The Rockford Files (TV Series) The Dexter Crisis (1974) User Reviews

Viva Las Vegas

[zsenorsock · 8/10 · 17 October 2006]

Rockford takes a case that teams him with future "Lou Grant" star Linda Kelsey, who plays Louise Henderson. In search of Louise's missing boyfriend, the trail takes Rockford to Las Vegas and Reno and has him run across an old arch rival P.I, named Kerm Higby (Ron Soble) who once broke his nose.

This is a stylish and well done episode despite not having any of the other regulars in the series. Linda Kelsey plays a character very reminiscent of her "Lou Grant" reporter, Billie Newman. There's a couple of different cons going on in this episode, with Rockford both pulling them and receiving them, and that in my opinion is always enjoyable.

If you think Rockford is smoking an awful lot in this episode, he is. But he's doing it to set up the final gag at the end off the episode!

More Lee Purcell!

[fredrickstafford · 8/10 · 15 January 2010]

This was a typical early episode in which the producers were still developing the dramatic thread that would define the series.

While some "Rockford" purists feel the first season was by far the best written, I think the middle years, '76 and '77, are when the character development and writing fully meshed and reached their true peaks.

In The Dexter Crisis I was a little annoyed by the cut away shots of the girl's speedometer during the last car chase in that they were not taken from a Camaro.

All and all not bad with one exception: Gorgeous Lee Purcell, epitomizing to me the super sexy woman of the 70's look, was not given enough screen time!

Lost Wages

[beecedog · 7/10 · 22 June 2009]

Two attractive young women go upstairs to their beach front pad and one of them looks through binoculars to get a license plate. It's written down and then we are whisked to the very stuffy office of the very stuffy Charles Dexter, who is having a meeting with Jim and scolding him about his habits while complimenting him on his reputation. Jim looks to ash in what looks like an ash tray, but he's yelled at that the dish isn't there for that purpose. Dexter doesn't have an ash tray for him, so he calls his secretary in to dispense of Jim's cigarette - classy.

The issue at hand is a missing person's case, one that has been closed by the police after two days. Seems that Dexter's mistress has gone missing but there are no signs of forced entry, etc. Rockford pushes for info, none of which Dexter is too excited to divulge, as admitting to adultery is not as exciting as committing adultery. After a ridiculous undershooting of Jim's fee, Dexter agrees to pay him his $200 / day plus expenses. He gives Jim a key to the beach house he pays for and that his girlfriend lives in and we're off.

The investigation leads to the girl with the binoculars, who is an innocent law student who just wants to find her friend, a rival PI that once sucker punched Jim, and the 1974 version of Las Vegas. The missing girl is found, with a pseudonym and big sunglasses. Jim pretends to be a professional gambler with a system and strikes up a relationship. There are some multiple cons going on here, but nothing as mysterious as the page for Nick Angelos (please pay attention to the announcements during the casino scenes - they are in Vegas for a couple of days, and no one can seem to find Mr. Angelos). The cons are revealed, the girls are looking to make off with Dexter's $250K of company hush money, the rival PI was hired by Dexter's wife to prove some expected infidelity, and the final scene ends with Rockford's expected pay day to be (as usual) much less than was expected. Great throw away line here, too, as Dexter zings Jim about his "lavish" expenses, the room that Jim stayed in while in Vegas was about as lavish as his trailer.

Missing from this episode are the regulars and the regular haunts - no trailer scenes, no restaurant scenes, no walks back to the trailer with fish just caught with Rocky. That said, this was a good story with a nice punchline - 7/10

Lee

[darbski · 10/10 · 8 October 2017]

**SPOILERS** When I saw Lee Purcell was gonna be in this one I definitely set aside the time to watch. She's one of the best looking Redheads on television at the time, and after, as well. In this one, they must have rinsed her hair, probably so as not to be in competition with Linda Kelsey.She's cute, Lee's seriously HOTT. Both women turn out to be scheming , deceitful, bad girls, and Rockford saves them in the end; could it finish any other way?

The main problem I have with Jim Rockford is that every time he gets paid, he gets stiffed. The person who owes him the most seems to be his attorney Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett) I had a real crush on her, but she consistently ripped him off. I know it's part of the stories and characters, but it gets really tiresome, you know? So, on this show, I turned it off right before the very end. The slick rich creep was writing a check, and I pretended that Jim was actually gonna get paid. Hope I was right. I was absolutely right about Lee..beautiful.

Ethics

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 30 October 2014]

The minute that James Garner saw Tim O'Connor he should have figured the guy was going to be trouble. There was no big pay day in the end for Jim Rockford.

O'Connor is rich businessman and his young mistress Lee Purcell has run off with a suitcase full of $225,000.00 of his money. He's not about to be calling the police because in whatever business he's in and we never really know, O'Connor deals in cash.

Purcell's roommate declares herself in on the hunt. She says she's a law student with ethics and she's concerned about foul play. There's also another detective played by Ron Soble with whom Rockford has history. He's got far less ethics than Rockford has.

This one earned him $200.00 a day plus expenses.