The Rockford Files (1974–1980): Season 2, Episode 15 - The No-Cut Contract - full transcript
A minor league football player drags Jim into his troubles.
Two contracts out on you.
You got a pair of local
shooters and you got two
violinists from South Chicago
out to plow you under.
It never occurred to you
that you were aiming all these
angry flat-nose types
right at me?
Better you than me.
Can we get somebody
to take a picture
of me and Mr. Butkus?
The guy is obviously
a flake.
Book me or let me go.
You walk out of here,
you're gonna be dead
before morning.
(PHONE RINGING)
ROCKFORD:
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name
and message.
I'll get back to you.
(BEEPS)
(WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH
ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
Call toll free cinco, cinco,
cinco, tres, uno, dos, uno.
No, no, no.
Now, listen, Jimmy,
it isn't gonna be
like that at all, man.
Now, don't get it confused.
I'm not asking you
to do anything
that we'd consider
strictly illegal.
You see,
this here proposition
is in a real kind of gray
area, legally speaking.
Well, let me ask you now.
What you're gonna do is,
you're gonna tell this guy
that he can have
a half interest
in a racehorse,
and then you're gonna show him
some bloodlines
that are phony.
They're not phony.
They're not phony,
they're just a...
They're what?
Creatively speculative.
Oh. Of course, of course.
Now, you're not sure,
you're not absolutely sure,
that this is the lost foal
of Secretariat,
but you're 90% sure, right?
And then I come in
with a British accent
and a riding crop,
and I offer you $50,000
for the horse.
Right.
And then you
and, what's his name?
We'll just call him
Mr. X.
Let's just call him
The Mark.
It's not gonna be
like that.
Jimmy, the horse could be
out of Secretariat.
Well, it's not impossible,
is it?
Who knows
what those horses do, man,
when there's no one
watching them.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Who's that?
It's probably
your parole agent.
Hey, why don't we
let him in on this?
That's not funny.
Mr. Rockford?
Not necessarily.
Show him, Babe.
Okay, okay,
so you got a gun.
Gun? What?
Are you Mr. Rockford?
No, he's Mr. Rockford.
I'm Mr. Martin.
I'm just a handyman
down at the pier.
I do odd jobs,
stuff like that.
I'll see you, Jimmy.
I'm gonna try and pick up
some of those brackets.
Or maybe if they got
the brass hinges
on the back...
We know you're working
for King Sturtevant.
Who?
King Sturtevant.
You remember him.
Who's King Sturtevant?
Now, look,
there's a couple of ways
we can do this.
Either we can talk
or we can dance.
Now, it's up to you.
I don't know anybody
named King Sturtevant.
Where's the tapes,
Mr. Rockford?
What?
The tapes.
Hey, look, you fellas
got your wires crossed.
I don't have any tapes.
I don't know anybody
named King Sturtevant.
And I wish, before
we start dancing,
you'd pick up the phone
and double-check your
information, 'cause
I don't have any idea
what you guys
are talking about.
They told me that
you were gonna be difficult.
But I like to give a guy
the benefit of the doubt
and start out polite.
I'm gonna have to take you
two guys and this place apart.
No, that's okay, buddy,
he's got the tapes.
Give him the tapes, Jimmy.
Angel, there aren't any tapes.
Don't fool with him, Jimmy.
Give him the tapes.
Angel, shut up.
Where are they, Mr. Rockford?
Now, look. I'm gonna
tell you one more time.
I don't have any tapes,
I don't know
any King Sturtevant,
and you guys
got your facts messed up.
Okay.
Babe,
junk this place.
(GLASS SHATTERING)
Got them.
Those them?
So that's where you had
them hid. You said you
had them hid pretty good.
I don't think
that's very good.
MAN: Shut up. Well?
Oh, yeah, yeah, that's good.
You got all four?
All four.
That's just about it then,
huh?
Excuse the mess, okay?
Oh, don't mention it.
Maybe one of these days
I can redo your place
for you.
Yeah, maybe.
Angel, Angel,
you were marvelous.
You should have given them
them tapes up front.
Ain't no sense being
a dead hero.
Angel, I never heard of
any King Sturtevant.
He didn't give me any tapes
and I haven't the faintest
idea what all that was about.
They just got the tapes.
No, no, they got
some Ella Fitzgerald
and some nice Rainbow Jazz.
Then we better
get out of here.
They'll be coming back.
Well, maybe not.
No, there's no
King Sturtevant,
but on one of those tapes
there's a little Count Basie.
Maybe that's close enough
to hold them.
Maybe you should've had
some Duke Ellington.
Let's get out of here.
Yeah, yeah, I wanna.
I'm gonna go see Dennis
and file a complaint.
I wouldn't do that.
Well, no. You wouldn't,
but then they didn't
bust up your place.
You ever heard of anybody
named King Sturtevant?
Yeah.
Come on, Angel, spill it.
I'll need $20, Jim.
Angel, don't scam me.
I gotta eat.
He's this little
African king.
More like
a tribal chieftain, really.
Sturtevant,
that's a Dutch name.
And as you probably recall,
maybe you don't recall it,
back in the early 1800's,
the Dutch settlers,
they took over South Africa.
Tribal chiefs, they took on
the Dutch names, you see.
But this king, he's here
in the U.S. With one
of those African art exhibits.
I read about it in the paper.
He's here in L.A.
Tribal masks, tribal spears,
got them all hung up
down at the museum there.
You know,
if all that turns out
to be untrue,
I'm gonna get my $20 back,
with interest.
I scam you?
ROCKFORD: We got
somebody back there.
Those two guys, you think?
I don't know.
Let's not wait around
to find out.
In pursuit of suspect vehicle,
eastbound on Alameda.
Cut him off on Victory.
Federal Officers.
Get out of the car
and put your hands up.
All right, spread them out.
Both sides.
Okay. Impound the car.
We'll take these two in.
Let's go.
I wanna get out of here.
We've been at this
for two hours.
I wanna go home.
You keep me here much longer,
and I might even put you
in a rubber room.
You don't want that, Rockford,
believe me. You don't want it.
Look, I have told you
everything I know,
which adds up to nothing.
Look, if you think you can
blow me off
with this golly-gee-whiz act,
well, you can think again.
Look, I don't know
any King Sturtevant.
I never heard of him.
And since I never heard
of him, I can't very well
have his lousy tapes.
Now, you ease off, buster,
or I'II...
What? What you gonna do?
I swear I'II...
Write to your congressman,
maybe? Get my badge, maybe?
King Sturtevant called you
last Wednesday.
You went over to the hotel
where the team was staying.
You met him in the bar.
He gave you the tapes
in a metal box, locked,
paid you a fee
to hold on to them
until he instructed you
to hand them over
to whoever supplied you
with a signed affidavit.
Now, you're gonna hand them
over or I'm gonna club your
head down between your knees.
You know, you got to stop
reading those crime fighter
comic books.
They're turning you
into a cluck. What team?
What team?
Yeah. What team?
The Warriors.
The Southern Illinois
Warriors.
Sturtevant's a quarterback.
His name is Larry Sturtevant,
okay?
Now at least you can stop
asking me that question.
Hey, this is kind of
getting you down, isn't it?
Yeah.
Well, me too. Why don't we
just wrap it up and go home?
Where are the tapes, Rockford?
What tapes?
Did you open the box
and listen to them?
What box?
There are some very tough
people floating around
the outside of this thing.
You're gonna be
an early casualty.
You cooperate with me
I'll take you
out of the game.
You can't think this is worth
getting killed over.
You're right.
You are right. I can't.
So I want out of here.
Why is it that every time
we have one of our
little chats,
we're behind locked doors?
Didn't it ever occur to you
I just might go tapioca
and throw you out of
one of the windows?
You got your full complete
share of mouth, don't you?
Right. I haven't done
anything wrong.
You can't hold me.
So book me or let me go.
You walk out of here,
you're gonna be dead
before morning.
That's my problem.
Okay.
Okay, so you listened
to the tapes,
and you've decided to go into
business for yourself.
I'll give you a life-saving
tip if you want it.
Oh, sure. Sure.
Try not to stay wired to
the bottom of the river
for more than a minute or two.
I'm terrified.
Now unlock this thing.
(BUZZING)
I didn't have no ride,
you know. They finished
with me a couple of hours ago,
but I figure I'd hang around
in case you needed
cigarettes or candy
or something like that.
Angel, King Sturtevant
is a professional
football player.
The closest he ever got
to Africa is the Jungle Cruise
at Disneyland.
Must've been
another Sturtevant.
He might have played
a little soccer
in college though.
Hey, wow! That's wild.
Now that I think of it,
I read in the article
that he played football.
Bet it's the same guy.
Angel, I'm not in any mood
to argue about it.
Just give me my $20.
It's an honest mistake.
I got myself some soda pop.
I was a little short.
Did anybody tell you
what was going on
around here?
Well, I could sell you
an opinion.
What're you doing?
Well, I thought I'd call
King Sturtevant and get him
to tell me what's going on.
You don't even know
how to reach him.
Well, sure.
I just call the museum.
He's probably there working
on his old art exhibit.
I'm serious.
Okay.
Take my car and I want you
to drive toward the freeway,
and then time it
so you're back in about
10 minutes.
When I walk out at the front
of the building,
you just drive on by.
Go around the back of
the building. Pick me up
in the parking lot.
You ought to let them
tail you. Just for
your own protection.
I don't think
they want to protect me.
Now, get going.
Did you find him?
Yeah. Yeah.
Just watch this car here
and then get on the freeway,
will you?
Listen, Jimmy, why don't you
run me on downtown
because I got a bunch of
errands I got to run.
I got to pick up
some of them brackets
and some of those...
Angel.
That's a joke, Jimmy.
Yeah.
All right,
I'll drop you downtown.
Listen, honey,
who the hell do you think
you're dealing with here?
You got one of the biggest
names in professional sports
standing around back here
while that creep is out there
talking to a bunch
of bubble-gummers
and a guy with a bird book.
I'm sorry, Mr. Sturtevant.
I thought you understood
you were an alternate guest.
Alternate?
I've never been an alternate
my entire life.
Sorry, pal.
No interviews.
It's okay. He can't get out
that way. It's a fire door.
He thinks he's Joe Namath.
Nobody's ever heard of him.
You ever heard of him?
No. I've never
heard of him.
You see? Me neither.
Thank you.
All right. All right,
all right.
Give me your program,
I'll autograph it.
Where are the tapes,
Sturtevant?
What?
You heard me. Where are
the tapes? And what are they?
What is this, this is some
kind of a joke, right?
You got some
real snappy punch line
you're gonna lay on me.
Caps, huh?
Yeah. Nice, huh?
Had them done last summer.
Fine, fine. How'd you like
to be able to carry them
around in your wallet?
You must be Rockford.
It's kind of a long story.
Yeah, I got plenty of time.
Yeah, but I don't.
I'm on a very tight schedule.
Make room.
Look, I got to get to
a team party. It's kind of
a press thing,
and if I don't show up,
they'll all rip off their
toupees and stamp on them.
Look, if you want, you can
ride with me and we'll talk
on the way. Okay?
Oh, that's fine.
Good.
Get rid of him, Al.
Hey, I gotta
talk to him now.
Well, maybe later will be
just as convenient.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
You've been waiting for me.
I don't think
I even know you.
That was cute,
that little thing you did
with your head.
The only thing that spoils it
is you got crummy teeth.
But don't worry about it,
though.
I know a guy can put caps
on there like he was
spreading butter.
Will you leave me alone
please?
You probably
didn't recognize me.
I'm King Sturtevant.
Honey, we're not gonna be able
to slip out of here
for about 10 minutes
'cause the press
is gonna be on me
like a bad smell.
The press left
half an hour ago,
and I wouldn't
leave here with you
if the hotel was on fire.
I'm in room 615.
Why don't you take the key
and I'll be down there
in about 15 minutes.
Get lost, buddy.
Help yourself to anything
you find in the refrigerator.
There's plenty there.
There's a lot of booze.
I swipe it off airplanes.
That was your last chance.
You blew it. Dumb broad. Dumb.
Okay. Go rope him.
It's the room right below.
And use the stairs, huh?
Jim Rockford,
Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Geez. I thought the press
would never leave me alone.
I always wind up
sneaking out of these things.
I guess being a celebrity jock
ain't so bad. Except when
you're trying to get somewhere
and you're six rows deep in
people asking for autographs.
Then it gets kind of hairy.
I can imagine.
Yeah.
Ever tell you
I got six people
answering my fan mail?
Yes.
Yeah
Well, I do. I do.
Where we going?
Stairs. It's quicker.
I don't wanna wait.
Yeah, all right.
(CRASHING)
Oh, sorry.
I got the wrong room.
Always like a good brawl.
Yeah,
but you didn't hit anybody.
Sorry, honey. I know
you're very disappointed,
but maybe next time.
Will you come on?
Hey, listen. I want to
thank you for helping me out
back there.
I would have creamed
one of those guys,
but my hands...
I got to be careful
of my hands.
I throw passes for a living.
I noticed.
Oh, no. No.
Not the broad.
I never have to
line up broads.
They jump me in dark alleys.
Yeah. Well, not that one.
She set you up
for the two guys
in the gorilla suits.
Yeah?
Must have been pretty good
duty for her. I mean,
sandbagging the King.
Pretty exciting.
I'm on six.
Good.
Where we going?
Be there in a minute.
Hold it, hold it.
What is this?
Now, let me put it to you
this way so you'll understand.
This is a fourth down
situation. You can't kick
and there's only 10 seconds
left on the old stadium clock.
And if you lose this game,
you could end up rolling
around on a platform
with a cup full of pencils.
You want some answers, right?
Right. You see, somebody
thinks I have some tapes
that you gave to me.
Only, you and I know
that's pure nonsense,
but I'm having
a little trouble
getting it across to them.
Well, who?
Tell me who they are.
I'll straighten them out.
The two guys upstairs.
I don't think
I'm going to be able
to help you with them.
I never seen them before.
The Federal Government.
Look, can I trust you?
I think you'd better.
About two days ago,
some guy comes
to the practice field.
He wants some tapes
I'm supposed to have.
I don't have
the faintest idea
what he's talking about.
Then he comes to my place
that night with another guy
and they bust the place apart,
while I'm standing there.
'Course, I don't have
any tapes to give them.
You don't know
how frustrating that was.
Sure I do.
Anyway,
then the Feds come around.
Some joker named Shore and,
gee, I don't know what
the hell's going on.
But all I know is these guys
are closing in on me.
So I said, "Look, I got to
go make a phone call."
So when I go to the phone,
I look up Private Detectives
in the Yellow Pages.
I saw your ad.
It's a real nice ad
you got there,
with a full quarter page,
a nice picture of you.
It's real nice.
Oh, yeah, anyway,
so I fake a phone call
and I tell the Feds
that I gave you the tapes,
and I told you
to give them to them.
Well, bingo. They're out
the door like a bunch
of volunteer firemen,
and I take a hike.
And then the next time
I see the two guys
that busted up my place,
I tell them the same thing.
Hope this didn't inconvenience
you too much.
You're kidding, of course.
Oh, I know
it sounds flaky,
but put yourself
in my position.
I am in your position.
You put me there, remember?
Oh, yeah. That's right.
That's right.
Yeah, well, anyway, I got
a game on Sunday and then I go
right back to South Chicago,
and I got a lot
of connections there,
and I figure whatever
the problem is,
I can get it unsnarled.
See, here in L.A.
I don't know anybody.
Except maybe
a couple hundred girls.
It never occurred to you
that you were aiming all these
angry flat-nose types
right at me?
Better you than me.
Besides, I figured any guy
who's got a full quarter page
ad in the Yellow Pages,
you should know
how to take care of yourself.
Let's go.
(STAMMERING)
Where we going?
We're going to the Feds.
You're gonna take me
off their list.
I'm afraid not.
I won't do that.
You want to bet?
You see, there's one other
thing I forgot to tell you
about me.
I cheat on my taxes and
I'm in a lot of tax trouble.
I hate to even mention this,
but I could go to jail.
Better you than me.
You know,
I been thinking it over, Jim.
I think I got a solution.
Okay.
First of all, I am not gonna
just waltz into that
Federal Building
and yank my own ripcord.
So you can
just forget about that.
See, what I'm gonna do is,
I'm gonna tell old Agent Shore
that you decided
to sell the tapes
and that you now,
you're trying to make it look
like I never gave them to you
which of course,
I will insist that I did.
Well, you know,
you'll be insisting all this
through broken teeth.
Caps are cheap.
Besides, I don't figure you
for that kind of talent.
See, when you're a pro
quarterback, you gotta learn
how to read the defense.
And you, well, you read
like a guy with a big case
of terminal confusion.
I just don't figure you
to take me out
and bust me up.
At least, that's the way
I'm gonna play it.
Oh, well. Fine, fine.
Let's just play it that way,
huh?
I tell you what...
Tell you what,
I think I got another idea.
Okay. Fine, fine.
Let's hear this one.
The manager of the team
I play for is a guy
named Dale Fontaine.
He owns the franchise.
He's behind it all.
I think he might know
what the tapes
are all about.
Why?
I'm not supposed
to spread this around,
but...
I found out a couple
of months ago,
that Fontaine
is a representative
of the underworld.
And the whole stinking
franchise is owned
by the mob, and he's mob.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a real bummer, isn't it?
And me an ex-altar boy.
Get in the car.
Where we going?
We're gonna go see Fontaine.
I don't want to do that,
Jim, it sounds
kind of dangerous.
Oh, it's all right.
We'll be very polite
and call him sir.
I don't think it'll help.
Sure it will. Get in.
He usually works late.
It's right there
down the hall.
He's dead.
Dead. Oh, no, he can't...
He can't be.
Well, he is.
Is this Fontaine?
What's that?
The well known
blunt instrument.
I guess we ought to
call the cops.
I guess so.
Don't use that phone.
Use one out in the hall.
Yeah. All right.
I'll be right back.
Don't leave.
(SIREN WAILING)
You call them?
Yeah.
Do you have any idea
who killed him?
You did.
You see,
I was down the hall looking
at some game films and
heard some shouting so I went
to my locker and I got my gun.
And when I came back here,
I caught you in the act.
Why don't you just shoot me
and put me out of my misery?
Look, I know this is getting
awfully confusing for you,
but you, you see,
you forced me to improvise.
I'm really sorry
it turned out this way.
It won't stick.
You know that, of course.
I didn't have
any motive to kill him.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, sure you did.
You see, you had the tapes
and he wanted them back.
I'll take that.
Okay, let's go.
Dennis, I didn't kill him.
I'll make my statement
later. I'm in a little bit
of a shock now.
I've never seen
a man clubbed to death.
It was terrible.
You got anything to say,
Jim?
Yeah. Yeah,
I want my attorney.
We'll sort this out
downtown. Come on.
Did you really just
pull my name out of
the Yellow Pages?
And then I held him at
gunpoint for about,
oh, 10, 15 minutes,
and then you guys showed up.
Hi.
Will you look at her?
She's so star-struck,
she's speechless.
Is that everything?
The whole statement?
Yeah, yeah. That's it.
Listen, honey, try not to
stare. I know it's difficult,
but why don't you
just relax
and then, later,
the two of us
will go get some coffee?
I'll let you look
at my scrapbook, huh?
That'll be lovely,
only I gave up
reading the funnies
in the third grade.
Who is she?
Rockford's attorney.
Oh, yeah?
Hey, I studied
two semesters of pre-law
at Southwestern.
Summer semester. We should
have a lot in common.
Could I see the statement
for a minute, Dennis?
Sure.
I play quarterback for
the Southern Illinois
Warriors.
I'm kind of the star
of the team, I guess.
You're not gonna hold Jim
on this, are you?
I mean, it's pretty thin,
and this guy is obviously
a flake.
I got to, Beth.
No other choice.
The press calls me
King Sturtevant.
How about that, huh? King.
I don't like it, but
what're you gonna do?
I mean, when you're...
When you're a biggy,
they kind of hang stuff
like that on you.
Let me see Jim.
First thing in the morning,
Beth.
Hey, I'm at
the Crestview Towers
at room 615.
Why don't you
give me a ring, huh, babe?
Leave her alone, Sturtevant.
She's really not interested.
Sure she is.
No, I'm not.
Okay, Jim. We found
one of these guys at the party
who says he remembers you.
He said he handed you
a bio about 10:30.
So you're clean for now.
Coroner establishes
time of death around 9:00.
And you just can't believe
that I killed him at 9:00,
then went back at 11:00 and
stood over him with the trophy
and then gave him a couple
of shots for good measure.
I don't know why you can't
believe that, Dennis.
It makes about as much sense
as anything else in this case.
When we get an eyewitness
report of a killing,
what else
are we supposed to do?
Okay. Okay. So now you
just put out a warrant for
the arrest of King Sturtevant.
Yeah, well, we're
still sort of looking into it.
There's no warrant
out for Sturtevant?
I'll explain it
to you later, Jim.
Look, he made
a false police report.
He falsely
accused me of murder.
Now, I want somebody
to go out and arrest him.
It's sort of a provision
I made to get you out of jail.
There are some
special circumstances.
Okay, okay.
Get me out of here.
BECKER: Hey, I'm sorry, Jim.
I don't understand it either.
But we got orders
from upstairs,
and they don't want
him busted. At least, not yet.
It's okay, Dennis.
I'll bust him for you.
Now there goes
your special circumstances.
I call it lousy, Dennis.
What do you call it?
I call it interdepartmental
courtesy.
You're out by default.
It could fall on you.
Let's go.
Now, Beth. Did Shore tell you
about the tapes?
Let's go, Jim.
Beth, I want to know.
No. He didn't say a thing
about them.
Take it easy, Jim,
I've never seen you
like this.
I don't get mad very often,
Beth, but I am mad.
Don't push.
I met King Sturtevant
last night.
He's quite a handful.
Wait till I tell you
what he did.
Yeah, he took a run
at you, huh?
Did Shore tell you anything?
No.
Listen... just go home
and stay out of it.
I want to know.
All right.
Sturtevant owns a nightclub
in Southern Illinois.
It's called the King's Castle.
It's kind of
an underworld hangout.
Okay. Go on.
It burned to the ground
yesterday afternoon.
According to Shore,
it was arson.
Why? Who burned it down?
I don't know. But I found out
something else on my own.
The late Dale Fontaine brought
down another quarterback
from the Canadian leagues
to replace King Sturtevant.
But it never happened.
So Sturtevant must have
some kind of leverage.
Almost immediately, the town
started filling up with hoods
from Southern Illinois.
And then yesterday,
Sturtevant's nightclub
got torched.
What does that mean?
I don't know, but I think
Sturtevant's still got
those tapes.
Stay out of it, Jim.
Oh, I will. I will.
I mean it.
Shore said if you got mixed
up in it, he'd fall on you.
I'll stay out of it.
You can count on that.
Really.
He's not in his hotel.
I already checked.
Oh, thanks.
You saved me a stop.
Hey, did you get anything?
Oh, no. Not really,
not really. No, listen,
Jimmy. I'm gonna run...
Don't ditch me now, Angel.
I need some help.
I'm not ditching you, Jimmy.
I'm trying to help you.
You know that old Angel
stands behind a friend.
You ask anybody.
You made 10 phone calls.
You must have found out
something.
Something, no, I didn't.
I just...
I didn't find anything.
Angel, come on.
I need a lever.
Certain associates
have told me that anybody
helping Jim Rockford
would be pushed into the thing
along with him. Now, I like
you a lot, Jim,
but I don't like you
that much.
So keen judgment and an eye
toward good health demand
that I skate on this thing.
I know you understand.
Angel.
Angel.
Angel!
Now, I don't want to have
to lean on you,
but if I have to, I will.
Okay, okay.
Look, this is hard for me.
I mean, you know,
I'm really chicken.
I hate taking a risk.
I'm not gonna tell anybody.
It's con to con.
Now, what'd you find out?
You're hot, man, and I mean
that in the negative sense
of the word.
You've got two contracts
out on you.
You got a pair of local
shooters and you got two
violinists from South Chicago
out to plow you under.
Why? What'd I do?
Well, the word is out
that you have some tapes
that Dale Fontaine's selling
underworld information
to the Feds.
Now, supposedly,
that's why he got
knocked off.
Now, why the out of town guys
want you, I don't know that.
Maybe you know that.
I don't know that,
I don't want to know that.
Well, what about Sturtevant?
Did you get anything on him?
Yeah, that part's
kind of weird.
Well, it'll fit right in
with everything else.
See, apparently he's got
a pad up in Hollywood.
He likes to throw those
Hollywood parties, you know.
I found that out
from a prostie he had
up there one time.
She didn't remember
the address, but it's
a house on Sharon Drive.
It's got a yellow gate.
Anything else?
Yeah.
One little thing, yeah.
Do you think you could
give me back that camera
I leant to you?
I mean, I'm pulling for you,
brother, but if you
don't make it,
you know, well, the estate
guys, they freeze everything.
The guy in Culver City
that leant me the camera,
he says if I don't give it
back to him
by the end of the week,
he's gonna take it out of
my hide. I don't want to bring
it up to you now.
You know,
you got your own problems...
Okay. Okay, Angel. It's in
my trailer in the back
closet on the top shelf.
And, Angel, thanks.
Con to con.
Con to con.
Hasta la vista.
Hi.
Drop dead.
That's nice.
All right now, I've had it
with you, Sturtevant.
I'm not a guy
you want to fool around with.
Look, Rockford.
Will you let me up, please?
No.
I got to get out of here.
Look, if you found this place,
they'll find it.
There are a couple of guys
in town from South Chicago,
and I think they're maybe
trying to kill me.
Where are the tapes?
I don't have the tapes.
Then who does?
I loaned them to a girl,
she lives in one of those
apartments off the strip.
Now, will you please get up
off of me? You're hurting
my passing arm.
I swear I'll come clean,
I promise. But we got to
get out of here.
I hope you got that
out of your system.
I was never very good
at that sort of thing.
Had to give it a try though,
right?
Let's get out of here.
When I was a kid, nobody
ever took me too serious.
We used to have
choose-up games.
I was always
the last to get chosen.
My older sister,
my older sister,
used to get chosen before me.
When I was six, man,
I knew I wanted to be
a football star.
And I worked, man,
I mean, I worked and, damn it,
if I didn't make
first string quarterback
my senior year
at Southwestern.
The tapes, Sturtevant. You
told me you'd tell me about
the tapes. You promised me.
Even when I started
playing ball
for the Warriors, though.
I mean, all right, all right,
it's a second-rate team
in a third-rate league.
But I'm a pro-baller.
It means a lot to me.
They never paid
any attention to me.
So, what do I do?
I go out and I rent
a white Rolls Royce,
which I can't even afford,
and a place in
North Hollywood,
and they still don't pay
any attention to me.
What about the tapes, huh?
What'd you do?
Did you bug the tables
at that restaurant where
the underworld hangs out?
Huh?
That's it.
That's what you did.
All right.
Yeah. Well, not exactly.
I bugged the conference room
that I rent out.
Oh.
I have a few tables, too,
but you never get too much
off the tables.
See, the mob,
they're very cautious,
but the conference room,
the conference room, now
that's where you really
get the stuff.
You want to know
who did the killings
for Vito Genosa?
I don't wanna know.
His tailor.
I said I don't wanna know.
The guy who cuts his pants.
It's true.
I'm not kidding around.
When you know stuff like that,
it makes you feel important.
Where does Fontaine
come into this?
Well, one of the things
I picked up off the tapes
was that Fontaine was selling
information to the Feds.
(STAMMERING) He was a mob guy,
but he swung like a gate.
Well, last Tuesday,
I find out
that they wanna replace me
with some stiff they got
out of the Canadian leagues.
Well, I go to Fontaine.
I say, "Look, you take me
out of the line-up, man,
"the mobs gonna wind up
with those tapes."
So what happens?
Fontaine gets murdered and
next thing I know my club's
getting burned down.
Yeah. Now the lid's blown off,
and we only got one way
to save our lives.
We got to find the tapes
and we got to use them
to deal our way out.
Right.
I guess if I played
this Sunday
it would be too risky, huh?
(TSKING)
I hate the idea of that Canuck
running that club.
Well, you get used to it
'cause you're benched.
Now, where do we go?
Well, we got to back up here,
first of all. Go down
the street and make a right.
It's the apartment building
on the east side
of the street.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
You're Judy. Remember me?
No.
I'm King Sturtevant. Remember?
We met at Lisa's apartment
up over there.
No, I'm sorry.
I don't remember.
Is Lisa at this party?
Yeah. Last time I saw her,
she was over there
by the barbeque.
Thanks. Thanks.
Lisa.
Lisa.
Hi.
I've got to talk to you.
Dick Butkus,
this is Larry Sturtevant
and friend.
Butkus. Dick Butkus.
Actually,
it's King Sturtevant.
I play on the Warriors.
Warriors?
Yeah. I'm the quarterback.
I'm afraid
I never heard of you.
LISA: It's all right.
Nobody has.
What do you want, Larry?
"Nobody has."
Can we get somebody
to take a picture
of me and Mr. Butkus?
Larry, the tapes.
Oh, yeah, the tapes.
Lisa, I need my tapes.
What tapes?
Remember, I gave you
some tapes to
take care of for me?
Larry, if you've been
lying to me...
She's got them.
She's got them.
A couple of weeks ago,
remember,
I gave you some tapes.
You were supposed to take
care of them for me.
LISA: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Now I remember.
Where are they?
I suppose they're in the room
over there, in the box,
in the tiki room.
I brought them down
for the party.
Great. Mr. Butkus,
great to see you.
You got a mustache.
I... We both.
They got to be
in here somewhere.
I don't believe this.
She said she's gonna put them
in a safe place.
Then why didn't she?
'Cause she's a dipso.
ROCKFORD: Here, here,
what's this?
No, no. That's not it.
Wait a sec. Wait a sec.
Got one.
Hey! What is this?
Shut up or I'll blow you off
right here.
Can't we talk about it?
MAN 1: Let's get down
to business, huh?
You hit this guy in front of
his family. I mean, you cowboy
it and I talk to Mr. Santini.
He wants this done clean.
MAN 2: Hey, look, I been in
business a while, you know?
Hold it.
I got some ethics.
Ask Mr. Tremayne. I smoked
a guy for him in Denver
last year.
That's Gino Sorell.
(GUNS FIRING)
(POLICE SIREN WAILING)
Drop your guns.
Don't move.
You're surrounded.
Hey, Dennis.
Am I glad to see you.
You okay, Jimbo?
Where are the tapes?
Don't you want to
make sure we're okay?
I don't much care.
Where are the tapes?
Those two guys over there
got them.
If they don't, they're out
by the pool in a box near
the stereo system.
Who put them there?
I don't think I can go
through with that now.
You two are under arrest.
You can tell me about
it downtown.
ROCKFORD: Boy,
when it comes to wasting
other people's time,
the Feds are
the blue ribbon champs.
How long does it take
to type up a statement?
That's another buck.
Double or nothing?
Yeah. You go first.
You know, you got
a pretty good attorney.
I could use a good lawyer.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
That must be nice,
having a lady lawyer.
At least when you're sitting
there in a holding cell,
you got something
to look forward to.
Yeah, I always
look forward to it.
Hey, what was on the rest
of those tapes?
Oh, more of the same.
Contract killings,
zoning commission buyouts.
Oh, there's enough stuff
in there
to keep the D.A.'s office
busy for a year.
Lot of people
gonna go to jail.
Your turn.
All right. We're even.
Go again?
Yeah, yeah. Say, I...
I want to thank you for
telling Shore
I wasn't involved.
Oh, don't mention it.
Don't mention it.
Rim shots count half,
all right?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
King, there's a question
I just got to ask you.
Yeah. Go ahead.
Well, this has been
a terrible experience for me.
I never had so many people
trying to kill me and so
much official interest.
Now my taxman calls me
and tells me
I'm being audited.
Shore's behind it.
It's been a whole
nightmare.
What's your question?
Well, come on. Tell me.
You didn't really just pick
my name out of the phone book,
did you?
I'm afraid I did.
No fooling?
No fooling.
Son of a...
You got a pair of local
shooters and you got two
violinists from South Chicago
out to plow you under.
It never occurred to you
that you were aiming all these
angry flat-nose types
right at me?
Better you than me.
Can we get somebody
to take a picture
of me and Mr. Butkus?
The guy is obviously
a flake.
Book me or let me go.
You walk out of here,
you're gonna be dead
before morning.
(PHONE RINGING)
ROCKFORD:
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name
and message.
I'll get back to you.
(BEEPS)
(WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH
ON ANSWERING MACHINE)
Call toll free cinco, cinco,
cinco, tres, uno, dos, uno.
No, no, no.
Now, listen, Jimmy,
it isn't gonna be
like that at all, man.
Now, don't get it confused.
I'm not asking you
to do anything
that we'd consider
strictly illegal.
You see,
this here proposition
is in a real kind of gray
area, legally speaking.
Well, let me ask you now.
What you're gonna do is,
you're gonna tell this guy
that he can have
a half interest
in a racehorse,
and then you're gonna show him
some bloodlines
that are phony.
They're not phony.
They're not phony,
they're just a...
They're what?
Creatively speculative.
Oh. Of course, of course.
Now, you're not sure,
you're not absolutely sure,
that this is the lost foal
of Secretariat,
but you're 90% sure, right?
And then I come in
with a British accent
and a riding crop,
and I offer you $50,000
for the horse.
Right.
And then you
and, what's his name?
We'll just call him
Mr. X.
Let's just call him
The Mark.
It's not gonna be
like that.
Jimmy, the horse could be
out of Secretariat.
Well, it's not impossible,
is it?
Who knows
what those horses do, man,
when there's no one
watching them.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Who's that?
It's probably
your parole agent.
Hey, why don't we
let him in on this?
That's not funny.
Mr. Rockford?
Not necessarily.
Show him, Babe.
Okay, okay,
so you got a gun.
Gun? What?
Are you Mr. Rockford?
No, he's Mr. Rockford.
I'm Mr. Martin.
I'm just a handyman
down at the pier.
I do odd jobs,
stuff like that.
I'll see you, Jimmy.
I'm gonna try and pick up
some of those brackets.
Or maybe if they got
the brass hinges
on the back...
We know you're working
for King Sturtevant.
Who?
King Sturtevant.
You remember him.
Who's King Sturtevant?
Now, look,
there's a couple of ways
we can do this.
Either we can talk
or we can dance.
Now, it's up to you.
I don't know anybody
named King Sturtevant.
Where's the tapes,
Mr. Rockford?
What?
The tapes.
Hey, look, you fellas
got your wires crossed.
I don't have any tapes.
I don't know anybody
named King Sturtevant.
And I wish, before
we start dancing,
you'd pick up the phone
and double-check your
information, 'cause
I don't have any idea
what you guys
are talking about.
They told me that
you were gonna be difficult.
But I like to give a guy
the benefit of the doubt
and start out polite.
I'm gonna have to take you
two guys and this place apart.
No, that's okay, buddy,
he's got the tapes.
Give him the tapes, Jimmy.
Angel, there aren't any tapes.
Don't fool with him, Jimmy.
Give him the tapes.
Angel, shut up.
Where are they, Mr. Rockford?
Now, look. I'm gonna
tell you one more time.
I don't have any tapes,
I don't know
any King Sturtevant,
and you guys
got your facts messed up.
Okay.
Babe,
junk this place.
(GLASS SHATTERING)
Got them.
Those them?
So that's where you had
them hid. You said you
had them hid pretty good.
I don't think
that's very good.
MAN: Shut up. Well?
Oh, yeah, yeah, that's good.
You got all four?
All four.
That's just about it then,
huh?
Excuse the mess, okay?
Oh, don't mention it.
Maybe one of these days
I can redo your place
for you.
Yeah, maybe.
Angel, Angel,
you were marvelous.
You should have given them
them tapes up front.
Ain't no sense being
a dead hero.
Angel, I never heard of
any King Sturtevant.
He didn't give me any tapes
and I haven't the faintest
idea what all that was about.
They just got the tapes.
No, no, they got
some Ella Fitzgerald
and some nice Rainbow Jazz.
Then we better
get out of here.
They'll be coming back.
Well, maybe not.
No, there's no
King Sturtevant,
but on one of those tapes
there's a little Count Basie.
Maybe that's close enough
to hold them.
Maybe you should've had
some Duke Ellington.
Let's get out of here.
Yeah, yeah, I wanna.
I'm gonna go see Dennis
and file a complaint.
I wouldn't do that.
Well, no. You wouldn't,
but then they didn't
bust up your place.
You ever heard of anybody
named King Sturtevant?
Yeah.
Come on, Angel, spill it.
I'll need $20, Jim.
Angel, don't scam me.
I gotta eat.
He's this little
African king.
More like
a tribal chieftain, really.
Sturtevant,
that's a Dutch name.
And as you probably recall,
maybe you don't recall it,
back in the early 1800's,
the Dutch settlers,
they took over South Africa.
Tribal chiefs, they took on
the Dutch names, you see.
But this king, he's here
in the U.S. With one
of those African art exhibits.
I read about it in the paper.
He's here in L.A.
Tribal masks, tribal spears,
got them all hung up
down at the museum there.
You know,
if all that turns out
to be untrue,
I'm gonna get my $20 back,
with interest.
I scam you?
ROCKFORD: We got
somebody back there.
Those two guys, you think?
I don't know.
Let's not wait around
to find out.
In pursuit of suspect vehicle,
eastbound on Alameda.
Cut him off on Victory.
Federal Officers.
Get out of the car
and put your hands up.
All right, spread them out.
Both sides.
Okay. Impound the car.
We'll take these two in.
Let's go.
I wanna get out of here.
We've been at this
for two hours.
I wanna go home.
You keep me here much longer,
and I might even put you
in a rubber room.
You don't want that, Rockford,
believe me. You don't want it.
Look, I have told you
everything I know,
which adds up to nothing.
Look, if you think you can
blow me off
with this golly-gee-whiz act,
well, you can think again.
Look, I don't know
any King Sturtevant.
I never heard of him.
And since I never heard
of him, I can't very well
have his lousy tapes.
Now, you ease off, buster,
or I'II...
What? What you gonna do?
I swear I'II...
Write to your congressman,
maybe? Get my badge, maybe?
King Sturtevant called you
last Wednesday.
You went over to the hotel
where the team was staying.
You met him in the bar.
He gave you the tapes
in a metal box, locked,
paid you a fee
to hold on to them
until he instructed you
to hand them over
to whoever supplied you
with a signed affidavit.
Now, you're gonna hand them
over or I'm gonna club your
head down between your knees.
You know, you got to stop
reading those crime fighter
comic books.
They're turning you
into a cluck. What team?
What team?
Yeah. What team?
The Warriors.
The Southern Illinois
Warriors.
Sturtevant's a quarterback.
His name is Larry Sturtevant,
okay?
Now at least you can stop
asking me that question.
Hey, this is kind of
getting you down, isn't it?
Yeah.
Well, me too. Why don't we
just wrap it up and go home?
Where are the tapes, Rockford?
What tapes?
Did you open the box
and listen to them?
What box?
There are some very tough
people floating around
the outside of this thing.
You're gonna be
an early casualty.
You cooperate with me
I'll take you
out of the game.
You can't think this is worth
getting killed over.
You're right.
You are right. I can't.
So I want out of here.
Why is it that every time
we have one of our
little chats,
we're behind locked doors?
Didn't it ever occur to you
I just might go tapioca
and throw you out of
one of the windows?
You got your full complete
share of mouth, don't you?
Right. I haven't done
anything wrong.
You can't hold me.
So book me or let me go.
You walk out of here,
you're gonna be dead
before morning.
That's my problem.
Okay.
Okay, so you listened
to the tapes,
and you've decided to go into
business for yourself.
I'll give you a life-saving
tip if you want it.
Oh, sure. Sure.
Try not to stay wired to
the bottom of the river
for more than a minute or two.
I'm terrified.
Now unlock this thing.
(BUZZING)
I didn't have no ride,
you know. They finished
with me a couple of hours ago,
but I figure I'd hang around
in case you needed
cigarettes or candy
or something like that.
Angel, King Sturtevant
is a professional
football player.
The closest he ever got
to Africa is the Jungle Cruise
at Disneyland.
Must've been
another Sturtevant.
He might have played
a little soccer
in college though.
Hey, wow! That's wild.
Now that I think of it,
I read in the article
that he played football.
Bet it's the same guy.
Angel, I'm not in any mood
to argue about it.
Just give me my $20.
It's an honest mistake.
I got myself some soda pop.
I was a little short.
Did anybody tell you
what was going on
around here?
Well, I could sell you
an opinion.
What're you doing?
Well, I thought I'd call
King Sturtevant and get him
to tell me what's going on.
You don't even know
how to reach him.
Well, sure.
I just call the museum.
He's probably there working
on his old art exhibit.
I'm serious.
Okay.
Take my car and I want you
to drive toward the freeway,
and then time it
so you're back in about
10 minutes.
When I walk out at the front
of the building,
you just drive on by.
Go around the back of
the building. Pick me up
in the parking lot.
You ought to let them
tail you. Just for
your own protection.
I don't think
they want to protect me.
Now, get going.
Did you find him?
Yeah. Yeah.
Just watch this car here
and then get on the freeway,
will you?
Listen, Jimmy, why don't you
run me on downtown
because I got a bunch of
errands I got to run.
I got to pick up
some of them brackets
and some of those...
Angel.
That's a joke, Jimmy.
Yeah.
All right,
I'll drop you downtown.
Listen, honey,
who the hell do you think
you're dealing with here?
You got one of the biggest
names in professional sports
standing around back here
while that creep is out there
talking to a bunch
of bubble-gummers
and a guy with a bird book.
I'm sorry, Mr. Sturtevant.
I thought you understood
you were an alternate guest.
Alternate?
I've never been an alternate
my entire life.
Sorry, pal.
No interviews.
It's okay. He can't get out
that way. It's a fire door.
He thinks he's Joe Namath.
Nobody's ever heard of him.
You ever heard of him?
No. I've never
heard of him.
You see? Me neither.
Thank you.
All right. All right,
all right.
Give me your program,
I'll autograph it.
Where are the tapes,
Sturtevant?
What?
You heard me. Where are
the tapes? And what are they?
What is this, this is some
kind of a joke, right?
You got some
real snappy punch line
you're gonna lay on me.
Caps, huh?
Yeah. Nice, huh?
Had them done last summer.
Fine, fine. How'd you like
to be able to carry them
around in your wallet?
You must be Rockford.
It's kind of a long story.
Yeah, I got plenty of time.
Yeah, but I don't.
I'm on a very tight schedule.
Make room.
Look, I got to get to
a team party. It's kind of
a press thing,
and if I don't show up,
they'll all rip off their
toupees and stamp on them.
Look, if you want, you can
ride with me and we'll talk
on the way. Okay?
Oh, that's fine.
Good.
Get rid of him, Al.
Hey, I gotta
talk to him now.
Well, maybe later will be
just as convenient.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
You've been waiting for me.
I don't think
I even know you.
That was cute,
that little thing you did
with your head.
The only thing that spoils it
is you got crummy teeth.
But don't worry about it,
though.
I know a guy can put caps
on there like he was
spreading butter.
Will you leave me alone
please?
You probably
didn't recognize me.
I'm King Sturtevant.
Honey, we're not gonna be able
to slip out of here
for about 10 minutes
'cause the press
is gonna be on me
like a bad smell.
The press left
half an hour ago,
and I wouldn't
leave here with you
if the hotel was on fire.
I'm in room 615.
Why don't you take the key
and I'll be down there
in about 15 minutes.
Get lost, buddy.
Help yourself to anything
you find in the refrigerator.
There's plenty there.
There's a lot of booze.
I swipe it off airplanes.
That was your last chance.
You blew it. Dumb broad. Dumb.
Okay. Go rope him.
It's the room right below.
And use the stairs, huh?
Jim Rockford,
Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Geez. I thought the press
would never leave me alone.
I always wind up
sneaking out of these things.
I guess being a celebrity jock
ain't so bad. Except when
you're trying to get somewhere
and you're six rows deep in
people asking for autographs.
Then it gets kind of hairy.
I can imagine.
Yeah.
Ever tell you
I got six people
answering my fan mail?
Yes.
Yeah
Well, I do. I do.
Where we going?
Stairs. It's quicker.
I don't wanna wait.
Yeah, all right.
(CRASHING)
Oh, sorry.
I got the wrong room.
Always like a good brawl.
Yeah,
but you didn't hit anybody.
Sorry, honey. I know
you're very disappointed,
but maybe next time.
Will you come on?
Hey, listen. I want to
thank you for helping me out
back there.
I would have creamed
one of those guys,
but my hands...
I got to be careful
of my hands.
I throw passes for a living.
I noticed.
Oh, no. No.
Not the broad.
I never have to
line up broads.
They jump me in dark alleys.
Yeah. Well, not that one.
She set you up
for the two guys
in the gorilla suits.
Yeah?
Must have been pretty good
duty for her. I mean,
sandbagging the King.
Pretty exciting.
I'm on six.
Good.
Where we going?
Be there in a minute.
Hold it, hold it.
What is this?
Now, let me put it to you
this way so you'll understand.
This is a fourth down
situation. You can't kick
and there's only 10 seconds
left on the old stadium clock.
And if you lose this game,
you could end up rolling
around on a platform
with a cup full of pencils.
You want some answers, right?
Right. You see, somebody
thinks I have some tapes
that you gave to me.
Only, you and I know
that's pure nonsense,
but I'm having
a little trouble
getting it across to them.
Well, who?
Tell me who they are.
I'll straighten them out.
The two guys upstairs.
I don't think
I'm going to be able
to help you with them.
I never seen them before.
The Federal Government.
Look, can I trust you?
I think you'd better.
About two days ago,
some guy comes
to the practice field.
He wants some tapes
I'm supposed to have.
I don't have
the faintest idea
what he's talking about.
Then he comes to my place
that night with another guy
and they bust the place apart,
while I'm standing there.
'Course, I don't have
any tapes to give them.
You don't know
how frustrating that was.
Sure I do.
Anyway,
then the Feds come around.
Some joker named Shore and,
gee, I don't know what
the hell's going on.
But all I know is these guys
are closing in on me.
So I said, "Look, I got to
go make a phone call."
So when I go to the phone,
I look up Private Detectives
in the Yellow Pages.
I saw your ad.
It's a real nice ad
you got there,
with a full quarter page,
a nice picture of you.
It's real nice.
Oh, yeah, anyway,
so I fake a phone call
and I tell the Feds
that I gave you the tapes,
and I told you
to give them to them.
Well, bingo. They're out
the door like a bunch
of volunteer firemen,
and I take a hike.
And then the next time
I see the two guys
that busted up my place,
I tell them the same thing.
Hope this didn't inconvenience
you too much.
You're kidding, of course.
Oh, I know
it sounds flaky,
but put yourself
in my position.
I am in your position.
You put me there, remember?
Oh, yeah. That's right.
That's right.
Yeah, well, anyway, I got
a game on Sunday and then I go
right back to South Chicago,
and I got a lot
of connections there,
and I figure whatever
the problem is,
I can get it unsnarled.
See, here in L.A.
I don't know anybody.
Except maybe
a couple hundred girls.
It never occurred to you
that you were aiming all these
angry flat-nose types
right at me?
Better you than me.
Besides, I figured any guy
who's got a full quarter page
ad in the Yellow Pages,
you should know
how to take care of yourself.
Let's go.
(STAMMERING)
Where we going?
We're going to the Feds.
You're gonna take me
off their list.
I'm afraid not.
I won't do that.
You want to bet?
You see, there's one other
thing I forgot to tell you
about me.
I cheat on my taxes and
I'm in a lot of tax trouble.
I hate to even mention this,
but I could go to jail.
Better you than me.
You know,
I been thinking it over, Jim.
I think I got a solution.
Okay.
First of all, I am not gonna
just waltz into that
Federal Building
and yank my own ripcord.
So you can
just forget about that.
See, what I'm gonna do is,
I'm gonna tell old Agent Shore
that you decided
to sell the tapes
and that you now,
you're trying to make it look
like I never gave them to you
which of course,
I will insist that I did.
Well, you know,
you'll be insisting all this
through broken teeth.
Caps are cheap.
Besides, I don't figure you
for that kind of talent.
See, when you're a pro
quarterback, you gotta learn
how to read the defense.
And you, well, you read
like a guy with a big case
of terminal confusion.
I just don't figure you
to take me out
and bust me up.
At least, that's the way
I'm gonna play it.
Oh, well. Fine, fine.
Let's just play it that way,
huh?
I tell you what...
Tell you what,
I think I got another idea.
Okay. Fine, fine.
Let's hear this one.
The manager of the team
I play for is a guy
named Dale Fontaine.
He owns the franchise.
He's behind it all.
I think he might know
what the tapes
are all about.
Why?
I'm not supposed
to spread this around,
but...
I found out a couple
of months ago,
that Fontaine
is a representative
of the underworld.
And the whole stinking
franchise is owned
by the mob, and he's mob.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a real bummer, isn't it?
And me an ex-altar boy.
Get in the car.
Where we going?
We're gonna go see Fontaine.
I don't want to do that,
Jim, it sounds
kind of dangerous.
Oh, it's all right.
We'll be very polite
and call him sir.
I don't think it'll help.
Sure it will. Get in.
He usually works late.
It's right there
down the hall.
He's dead.
Dead. Oh, no, he can't...
He can't be.
Well, he is.
Is this Fontaine?
What's that?
The well known
blunt instrument.
I guess we ought to
call the cops.
I guess so.
Don't use that phone.
Use one out in the hall.
Yeah. All right.
I'll be right back.
Don't leave.
(SIREN WAILING)
You call them?
Yeah.
Do you have any idea
who killed him?
You did.
You see,
I was down the hall looking
at some game films and
heard some shouting so I went
to my locker and I got my gun.
And when I came back here,
I caught you in the act.
Why don't you just shoot me
and put me out of my misery?
Look, I know this is getting
awfully confusing for you,
but you, you see,
you forced me to improvise.
I'm really sorry
it turned out this way.
It won't stick.
You know that, of course.
I didn't have
any motive to kill him.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, sure you did.
You see, you had the tapes
and he wanted them back.
I'll take that.
Okay, let's go.
Dennis, I didn't kill him.
I'll make my statement
later. I'm in a little bit
of a shock now.
I've never seen
a man clubbed to death.
It was terrible.
You got anything to say,
Jim?
Yeah. Yeah,
I want my attorney.
We'll sort this out
downtown. Come on.
Did you really just
pull my name out of
the Yellow Pages?
And then I held him at
gunpoint for about,
oh, 10, 15 minutes,
and then you guys showed up.
Hi.
Will you look at her?
She's so star-struck,
she's speechless.
Is that everything?
The whole statement?
Yeah, yeah. That's it.
Listen, honey, try not to
stare. I know it's difficult,
but why don't you
just relax
and then, later,
the two of us
will go get some coffee?
I'll let you look
at my scrapbook, huh?
That'll be lovely,
only I gave up
reading the funnies
in the third grade.
Who is she?
Rockford's attorney.
Oh, yeah?
Hey, I studied
two semesters of pre-law
at Southwestern.
Summer semester. We should
have a lot in common.
Could I see the statement
for a minute, Dennis?
Sure.
I play quarterback for
the Southern Illinois
Warriors.
I'm kind of the star
of the team, I guess.
You're not gonna hold Jim
on this, are you?
I mean, it's pretty thin,
and this guy is obviously
a flake.
I got to, Beth.
No other choice.
The press calls me
King Sturtevant.
How about that, huh? King.
I don't like it, but
what're you gonna do?
I mean, when you're...
When you're a biggy,
they kind of hang stuff
like that on you.
Let me see Jim.
First thing in the morning,
Beth.
Hey, I'm at
the Crestview Towers
at room 615.
Why don't you
give me a ring, huh, babe?
Leave her alone, Sturtevant.
She's really not interested.
Sure she is.
No, I'm not.
Okay, Jim. We found
one of these guys at the party
who says he remembers you.
He said he handed you
a bio about 10:30.
So you're clean for now.
Coroner establishes
time of death around 9:00.
And you just can't believe
that I killed him at 9:00,
then went back at 11:00 and
stood over him with the trophy
and then gave him a couple
of shots for good measure.
I don't know why you can't
believe that, Dennis.
It makes about as much sense
as anything else in this case.
When we get an eyewitness
report of a killing,
what else
are we supposed to do?
Okay. Okay. So now you
just put out a warrant for
the arrest of King Sturtevant.
Yeah, well, we're
still sort of looking into it.
There's no warrant
out for Sturtevant?
I'll explain it
to you later, Jim.
Look, he made
a false police report.
He falsely
accused me of murder.
Now, I want somebody
to go out and arrest him.
It's sort of a provision
I made to get you out of jail.
There are some
special circumstances.
Okay, okay.
Get me out of here.
BECKER: Hey, I'm sorry, Jim.
I don't understand it either.
But we got orders
from upstairs,
and they don't want
him busted. At least, not yet.
It's okay, Dennis.
I'll bust him for you.
Now there goes
your special circumstances.
I call it lousy, Dennis.
What do you call it?
I call it interdepartmental
courtesy.
You're out by default.
It could fall on you.
Let's go.
Now, Beth. Did Shore tell you
about the tapes?
Let's go, Jim.
Beth, I want to know.
No. He didn't say a thing
about them.
Take it easy, Jim,
I've never seen you
like this.
I don't get mad very often,
Beth, but I am mad.
Don't push.
I met King Sturtevant
last night.
He's quite a handful.
Wait till I tell you
what he did.
Yeah, he took a run
at you, huh?
Did Shore tell you anything?
No.
Listen... just go home
and stay out of it.
I want to know.
All right.
Sturtevant owns a nightclub
in Southern Illinois.
It's called the King's Castle.
It's kind of
an underworld hangout.
Okay. Go on.
It burned to the ground
yesterday afternoon.
According to Shore,
it was arson.
Why? Who burned it down?
I don't know. But I found out
something else on my own.
The late Dale Fontaine brought
down another quarterback
from the Canadian leagues
to replace King Sturtevant.
But it never happened.
So Sturtevant must have
some kind of leverage.
Almost immediately, the town
started filling up with hoods
from Southern Illinois.
And then yesterday,
Sturtevant's nightclub
got torched.
What does that mean?
I don't know, but I think
Sturtevant's still got
those tapes.
Stay out of it, Jim.
Oh, I will. I will.
I mean it.
Shore said if you got mixed
up in it, he'd fall on you.
I'll stay out of it.
You can count on that.
Really.
He's not in his hotel.
I already checked.
Oh, thanks.
You saved me a stop.
Hey, did you get anything?
Oh, no. Not really,
not really. No, listen,
Jimmy. I'm gonna run...
Don't ditch me now, Angel.
I need some help.
I'm not ditching you, Jimmy.
I'm trying to help you.
You know that old Angel
stands behind a friend.
You ask anybody.
You made 10 phone calls.
You must have found out
something.
Something, no, I didn't.
I just...
I didn't find anything.
Angel, come on.
I need a lever.
Certain associates
have told me that anybody
helping Jim Rockford
would be pushed into the thing
along with him. Now, I like
you a lot, Jim,
but I don't like you
that much.
So keen judgment and an eye
toward good health demand
that I skate on this thing.
I know you understand.
Angel.
Angel.
Angel!
Now, I don't want to have
to lean on you,
but if I have to, I will.
Okay, okay.
Look, this is hard for me.
I mean, you know,
I'm really chicken.
I hate taking a risk.
I'm not gonna tell anybody.
It's con to con.
Now, what'd you find out?
You're hot, man, and I mean
that in the negative sense
of the word.
You've got two contracts
out on you.
You got a pair of local
shooters and you got two
violinists from South Chicago
out to plow you under.
Why? What'd I do?
Well, the word is out
that you have some tapes
that Dale Fontaine's selling
underworld information
to the Feds.
Now, supposedly,
that's why he got
knocked off.
Now, why the out of town guys
want you, I don't know that.
Maybe you know that.
I don't know that,
I don't want to know that.
Well, what about Sturtevant?
Did you get anything on him?
Yeah, that part's
kind of weird.
Well, it'll fit right in
with everything else.
See, apparently he's got
a pad up in Hollywood.
He likes to throw those
Hollywood parties, you know.
I found that out
from a prostie he had
up there one time.
She didn't remember
the address, but it's
a house on Sharon Drive.
It's got a yellow gate.
Anything else?
Yeah.
One little thing, yeah.
Do you think you could
give me back that camera
I leant to you?
I mean, I'm pulling for you,
brother, but if you
don't make it,
you know, well, the estate
guys, they freeze everything.
The guy in Culver City
that leant me the camera,
he says if I don't give it
back to him
by the end of the week,
he's gonna take it out of
my hide. I don't want to bring
it up to you now.
You know,
you got your own problems...
Okay. Okay, Angel. It's in
my trailer in the back
closet on the top shelf.
And, Angel, thanks.
Con to con.
Con to con.
Hasta la vista.
Hi.
Drop dead.
That's nice.
All right now, I've had it
with you, Sturtevant.
I'm not a guy
you want to fool around with.
Look, Rockford.
Will you let me up, please?
No.
I got to get out of here.
Look, if you found this place,
they'll find it.
There are a couple of guys
in town from South Chicago,
and I think they're maybe
trying to kill me.
Where are the tapes?
I don't have the tapes.
Then who does?
I loaned them to a girl,
she lives in one of those
apartments off the strip.
Now, will you please get up
off of me? You're hurting
my passing arm.
I swear I'll come clean,
I promise. But we got to
get out of here.
I hope you got that
out of your system.
I was never very good
at that sort of thing.
Had to give it a try though,
right?
Let's get out of here.
When I was a kid, nobody
ever took me too serious.
We used to have
choose-up games.
I was always
the last to get chosen.
My older sister,
my older sister,
used to get chosen before me.
When I was six, man,
I knew I wanted to be
a football star.
And I worked, man,
I mean, I worked and, damn it,
if I didn't make
first string quarterback
my senior year
at Southwestern.
The tapes, Sturtevant. You
told me you'd tell me about
the tapes. You promised me.
Even when I started
playing ball
for the Warriors, though.
I mean, all right, all right,
it's a second-rate team
in a third-rate league.
But I'm a pro-baller.
It means a lot to me.
They never paid
any attention to me.
So, what do I do?
I go out and I rent
a white Rolls Royce,
which I can't even afford,
and a place in
North Hollywood,
and they still don't pay
any attention to me.
What about the tapes, huh?
What'd you do?
Did you bug the tables
at that restaurant where
the underworld hangs out?
Huh?
That's it.
That's what you did.
All right.
Yeah. Well, not exactly.
I bugged the conference room
that I rent out.
Oh.
I have a few tables, too,
but you never get too much
off the tables.
See, the mob,
they're very cautious,
but the conference room,
the conference room, now
that's where you really
get the stuff.
You want to know
who did the killings
for Vito Genosa?
I don't wanna know.
His tailor.
I said I don't wanna know.
The guy who cuts his pants.
It's true.
I'm not kidding around.
When you know stuff like that,
it makes you feel important.
Where does Fontaine
come into this?
Well, one of the things
I picked up off the tapes
was that Fontaine was selling
information to the Feds.
(STAMMERING) He was a mob guy,
but he swung like a gate.
Well, last Tuesday,
I find out
that they wanna replace me
with some stiff they got
out of the Canadian leagues.
Well, I go to Fontaine.
I say, "Look, you take me
out of the line-up, man,
"the mobs gonna wind up
with those tapes."
So what happens?
Fontaine gets murdered and
next thing I know my club's
getting burned down.
Yeah. Now the lid's blown off,
and we only got one way
to save our lives.
We got to find the tapes
and we got to use them
to deal our way out.
Right.
I guess if I played
this Sunday
it would be too risky, huh?
(TSKING)
I hate the idea of that Canuck
running that club.
Well, you get used to it
'cause you're benched.
Now, where do we go?
Well, we got to back up here,
first of all. Go down
the street and make a right.
It's the apartment building
on the east side
of the street.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
You're Judy. Remember me?
No.
I'm King Sturtevant. Remember?
We met at Lisa's apartment
up over there.
No, I'm sorry.
I don't remember.
Is Lisa at this party?
Yeah. Last time I saw her,
she was over there
by the barbeque.
Thanks. Thanks.
Lisa.
Lisa.
Hi.
I've got to talk to you.
Dick Butkus,
this is Larry Sturtevant
and friend.
Butkus. Dick Butkus.
Actually,
it's King Sturtevant.
I play on the Warriors.
Warriors?
Yeah. I'm the quarterback.
I'm afraid
I never heard of you.
LISA: It's all right.
Nobody has.
What do you want, Larry?
"Nobody has."
Can we get somebody
to take a picture
of me and Mr. Butkus?
Larry, the tapes.
Oh, yeah, the tapes.
Lisa, I need my tapes.
What tapes?
Remember, I gave you
some tapes to
take care of for me?
Larry, if you've been
lying to me...
She's got them.
She's got them.
A couple of weeks ago,
remember,
I gave you some tapes.
You were supposed to take
care of them for me.
LISA: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Now I remember.
Where are they?
I suppose they're in the room
over there, in the box,
in the tiki room.
I brought them down
for the party.
Great. Mr. Butkus,
great to see you.
You got a mustache.
I... We both.
They got to be
in here somewhere.
I don't believe this.
She said she's gonna put them
in a safe place.
Then why didn't she?
'Cause she's a dipso.
ROCKFORD: Here, here,
what's this?
No, no. That's not it.
Wait a sec. Wait a sec.
Got one.
Hey! What is this?
Shut up or I'll blow you off
right here.
Can't we talk about it?
MAN 1: Let's get down
to business, huh?
You hit this guy in front of
his family. I mean, you cowboy
it and I talk to Mr. Santini.
He wants this done clean.
MAN 2: Hey, look, I been in
business a while, you know?
Hold it.
I got some ethics.
Ask Mr. Tremayne. I smoked
a guy for him in Denver
last year.
That's Gino Sorell.
(GUNS FIRING)
(POLICE SIREN WAILING)
Drop your guns.
Don't move.
You're surrounded.
Hey, Dennis.
Am I glad to see you.
You okay, Jimbo?
Where are the tapes?
Don't you want to
make sure we're okay?
I don't much care.
Where are the tapes?
Those two guys over there
got them.
If they don't, they're out
by the pool in a box near
the stereo system.
Who put them there?
I don't think I can go
through with that now.
You two are under arrest.
You can tell me about
it downtown.
ROCKFORD: Boy,
when it comes to wasting
other people's time,
the Feds are
the blue ribbon champs.
How long does it take
to type up a statement?
That's another buck.
Double or nothing?
Yeah. You go first.
You know, you got
a pretty good attorney.
I could use a good lawyer.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
That must be nice,
having a lady lawyer.
At least when you're sitting
there in a holding cell,
you got something
to look forward to.
Yeah, I always
look forward to it.
Hey, what was on the rest
of those tapes?
Oh, more of the same.
Contract killings,
zoning commission buyouts.
Oh, there's enough stuff
in there
to keep the D.A.'s office
busy for a year.
Lot of people
gonna go to jail.
Your turn.
All right. We're even.
Go again?
Yeah, yeah. Say, I...
I want to thank you for
telling Shore
I wasn't involved.
Oh, don't mention it.
Don't mention it.
Rim shots count half,
all right?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
King, there's a question
I just got to ask you.
Yeah. Go ahead.
Well, this has been
a terrible experience for me.
I never had so many people
trying to kill me and so
much official interest.
Now my taxman calls me
and tells me
I'm being audited.
Shore's behind it.
It's been a whole
nightmare.
What's your question?
Well, come on. Tell me.
You didn't really just pick
my name out of the phone book,
did you?
I'm afraid I did.
No fooling?
No fooling.
Son of a...