to something that is a common thread in The Rockford Files. Jim Rockford is a man of conscience and often he goes into a situation to help someone out who often doesn't deserve the help. Like Pleshette and as often as not it's because some innocent party is involved like Pleshette's sister. Or even a jerk like Pleshette might not deserve what's coming to him. What it does is make Jim Rockford one of the most admirable of heroes that television ever had.
This episode also features Rick Springfield as a British rock star who Pleshette cultivates, but who spurns him in the end. Not a person of character like Garner.
This is one of the best Rockford Files episodes, don't miss it.
Sorry, Wrong Number
zsenorsock24 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Rockford gets a threatening phone call in the middle of the night for somebody named "Jay". He doesn't know who Jay or the caller is, but can sense the caller wasn't kidding. So Rockford tries to somehow find Jay. The trail leads to Jay Rockfelt (John Pleshette, Suzanne Pleshette's brother) a party going celebrity wanna be and his simple and naive (but gorgeous!) girlfriend Carol (Rebecca Balding from "Soap" and more recently "Charmed"). It turns out Rockfelt threw a birthday party for mobster Gianni Tedesco (Gianni Russo, from "Prison Break") and stuck Tedesco with the $30,000 tab, making him a laughing stock among the "beautiful people".
The casting is remarkably good in this episode. Pleshette, who would later play a psycho in "Black Mirror" stalking Megan Dougherty, is great here as a spoiled, self-obsessed brat. He makes you believe he'd be willing to sacrifice his sister or his father to save his own skin. Yet at the same time, he retains a sort of greasy charm that would do the character well at the big parties (he has the line: "I don't want to die in a rented car!"). Rebecca Balding is not only quite attractive, but charming as the innocent, naive and maybe a little dumb girl who is slowly learning to look past the celebrities and the parties to see the real Jay.Rick Springfield is also well used as Keith Stuart, the superstar rock and roller. Even better is Gianni Russo as Tedesco. He's very convincing and has a great scene with Pleshette in his Rolls where he explains WHY he's going to kill him.
The script has all sorts of great moments, from where Jim suddenly realizes he can walk away and be out of it (and he does!) only to be sucked back into it with another wrong number when Tedesco kidnaps Rockfelt's sister, Amy (Robina Suwol), and the ending where both Carol and Rockfelt's dog Romanov decide to stay with Rockford instead.
The casting is remarkably good in this episode. Pleshette, who would later play a psycho in "Black Mirror" stalking Megan Dougherty, is great here as a spoiled, self-obsessed brat. He makes you believe he'd be willing to sacrifice his sister or his father to save his own skin. Yet at the same time, he retains a sort of greasy charm that would do the character well at the big parties (he has the line: "I don't want to die in a rented car!"). Rebecca Balding is not only quite attractive, but charming as the innocent, naive and maybe a little dumb girl who is slowly learning to look past the celebrities and the parties to see the real Jay.Rick Springfield is also well used as Keith Stuart, the superstar rock and roller. Even better is Gianni Russo as Tedesco. He's very convincing and has a great scene with Pleshette in his Rolls where he explains WHY he's going to kill him.
The script has all sorts of great moments, from where Jim suddenly realizes he can walk away and be out of it (and he does!) only to be sucked back into it with another wrong number when Tedesco kidnaps Rockfelt's sister, Amy (Robina Suwol), and the ending where both Carol and Rockfelt's dog Romanov decide to stay with Rockford instead.
Rockfelt Files
stones7815 June 2012
Let me begin by mentioning that this isn't my favorite episode, not by a long shot, and it took a long while to finally get going, but the ending almost made up for it. We get to see Jim awakened in bed, and seeing him in his bedroom at night is very rare; anyway, he's called and threatened that his girlfriend and dog are in big trouble. It turns out that someone named "Rockfelt" was meant to be called, but "Rockford" was just under his name in the phone book, and he was called mistakenly, although it seems rather silly that such a mistake would be made. John Pleshette plays Jay Rockfelt pretty effectively and is very annoying, and I thought Rebecca Balding was pedestrian as Jay's girlfriend, Carol; the best performance to me was by Gianni Russo, who doesn't have many appearances, but the scene with him and Rockfelt in the car is when the episode finally got interesting to me. Watch for a very early acting gig by singer Rick Springfield, and a cool scene with Chapman berating Rockford. The conclusion with Rockford slamming a gate on the car driven by Gianni to save the day was a bit unrealistic, but the ending was much better than the rest of the episode. Let me lastly mention a few nice scenes with Jim and Jay's dog, Romanoff; after the dog is poisoned, he takes care of it and drives it to the animal hospital, and later in the trailer, he also plays with the dog, after the pet bites Jay. What I always liked about this show is the range of emotions Rockford can display, and credit goes to James Garner's solid acting.
A rainy Rockford Files
safenoe21 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A rare scene in this episode of The Rockford Files - a rainy LA! I had to look twice, and yes it was a dark and gloomy scene, with rainfall and all. In fact, the scene beforehand presaged this with one of the minor characters pulling out his umbrella.
It's been nostalgic catching up on The Rockford Files during the pandemic.
It's been nostalgic catching up on The Rockford Files during the pandemic.
Amusing
rms125a24 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Actor John Pleshette (Suzanne Pleshette's cousin not brother, as another poster misstated) is very funny while being quite dislikable at the same time. A poser who is ashamed of his upper-middle-class/borderline nouveau riche Jewish parents who made their money in the garment industry, Pleshette's character, Julius, is a wannabe Sammy Glick -- someone with no embarrassing family ties but with the money and connections.
In the event, Julius is forced to ask his parents for $30K to save himself (and, later, his kidnapped sister, whom he also badmouths) from a crazed, vindictive Mafioso whom Julius had inadvertently embarrassed. A young handsome Rick Springfield plays a callow Euroceleb ("Keith Stuart") who turns down Julius's entreaties for the cash. Milton Selzer and Bea Silvern are Julius's caring, if stereotypical, Jewish parents of a certain generation.
Very amusing episode, with some eternal truths about kids and parents and whom you can really count on in this life.
In the event, Julius is forced to ask his parents for $30K to save himself (and, later, his kidnapped sister, whom he also badmouths) from a crazed, vindictive Mafioso whom Julius had inadvertently embarrassed. A young handsome Rick Springfield plays a callow Euroceleb ("Keith Stuart") who turns down Julius's entreaties for the cash. Milton Selzer and Bea Silvern are Julius's caring, if stereotypical, Jewish parents of a certain generation.
Very amusing episode, with some eternal truths about kids and parents and whom you can really count on in this life.
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