Jim is hired by a particularly obnoxious client, Larry Kirkoff (James Woods) to find who killed his parents. The trouble is everyone--the mob, the police, even Rockford himself believes Larry did it himself.
This is a classic "Rockford" episode: Jim meets a beautiful woman (Julie Sommars, who'd later be a regular on "Matlock", gets drugged, gets beat up, gets beat up again, solves the crime and gets stiffed out of his fee.
The casting is outstanding in this show. James Woods was near the beginning of his career here, but he creates an unforgettable character as the cold, arrogant Larry Kirkoff. Julie Sommars is both cute and interesting and as union boss Al Dancer, Abe Vigoda just radiates power and toughness. It's a far cry from his funny "Fish" character on "Barney Miller". The henchman of Dancer's Rockford tries the cigarette trick on is played by Milt Kogan. He's great in this and would later appear on the series as Angel Martin's brother in law Aron. Also worth mentioning is Philip Kenneally as Muzzy Vinnette. He's the guy who stands in the dark, illuminated only by the lights of the Firebird while he warns Jim off the case (nicely directed by Lou Antonio). The whole show is well cast, right down to Kirkoff's Doberman (who I believe appeared with Garner in "They Only Kill Their Masters"!) Despite all the threats and coldness, there's still a lot of humor in this episode, such as when Jim wakes up after being drugged and discovers he's not wearing any pants. "Hey, what have you been doing anyway?" he asks. What's great is they never DO explain it!
This is a classic "Rockford" episode: Jim meets a beautiful woman (Julie Sommars, who'd later be a regular on "Matlock", gets drugged, gets beat up, gets beat up again, solves the crime and gets stiffed out of his fee.
The casting is outstanding in this show. James Woods was near the beginning of his career here, but he creates an unforgettable character as the cold, arrogant Larry Kirkoff. Julie Sommars is both cute and interesting and as union boss Al Dancer, Abe Vigoda just radiates power and toughness. It's a far cry from his funny "Fish" character on "Barney Miller". The henchman of Dancer's Rockford tries the cigarette trick on is played by Milt Kogan. He's great in this and would later appear on the series as Angel Martin's brother in law Aron. Also worth mentioning is Philip Kenneally as Muzzy Vinnette. He's the guy who stands in the dark, illuminated only by the lights of the Firebird while he warns Jim off the case (nicely directed by Lou Antonio). The whole show is well cast, right down to Kirkoff's Doberman (who I believe appeared with Garner in "They Only Kill Their Masters"!) Despite all the threats and coldness, there's still a lot of humor in this episode, such as when Jim wakes up after being drugged and discovers he's not wearing any pants. "Hey, what have you been doing anyway?" he asks. What's great is they never DO explain it!