Detektiv Rockford - Anruf genügt

This series brought to full maturity the development of James Garner in television characters. First there was Garner's Maverick days when he was one of a group of tin horned gamblers who were living by their wits & conning people. It is a classic Western series which introduced Garner to fame.

Garner then started getting movies roles like The Great Escape where he is a con man again, & romantic comedies with Doris Day. While some of his movie roles were good, he never quite became a major movie star. One of his lesser known roles, The Wheeler Dealers is an interesting film to see as he is the star role in it & the premise is a stock broker.

Jim then came back to TV with Nichols (also know as The James Garner Show). This is the first show with Cherokee Productions where Jim was well cast as a turn of the century western cowboy who didn't like violence. Sadly, this series failed in spite of introducing Margot Kidder to Americans, folks just weren't ready for Garner with little action & a bad NBC time slot.

Then, came Rockford, which went deeper into all the characters Garner had developed & became a smash. This shows main carry over from Nichols is Angel (Stuart Margolin) who was a main stay in both shows. Rockford added Noah Berry & a lot of good actors. It had sharp unpredictable scripts. It also introduced special effects wizard Steven J Cannell & established production company Glen A Larsen to putting it together.

The marriage was made in heaven. The combination of these skyrocketed into a great series in which the main character seems to be stuck getting nowhere, but we love them so much we feel for them. In the end, Rockford still has the tin horn of Maverick, the con man from his other roles, the romance from his leading man movie days, & his spirit from Nichols, all developed into the essential formula.

Some of the scripts do show some small holes, but with a wink & a grin, Jim Garner pulls it off smoothly. The character make up & entertainment are so good, you don't care. Just call & leave the message, Jim will get back with you.

What the hell kind of a detective is this? The guy's not strong jawed, self-righteous and brave, and he seldom even carries a gun, much less shoots anyone. Since he consistently gets stiffed by his clients, he has to live hand to mouth in a cheesy trailer in a parking lot. (The trailer, incidently, is only crummy on the outside. Inside, it's comfortable, well furnished and clean, much like Rockford's character.)

Even the cops in this excellent series are presented as human, not as cardboard heroes. They've got the same pecking order problems at work that most of us have. In fact, ALL of the characters in this series seem to have some depth.

One of the most amazing things about the show's plots is that they hardly ever had to be resolved by gunfire because the writers were too lazy to come up with anything else.

Jim Garner's charm was a big part of the show's success, but it was the superb writing that made "The Rockford Files" so consistently entertaining. Many of the stories would have made first rate movies, particularly some of the two parters.

I'll never forget Angel begging Rockford for help after getting himself thoroughly enmeshed with the mob through his own stupidity and greed. Rockford chews him out, explains exactly why he ought to let him go right down the drain, and challenges him to come up with one good reason he should help him.

"Because you're my friend," Angel says, leaving Rockford without a comeback.

A friend like that, I could use.

This show destroyed the Private Detective show formula.

At the time, most TV PI's had cutie pie secretaries (Mannix' secretary Gail and Barnaby Jones' ex Miss America Lee Meriweather in particular), Jim Rockford had an answering machine...

All TV PI's had nice offices with dark wood paneling, Rockford's office was the living room of his decaying mobile home parked in the lot outside a diner...

It took at least 3 guys fighting dirty to subdue the average TV PI, even short, fat, aging Cannon. Jimmy was always the one getting his head handed to him unless he figured a way to sucker punch his opponent...

At the climax, other TV PI's would pull their guns, shoot it out with the baddies and save the day. Rockford's gun, often as not was still at home in his cookie jar...

TV PI's always had a friend on the police force who would gladly do favors, looking up DMV records, etc. Rockford's friend on the force was always getting in trouble for even knowing Rockford. The Captains & Lieutenants on the force universally viewed Jim as low life scum & not worth the time of day...

The average detective would go about his business, assembling clues to solve this weeks mystery. That is the way it was with Rockford except that he was always dealing with hustlers, con men, ex-convicts and the occasional ex-girlfriends, every one of whose purpose in life seemed to be the bedevilment and aggravation of Jim Rockford. Not to mention the recurring role of Jim's dad Rocky (deftly played by that Trojan actor, Noah Beery) who was always after Jim to give up PIing and do something "respectable" like truck driving.

When this show appeared on TV, every other PI looked dull and one by one they disappeared as they lost ground in the ratings.

This is also the show that put Steven J Cannell on the map. Nothing that he ever did subsequently equaled this. In fact most of it was crappy formula detective shows.

The Rockford Files is the REAL DEAL!

Simon Sez, CHECK IT OUT!

I grew up watching this show, and it's still on cable. I can watch it over and over and still be entertained. Rockford has bad luck, gets hurt, and Chapman at the police office hates him. Somehow, through cons, dirty tricks, smarts, and very slick moves James finds a way to survive. The humor in this show is great. Like the time he soaps the bathroom floor. 10/10

I remember my father watching "The Rockford Files" when it first came on the air, I was too young to remember it then, but was able to catch it on re-runs on A&E a few years back, and it is currently shown on two channels here in Canada. James Garner is the easy-going, laid back Jim Rockford. He has a big heart, yet always seems to come out on the short end of the stick. Garner does an excellent job as Rockford, and while I haven't seen much of his other work, he seems to play the same character. Some great supporting actors as well. Noah Beery as the worried father Rocky, Joe Santos as his put-upon cop buddy Dennis. One of my all-time favorite characters has to be Angel Martin, played perfectly by Stewart Margolin, the con "buddy" of Jim's. Very clever opening to each show, with the answering machine message. Obviously dated by the styles and settings, but still an excellent series that stands up well today. I'd give the series as a whole a solid 5 out of 5 stars.