The Rockford Files (1974–1980): Season 1, Episode 2 - The Dark and Bloody Ground - full transcript

(woman on radio)
6-A-11. Ambulance
just reached. Code 2.

I need a dime.

Fill her up, you might have
some change coming.

Give me a dime,
or I'm gonna crack you open
like a piggy bank.

You're angry.

Why would I be angry?

You hired me to do a job,
and I nearly got killed
in the process.

Oh, no.

Now, if you think
that's going to stop me,
you've got a short memory.

[Telephone ringing]

(Rockford on
answering machine)
This is Jim Rockford.



At the tone,
leave your name and message,
I'll get back to you.

[Beeps]

This is Louis, down
at the fish market. You gonna
pick up these halibut or what?

[Siren wailing]

[People chattering
on walkie-talkie]

[Helicopter hovering]

[Ann sobbing]

(Ann)
No!

No.

Jim, you don't mean that.

The last time
we worked together, I not only
didn't make any money...

I had to refinance
my car.

But I need you.
My client needs you.

She's a pauper.
She doesn't have a cent.



That gives us something
in common.

All she's got is this
little piece of property
in Arizona.

That puts her
one up on me.

It would take her months
to sell it.

And even then,
I don't know
what she'd get for it.

But because she owns land,
she can't use
a public defender.

That's why
I donated my services.

I knew that once I
explained it to you that you'd
want to donate yours, too.

Don't you even care
if she's innocent?

Beth, I spent five years
in prison.

While I was there,
I never met anybody
who wasn't innocent.

(Beth)
Jim.

No!

Do we have to talk
out here?

We don't have to talk at all.
Beth, I don't take
charity cases.

They're not part
of my survival kit.

I take them.

You can afford to.

You picked
the right grandfather.

Please, Jim. For me?

I guess I've never
been able to quite
pull that off, have I?

All right, I won't ask
for any commitments.
Just meet Ann Calhoun.

Listen to her side
of the story.

No.

Ann.

Hi.

This is the man
I told you about.

Jim Rockford.

The best private investigator
money can buy.

(Ann)
Mr. Rockford.
Oh, thank God.

Beth said she'd talk to you,
but I didn't allow myself...

There doesn't seem to be
anything, anybody.

He's going
to help you, Ann.

Now, wait a minute, Beth.
No commitments, remember?

I said I'd listen.
I didn't say anything
about helping.

[Ann crying]

Boy, you want
to see a workload?
Now, that's a workload.

And you got some nerve
to come sniffing around here
about something...

which is off my desk,
which is closed.

Becker, sometimes
you sound just like a cop.

I am a cop.

That must be it.

And how many times
I gotta tell you about
coming around this office?

Now, the Calhoun case
is closed.

You wanna waste
your time on it, fine.

Don't waste mine.

How can you close this case
on what you got?

On what we got? Witnesses.

Half the people
in the motel...

heard Ann and Kevin Calhoun
having it out,
tearing up the joint.

Motive: He told her
to go back to Arizona,
he was staying in LA.

There ain't no better motive
than that. Woman scorned.

I think
that's what they call it.

Not lately.

And opportunity.

After the fight, Calhoun slams
into the bedroom...

and it's quiet for 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes later,
Ann Calhoun
leaves the motel...

and then the fire breaks out.

And you figure
she spent that 15 minutes
killing her husband.

He was smothered
and that's official.

Direct to you
from the coroner.
He was dead before the fire.

No blisters.
No smoke inhalation.

It was supposed
to look like an accident.

She planted a cigarette
in his right hand.
It was burned.

The fire spreads
across his torso
and burns the other hand.

Then you don't have
a positive identification.

His wife identified him.

There wasn't a mark
on his face.

And she admitted
that the two of them
didn't know a soul in town.

Who else had a motive?

Somebody at that big party
they went to in Bel Air?

He crashed that party.
We checked it out.

Nobody knew him.

Nobody admitted
they knew him.

Becker, you're just gonna
have to get this case
back from the DA.

I mean, it won't hold.

You take opportunity.
You're wide open
on that one.

Calhoun was in his bed,
asleep.

Anybody could've walked in
on him.

Well, hold it.
Hold it a minute.

You know, it just hits me
what this is all about.

It's that flaky attorney,
the one
who collects lost causes...

like they were rare coins.

Beth Davenport.

That's the one.

She's trying to con you
into working
for nothing again, right?

And you figure,
we reopen the case,
you're off the hook, right?

That's what I had in mind,
I can see
it's not going to work.

Damn right.

Hot sauce, please.

With your stomach?

Yeah.

We may have a deal.

I knew it.

I knew the minute
you met Ann Calhoun you'd know
she's not capable of murder.

That isn't
why I'm doing...

She's a sweet,
gentle woman.

Look, Beth.

The case the police
have against her
is laughable.

There's not one shred
of hard evidence.

She's had the opportunity,
and they say
she had the motive.

I said we may have a deal.

You pay my expenses.

I'm donating my services.

I'm not going to make a dime.

You pay my expenses,
and if I prove that
Ann Calhoun is innocent...

you pay my expenses
plus $200 a day.

And no arguments, no bargains,
no nothing. That's it.

All right?

All right.
We have a deal.

Good.

I want you to find out
everything Ann knows
about her husband.

Where he was born,
where he went to school,
where he worked. Everything.

I'll come by your place
and pick it up later.
All right?

[Horn blowing]

[Grade crossing bell ringing]

[Car honking]

[Tires screeching]

[Tires screeching]

[Tire skidding]

[Wheel clanking]

[Rockford honking]

[Honking]

[Truck honking]

[Tires skidding]

[Truck banging]

[Tires screeching]

It's an emergency.
I need a dime.

Mister, I don't even
give directions.

Somebody just tried
to kill me,
I need a dime.

Fill her up, you might have
some change coming.

Give me a dime,
or I'm gonna crack you
open like a piggy bank.

All right, you got it.

Here.

You owe me 90 cents.
Just put it in the tank.

[Car driving by]

Hello, highway patrol?

My name is Jim Rockford
and I'm at...

6224699.

You know where... Nine.

You know where...

What's the name
of this place?

Farber's Garage.

You know
where Farber's Garage is?

Somebody in a truck
just tried to kill me.

[Police radio chattering]

[Typewriter clacking]

(Rockford)
Did you find anything?

Like I told you, Mr. Rockford,
we found "it."

You can't arrest
a tractor.

You also can't arrest somebody
who ain't there.

The rig was stolen
from the Junction Cafe
about...

three hours ago,
then it was dumped two miles
north of the highway.

Did you dust it
for prints?

No, we didn't.

Me and none of the boys
is licensed to drive
nothing that big.

There's this guy, Bert,
he helps us out
from time to time.

He brought it back
to the station.

Nobody thought to tell Bert
not to wipe any fingerprints
off the steering wheel?

Do you know
how many cars we got?

How many men?
How many miles we gotta cover?

Okay, there was a slip-up.
You got
the Department's apology.

Maybe somebody tried
to kill you. Maybe not.

But I'll tell you
how this thing's
probably gonna turn out.

Probably turn out some kid
out to have hisself
a little fun.

People move here
for their health?

(Rocky)
Hold it right where you are.
Now don't make a move.

Put your hands up.

Up!

Rocky.

Jim. What are you doing here?

I live here.
What are you doing here?

I'm just keeping an eye
on the joint. You know
it's always getting...

all tore up every time
you ain't around.

Why don't you
put that thing away?

Among other things,
you don't have
a permit for it.

I don't need one.
It's yours.

I don't have a permit
for it, either.
So, give it here.

Two people try to kill me
in one day...

and one of them
turns out to be my own father.

Somebody tried to kill you?
Are you all right?

Yeah, fine.

Somebody tries to kill you,
you're not fine.

What happened?

Let's just try
to forget it, Rocky.

I know.

You think I can't
swallow it straight. You think
I'll worry, don't you?

Well, won't you?

I'm not the kind of fella
that says he knows
all the answers. I never was.

But for a man
who doesn't like
to get stomped on...

you are in the wrong line
of work.

Not now, Rocky.

You never gave trucking
a chance.

You know,
I still got connections. I can
help get your A-1 myself.

It's good pay,
steady work.

And it is safe.

Not when
you're on the wrong end
of the truck.

I just got my tail chased...

halfway across
the state of Arizona
by the front end of a semi.

Tried to run me
off a mountain.

A tractor, was it?
What kind?

A Kenworth? A Mack?
What was it? Peterbilt?

What difference
does it make?

What?

I tried to show you
the differences
before you could walk.

Was it a cab-over?

Yeah,
it was flat nosed, high.
It was a cab-over.

Nice paint job,
blue and white. But what are
we talking about tractors for?

That point is,
it tried to kill me.

No.

What do you mean no?

Suppose we're talking
about something small,
like 14-6.

All right. Now,
you got 14,600 pounds...

barreling down the highway
at you at 70 or 80,
and they can do it.

They got the gears.

No sir, if they wanted
to kill you,
you'd be dead.

Maybe he wasn't
a union driver.

Maybe.

But I don't think
he wanted to kill you.

I think they wanted
to just scare you
to death.

Toothpaste?

Toothpaste.

That's a legitimate
out-of-town,
overnight expense.

I didn't charge you
for my new jammies.

You're angry.

Why would I be angry?

You hired me to do a job,
and I nearly got killed
in the process.

The highway patrol are looking
for some fun-loving kid.

My father wants
an autographed picture
of the truck...

and you're so torn up,
you're arguing
over a tube of toothpaste.

[Tires skidding]

[Tires skidding]

[Honking]

Watch out!

You all right?

All right?

Good.

Anybody hurt over there?

No, we're all right.

(man)
What's wrong with you?

Sorry it happened.

Okay, guys,
let's get back to work.

What happened?

No brake fluid.

Somebody loosened the fitting
on the master cylinder.

You mean
it was deliberate?

Yeah, and that's twice.

Then somebody did try
to kill you in Arizona.

That doesn't make sense.

Nobody knows
you're working
for Ann Calhoun.

And nobody knew
you were going to Arizona,
except me.

And whoever killed
Kevin Calhoun.

Evidently, they're not
too happy with what
I dug up on them.

(Rockford)
He wasn't born in Arizona
at all.

He never worked
for the Central Valley Press.

There's no record
of a driver's license,

no social security number,
no nothing.

Kevin Calhoun never existed.

There's no record of him
prior to your marriage
in Flagstaff two years ago.

That's impossible. I knew him.
We were married for two years.

Ann, the person he was,
is the reason he was killed.

How did you meet him?

It was an accident. Chance.

He was in Flagstaff.
He'd been traveling.

"Listening to the country"
is what he called it.

He was a poet.

Did I mention that?

No.

He was.

Kind, sensitive.

We were very happy.

On the day
your husband was murdered,
he threatened to leave you.

He'd had too much to drink.
He didn't mean it.

But you argued,
he slammed the door,
went into the bedroom.

What happened
during that 15 minutes
before you left the motel?

Jim.

Nothing. Nothing happened.

I was angry, hurt.

So I went out for a walk.
Why doesn't anyone believe me?

All right.

About that party
you went to, in Bel Air?

Was it in character for him
to crash a thing like that?

He didn't crash,
he was invited.

You told the police
you didn't know anybody
in town.

(Ann)
We didn't.

At least I didn't.
Kevin must have known someone,
because he was invited.

You sound pretty sure
about that.

Why?

The way he behaved.

He wasn't hiding from anyone.
He was there. Very openly.

He even called me
from the party
to ask me to join him.

Did you have any trouble
getting in?

No.

Didn't you ask him
how he got there,
who invited him?

No.

I saw he'd had
too much to drink.

We left almost immediately.

You weren't even curious?

On the way home in the car,
you didn't ask him?

On the way home? No.

I didn't. We started to argue
the minute we got in the cab.

Because he said
that he didn't want to go back
to Arizona again. Ever.

(Rockford)
Ever seen them before?

(Ann)
Yes, at the party.
Who are they?

That's Elizabeth Gorman
and Clyde Russell.

Those were your hosts.
You weren't introduced?

No.

There must have been
over 200 people there.

Did you ever see your husband
talking to them?

He didn't.
Not while I was there. Why?

You say you were invited.

They say you crashed.

I hired you to investigate,
not to prosecute.

What were you doing in there?
You were acting
as though Ann killed Kevin.

As far as I know,
she did.

Jim.

Beth.

There are only two people
who are above suspicion.

That's you and me.

If you lose sight of that,
you're not the attorney
I think you are.

What are you poking around
in there for?
The car is fixed.

I just want to make sure
it didn't get unfixed.

Well, at least you came up
with something.

Although I've never heard
of Elizabeth Gorman
and Clyde Russell.

From the size of this,
you'd think they were
the royal family.

Who are they?

I couldn't find out
too much on them.

They're new in town.
Lots of money.

There's some kind
of connection with
The Dark and Bloody Ground.

The movie?
They do have money.

That's the biggest thing
since Birth of a Nation.

Gorman.

Gorman. Somebody named Gorman
wrote the book.

Where are we going?

To the police station.

Why?

I've gotta tell them
what I found out
about Kevin Calhoun.

We're sitting
on evidence, Beth.

Oh, no.

Now, if you think
that's going to stop me,
you've got a short memory.

[Car honking]

Wait!

Don't tell me, tell them.

[Car continues honking]

Just give me one good reason
why we should go
to the police.

I've already given it to you.
Evidence in a capital crime.

I'm counsel for the defense.
You're acting as my agent.

There's no question
of withholding evidence.

You're on firm
and legal ground.

How firm?

Information that you uncover
as an investigator...

because you're in my employ,
is privileged information.

You are not required by law
to divulge said information
to the police.

There's nothing about it
in the penal code, but it's
common knowledge and practice.

It's an unwritten law.

There are no unwritten laws,
Beth.

Trust me.

Kevin Calhoun
assumed a false identity.

We don't have any reason.

That's what
I want you to find out...

when you confront
Elizabeth Gorman
and Clyde Russell.

What do you want me
to confront them with?

How do I know?
Whatever works.

You're making $200 a day.

Plus expenses.

All that stops the minute
you walk into Becker's office.

Are you implying
that I could be bought?

Yes.

What are you doing now?

I'm gonna go
find a telephone.

And I'm going
to call an attorney.
I need some legal advice.

I'm an attorney.

Yeah.

You know,
I walked right by you.

I beg your pardon?

Right by.

Did you get the time
on Currypoise?

I had a shot at her in a
claiming race two years ago,
but I let her go.

Could've had her
for $5,000. Yeah.

She looks awfully good.

I'm afraid
you have the advantage
on us, Mr...

Jim. I thought we settled
all that "Mr. Rockford"
business at your party.

I've been meaning to call you
and say thanks again
and I'm sorry.

For what?

About your guest.

What was his name?
Mr. Kevin Calhoun.

I read about it in the paper.

I read about it, too.

Sad business. Sad.

Not all that sad,
Mr. Rockford.
We didn't even know the man.

You didn't?

You mean he crashed the party?
It doesn't seem possible.

It shouldn't have happened.

Elliot is very good
at opening the right doors...

and closing them
on the wrong people.

You've met my fiancé,
haven't you, Mr. Rockford?

Elliot Malcolm.
Yes.

No.

Elliot, he was
at the party.

Mr. Rockford was not
at the party.

I guess I just have
one of those faces.

You're face was not
at the party.

And your name wasn't
on the guest list.
I made it out myself.

You crashed the party, too.

I'm afraid so.

(Elliot)
Not a chance.

There were
over 200 people there, Elliot.

I said not a chance.
I had a guard on every gate.

I had a guard on every door.
Nobody got into that party
I didn't want there.

You make it sound impossible.

It was impossible.

I'm not going to argue
with you,
you're the expert on doors.

Nobody crashed the party.
Not me...

not Kevin Calhoun.

I didn't say that.

Yes, you did.

What was that
all about?

Probably a lawyer
checking out the party.

Somebody was just indicted
for that murder.

You just told him
that Kevin Calhoun was invited
to the party.

And our statements
to the police
say that he crashed.

It's one of the things
he does.
Elliot puts parties together.

Makes introductions.
Elliot went
to all the right schools.

Knows the right people,
and knows how to make them
pay off.

Evidently,
he's going to marry
Elizabeth Gorman.

New money.

What does that mean?

Old money
would never marry Elliot.

Tell me something, Beth.

Does it embarrass you
to be seen in public
with me?

Of course not.

Why would you
ask a thing like that?

I don't even have
new money.

[Knocking on door]

Rocky?

No, it's Beth.

I found out
who killed Kevin Calhoun.

Who?

Clyde Russell.

Why?

That's the most
fascinating part about
this whole thing. I start...

Why aren't you dressed?

I am dressed.
For bed.

Put your clothes on.

I started looking
into Clyde Russell's
background.

And I found out
he's into copyrights.

Now, that's
a very specialized field.

So I asked a friend of mine,
an expert, to help me,
and he...

For $200, you could
put your clothes on.

Anyway, there's
the most peculiar thing

about the copyright law
in this country.

I mean, it's insane. It sounds
as if the whole thing
were written by a madman.

Listen.

Wouldn't you think
that when a company buys
a book, that they own it?

Especially if the contract
says so.

Yeah.

Well, they do. Except...

It would be a lot easier
if I could look at you
when I'm talking to you.

Not for me.

Except what?

Except for this kinky law.

A company can buy a book
for $1 million.

But, when the copyright
renewal time comes up...

if the author has died,
they don't own it.

It's not theirs anymore.
Can you believe that?

No. Are you sure?

Positive.

17 U.S.C. 24.
It's all there.

What's all that?

Title 17, United States Code,
Section 24.

You mean to say
somebody can spend
$1 million for a book...

and just because
the author happens to die...

before the renewal time,
they don't own it?

That's it.

The rights go to his widow,
our friend Elizabeth Gorman.

And that's exactly
what happened with
The Dark and Bloody Ground.

They were half way
through the picture
when her husband died.

That's when Clyde Russell
moved in.

Elizabeth didn't know
she suddenly owned
the rights to the book.

So, Clyde made a deal
with her...

and then he hit
the motion picture company
for 25%.

The biggest thing
since Birth of a Nation, yeah.

Which makes Clyde Russell
an opportunist,
not a murderer.

Jim, Clyde Russell...

[phone ringing]

Would you excuse me
a minute?

Hello?

Mr. Rockford?

It's Clyde Russell.

Now, tell me, you are
a private investigator,
aren't you?

That's right.

Well, I've been thinking over
what happened
at the track today...

and I think we gotta talk
about Kevin Calhoun.

I bought
the old Blackford place at...

3972, Ambazac Road in Bel Air.
Do you know the house?

Yeah, I think I know
where it is.

Just let yourself
in the back way.
The gate will be open...

and come straight
to the pool house.

The pool house.

If you're finished,
I'd like to finish.

Clyde Russell resigned
from the Bar.

Don't you get it?

Nobody resigns from the Bar
unless they got something
pretty shady to hide.

Clyde Russell is a high-class
ambulance chaser.

Only he chases copyrights.

Kevin Calhoun was a writer.

No, Kevin Calhoun was a poet.

He grossed a fat $15,
$20 a year for his work.

Well, there's something there.

And don't ask me what,
'cause I don't know.

Why don't we just go up
to Russell's place
and ask him?

After what happened
at the track today?

You couldn't get
in the back gate.

$10 says I can.

You're on.

(Beth)
Shall I call an ambulance?

He won't need
an ambulance.

I'll be all right.

Let's see
if we can find a phone
in the house. Come on.

Go call the police.

[Tires screeching]

[Car honking]

[Police radio chattering]

What happened?
Do you know how long
I've been waiting?

I got hung up
at the hospital.

You're hurt.

No, I'm fine. Elliot Malcolm
got messed up pretty good,
though.

Elliot killed Clyde?

Yeah, and he tried
to kill us.

Me, twice.

I don't believe it.
He's not the type.

Because he went
to the right schools?
He's the type.

He's just not very good
at it.

Has he confessed?

He won't even give the cops
his unlisted phone number.

But if I figured it out,
they're going
to be right behind me.

Come on, I want to get
to Elizabeth Gorman's
before they do.

[Knocking on door]

Elliot, I have been...

When it's bad news,
I knock first.

Look, Mr. Rockford,
if you persist
on coming in here...

I'm gonna
have to call the police.

You won't have to.

They should be along
any minute.

Elliot Malcolm's
in the prison ward
at the Santa Monica Hospital.

Is he...

He'll be fine in time
for the trial.

What trial?

He's been charged
with the murder
of Clyde Russell.

I don't believe you.

You don't have to,
you can check it out
with the cops.

Clyde had nothing to do
with Kevin Calhoun's murder.

He didn't even know
about it.

But he figured it out.

So he had to go.
Elliot was just
protecting you.

Or should I say,
he was protecting
his investment?

He's talking now,
Elizabeth.

And he's going to keep
right on talking. He's got
nothing more to lose.

Don't you want to know
what he's talking about?

Might help you
with your answers
when the police get here.

Well, I certainly don't need
any help with any answers.

Not even when they start
asking you
about your husband?

Mr. Rockford,
would you mind leaving?

I mean, I don't believe a word
you've said.

I don't believe
that Clyde is dead.

And I don't believe
that Elliot is
in any prison hospital.

I don't know
what you're gaining by lying
to me like this, but...

I'm warning you.
Just leave me alone.

You are alone.

This came off
during the accident.

"To Elliot, with all my love.

Elizabeth."

According to this,
your husband was killed
in a boating accident...

off the coast of Mexico.
Only his body
was never recovered.

Kevin Calhoun
was Steven Gorman.

When he heard about the movie,
he showed up here...

to get his slice of the money.

And you killed him
to protect your interest.

[Siren wailing]

I thought he was dead.

For three years
I had to live with that.

Believe me, that hurt.

And then one day,
the day of the party,
he shows up...

with a new name,
and a new wife.

No explanations.

And no apologies.

He was there
to collect the money.

No thought to me,
and what I'd been through.

No more thought than
when he faked
the boating accident...

because he didn't have
the courage to ask me
for a divorce.

What he put me through.

Boy, you'll never know
the hell he put me through.

That's why I killed him.

[Police siren wailing]

[Crying]

Have you heard
from Ann Calhoun?

She phoned me
from Flagstaff
this morning.

It'll take a while,
but she'll be
all right.

Ten cents a mile?
I thought it was seven.

It is,
if you're a nostalgia buff.

That toothpaste is still
on here.

That's right.

All right, I'll pay it.

Thanks, sport.

But that spark plug lead
and this brake job...

parts and labor, I'm afraid
that will have to come off.

What are you talking about?
Those represent attempts
on my life...

and yours,
in the line of duty.

Attempts that were
only possible
because of your negligence.

You should have
locked your car.

The hood?
There's no lock
on the hood.

Then I suggest
you have one installed.

This sort of thing
must crop up all the time
in the line of work you do.

Just give it back to me.

Forget the expenses. I don't
want to talk about it anymore.
Give us two tacos, please.

Just pay me
for my services
and we're even.

Don't be ridiculous, Jim.
I'm going to pay
for your services.

And your expenses.
Just as soon
as Ann Calhoun pays me.

That wasn't our deal.

Of course it was.

Don't tell me
you misunderstood me.

Naturally payment
will take some time.

Ann doesn't have much except
for that piece of property.

And who knows how long
it'll take to sell it how much
she'll get for it? Okay, Beth.

How about a compromise?

I'll forget about Ann Calhoun.
Just wipe it off the books.

You retain me
on the Elizabeth Gorman case.

You owe me that much.
I'm the one
that recommended you.

And she can afford me.

She can afford you.

But she doesn't need you.
I have a brilliant
defense planned.

She'll be out in six months.

But, you know,
I am working on another case.

We could certainly
use your help on that.

Of course, the man
is virtually penniless.

But you'll love him, Jim.
He's 70 years old, but alert.

Jim?

Jim?