What happened, buddy, did you fall off the roof?
Is he all right? He looks bad.
Move back, will you? We don't need a medical opinion.
I live here. What was he doing up on my roof?
He was lured up on that roof by an interesting-looking telescope.
What?
They could take you for everything you own.
I'm gonna get you if it's the last thing I do.
You understand what I'm saying, mister?
Who is this guy that's threatening me?
I want you to put this guy Rockford on ice for me.
(GUN FIRING)
(BULLET RICOCHETING)
(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) AUNT BEA:Jimmy Scott?
This is Aunt Bea from Tulsa.
Cousin Randy just graduated from High School and wants to be a movie producer:
Now you live out in Hollywood, you just do something.
Breaker, breaker, this is Rocky Summit.
All good buddies heading east or west on I-5
get your ears on and come back.
This is Little Dix out of Saratoga.
I got the hammer down over sixteen wheels, coming up on you.
You got the current Smokey report? Come back.
That's a big 10-4, Little Dix.
There's a County Mountie with a brownie on the East Groverton off-ramp.
There's a plain white wrapper with a bubblegum machine,
cruising south on the big 5.
Hey, you had the feed bag on yet?
I'm wrapped in brown paper this trip.
I'm running legal and pushing hard.
Maybe next time. Keep the griddle brittle, good buddy.
Catch you on the Lazy Susan.
That's a big 10-4, Little Dix.
This is Rocky Summit. Come on Gear Jammers on I-5, let's hear back.
All Jammers out of Sacramento and Bakersfield,
let's hear your 20 on the Grapevine Summit.
This is Rocky Summit.
All you Jammers on I-5, come back.
Breaker, breaker, this is Little Beaver. Come on.
Come on all you Gear Jammers. What's your 20 on the Grapevine Summit?
I'm finished putting the sign up. Anything else?
Breaker, breaker, this is Little Beaver. Come on.
Shh. I got me one here.
That's a big 10-4, Little Beaver.
What's your 20 coming to Rocky's Summit?
Say, have you put on the feed bag yet?
We're slinging hash and pumping gar. Come back.
That is negatory, good buddy.
I had me some steak on the grill five miles north.
So I got the pedal on the metal, trying to pick up time.
Maybe next trip. This is Little Beaver with a big 10-4.
I thought you said this was the only diner for 10 miles north or south?
It is.
Well, he said he's already eaten. He had steak on the grill five miles back.
Sonny, that guy meant he ran into a cow.
He don't have no time to stop. He's got the hammer down and he's making up time.
Oh, steak on the grill. Of course, yeah.
Ta-da!
That's pretty good, Vince.
Just "pretty"? Come on, just pretty good? That's a home recipe.
VINCE: You ain't said nothing, Jim.
I'm a jammer with no yammer.
Sorry, Vince. It's great. Just terrific. Great.
Boy, I wish we could've gotten
some of them old Gear Jammers into this place.
That Tim and Sally Gustavson must have really let it go downhill.
Those truckers are driving by us like we're selling Ptomaine.
Hey, Rocky, you just opened.
Once those truckers know you're running this place, they're going to come in here.
You can believe it. I'm sure of it.
And that's another thing.
Vince cooks with a skillet in one hand and a clove of garlic in the other.
I mean, the chili, the stew, even the soup has too much garlic in it.
So, did you tell him to ease off?
What could I say? It's the grand opening.
I tell you what I did do. I ate enough chili and what-have-you
that now your 12-year-old Scotch has a garlic aftertaste.
Oh, no, not again.
Come on, Skipper.
You know this girl isn't 21. Hey, come on.
Nancy not only here is 21, she's doing her post grad work at Dartmouth.
I'm sorry, but I could lose my license, Skip.
Remember last year, I pulled your nephew out of the rips?
You forget that kind of stuff pretty quick, don't you?
I'll see you, Skip.
Come on.
(SIREN BLARING)
Boy, they're getting younger and younger. Yeah.
Hey. Hey!
Hey, Jim. There's a paramedic unit over by your trailer.
Put this on my tab, Hank.
Spinal trauma. Get the back splint.
What happened, buddy, did you fall off the roof?
(GROANING)
MEDIC: What were you doing up there?
Hey, is he all right? He looks bad.
Move back, will you? We don't need a medical opinion just yet.
I live here. What was he doing up on my roof?
(GROANS)
MEDIC: Get the breather and the adrenalin. This guy is going into heavy shock.
I'll call emergency and tell them we're bringing in a red blanket.
WOMAN: Honey, are you sure you've got the tickets?
MAN ON POLICE RADIO: : This is unit 41.
MAN: Shh. Quiet, there's a call coming in.
Sounds like a good one.
Preliminary diagnosis, possible compound fracture of the vertebrae.
Honey, get the Conaflex. It's in the trunk.
Oh, Don. This is the third time this week.
I'm never going to get to see Chorus Line.
Come on!
Excuse me, did you see what happened?
I was right here on the beach.
My husband's waiting for the grunion to run. I saw him fall.
I called the paramedics.
Really? Wonderful.
Listen, was that ladder standing there?
Yeah.
And apparently the victim is not the owner.
I don't know who the owner is.
Hey, what's that up there? Hey, dynamite. Out of sight.
Is that telescope always there?
I guess so. Who are you?
Excuse me. Joy, shot of the roof and ladder.
Then here, name and address.
Pretty bad. We've got to get him to County. Excuse us.
Listen, I'm sticking with the victim.
You stay here, get that lady's name and address. She's gold.
Find out who owns this dump and I'll meet you at County. I'll be nosing around.
Don. Oh, no. I don't want...
Another night in the emergency room like this.
Honey, why don't we just forget this one.
I mean, we could still make the curtain.
Come on, Hon. This show's got to go on, too. I got to go.
Looks like you're gonna take a broadside from that collection of brown shoes.
Not now, Skip, okay?
See the fox in the breakaway dress with the camera?
Well, she's hooked up with that guy in the silver Cad
who just blew out of here after the paramedics.
I hate to ruin your night, but I think this guy's collecting witnesses.
He already hit on that dumpy broad over there
in last year's rags, by the trash barrel.
You want to get to the point, Skip?
The point is, I hate to see a good friend spring a leak.
So, maybe I was parked over here in the parking lot with my girlfriend,
and maybe I saw this dodo lushing on a bottle
before he climbed up on your roof and fell off.
And maybe I don't come forward with this info
until it's too late to check the alcoholic content in his blood.
And maybe, since you're interested in my scholarship,
you slip me a grand for my future education.
What are you studying, Skip?
The effects of a 30-year-old couch jockey
on the emotional stability of cheerleaders?
Cute. No, no. Not really.
I understand it's a wide-open field, though.
You get to do your post grad work at the Gray Rock Honor Facility in Chino.
So you want it that way? Fine. I'll sell it to Lois Lane over here.
Why don't you do that, Skip.
'Cause about all you're gonna get from me is a broken rib.
What was that guy doing on the roof of your trailer anyway?
I've got a better question for you.
Why did you leave your telescope up on the roof?
Now, Sonny, you know that thing's mighty heavy, and Vince and me, well,
we've been watching those Pacific Gray Whales swimming north.
So he was gonna hook his camera up there, take some pictures,
and we're gonna use the pictures to give a talk
at the Gray Power meeting at the end of the month.
Gray Power. That's about all you ever talk about anymore.
Now, don't you start that again. Please don't.
You know, that's the way I met Vince
and you know that that's the way I found out that just because a guy's 65,
doesn't mean he has to sign up for a state meal ticket. No, sir.
We got us a business, we got us a restaurant,
and all because a couple of guys got together and prove
you don't have to spend the rest of your time knitting or pitching horseshoes.
Come on, now. You used to do a lot of stuff
before you started going over there. Like what?
Well, like fishing.
There's nobody a better fisherman than you.
And then, you used to go over and talk to the drivers at the Wheel-A-Rama.
Ah, that's nothing but an old has-been sitting on a metal chair
trying to recapture the past.
Yeah, well, ever since you and Vince started that restaurant,
I don't see you anymore. You're always up there.
You miss me.
Yeah, yeah. I miss you bickering at me and telling me how I'm wasting myself.
You know, a guy needs that kind of parental pressure to make it in life.
That's nice.
Well, I'm happy, though. That's the main thing that counts.
You know, I just wish that the business would pick up a little more.
Oh, hey, it will, Dad. It will.
Where you off to?
I spent the night over at the hospital trying to see that Weinstock guy.
The doctor said I couldn't see him till after 10 this morning.
Oh, say, did Beth get hold of you?
She was trying to but your phone was off the hook.
No.
She called you 'cause she read about that guy falling off your roof
in the morning paper. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you but...
Well, you know how it is.
Say, Sonny,
do you think that Vince might be using a little too much garlic?
Garlic? Yeah.
Lately, everything tastes garlicky to me.
Well, Dad, I'm no Julia Child,
but maybe he could just ease off on the garlic a little.
You know, just for a while. Just kind of see what happens.
That's what I been thinking.
That's why I called you this morning.
I knew you were gonna come down here all filled with remorse.
And, Jim, listen. These things can get very legal and very tricky.
From what I understand, he already has an attorney.
I don't care about all that. I just want to know if the guy's gonna be all right.
Jim, whatever you do, don't tell him you're sorry.
Huh?
I know that that sounds hard and cruel,
but you didn't ask him up on your roof.
And from what I've been able to find out, what with the telescope and the ladder,
they have a pretty good attractive nuisance suit as it is.
What?
He was lured up there on that roof which was unsafe by an interesting-looking telescope,
made further accessible by the ladder leaning up against the side of the building.
Come on, Beth, now who's gonna go for a thing like that? Really.
Jim, whatever you do, don't tell him you're sorry.
It can be construed in court as an admission of guilt.
Tell him you hope he feels better, you hope he's out of the hospital soon.
Things like that can be very reassuring and sympathetic,
but they can't be used against you in court.
Okay, Beth.
Well, I think maybe I'll just go in with you and make sure.
Okay, okay.
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)
I'm sorry, Mr. Weinstock.
What Mr. Rockford is trying to say,
I think, is that he is sorry that without his permission or prior knowledge,
you went up onto his roof.
Does it hurt?
Who are you?
It was my trailer you fell off of. I'm Jim Rockford.
Why did you have that telescope up there? And that ladder?
I'm sorry, Mr. Weinstock. Could I get you something?
Some candy, something to read?
Maybe a wheelchair.
They told me this morning I might be paralyzed.
No, no. You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be just fine.
I know it. I really know it.
Leave me alone. Please.
I'm sorry. I truly am.
I'm truly, truly sorry.
Didn't you hear a word I said?
He's barely unconscious. I really am sorry.
I mean, what if that man never walks again?
Good morning, Beth. If you've been in to see poor Bruce,
it's too late. I've already signed him up.
You know that some idiot left a telescope on the roof of a trailer
with a ladder. Terribly unsafe.
I'm sorry, I don't believe I've had the pleasure.
Let me present my client... The idiot.
You're James Scott Rockford?
Yeah, who are you?
This is Don Silver, Attorney at Law,
known in the profession as Hi-yo Silver.
He's usually at the scene of the accident before the ambulance arrives.
Well, you know, Beth, in personal injury suits, promptness pays.
And one picture is worth $1,000.
Mmm-hmm.
Well, I'll see you in court, Mr. Rockford. Bring your wallet.
WOMAN ON PA:Dr. Haines, please report to the second floor visitor's lounge.
Did he say he was sorry?
Don Silver. He's almost been disbarred twice.
He should have a new slogan made up,
"Behind every ambulance, you'll find one of our mobile units."
Stop revving your motor, honey.
It's just we don't know whether this Weinstock guy is really hurt or not,
and since Don is his attorney, I doubt he is.
What was he doing up on your roof in the first place?
I don't believe that telescope business for one minute.
Let's suppose this whole deal is a frame-up.
Fifth cervical vertebrae is in the neck. Do you know what that is?
Whiplash.
No, worse. A compression fracture.
Very difficult to disprove.
Suppose this guy wants to take you and your insurance company for a bundle.
Suppose he is willing to sit in a wheelchair for two months
while Don gets his case to trial.
They could take you for everything you own.
And if you say "I'm sorry," I'll brain you.
What was he doing on my roof?
Look, Mr. Capicci, you tell Bennie to call me.
I'm at the Ozark Court Hotel next to the Santa Monica freeway.
You tell him it's Eddie LaSalle from the old Chicago days.
You tell him I'm turning the heat up under a popcorn machine.
I'm gonna need some downfield blocking.
It's a Private named Jim Rockford and his poppa.
I gotta pin their action in first.
Now, you tell Bennie it's maybe gotta do
with the Crazy Horse and his Uncle Vince.
Breaker, breaker, this is Rocky Summit.
Hey, all you Jammers on I-5, let's hear back. Come on.
BLUE KNIGHT: : That's a 10-4, Rocky Summit.
This is the Blue Knight. I'm at your door and sliding home.
Getting in for a cup of coffee, good buddy.
That's a roger, Blue Knight.
That's a 10-4.
Say, if you feel like taking on a little grub,
why don't you gear down and try Rocky's Summit.
We're serving seconds on everything, free.
That's a roger, Rocky.
We'll be winking at you in a little while. 10-4.
Oh, hiya, Sonny. Glad to see you.
Yeah, Dad, I wouldn't miss it. Little different tonight, huh?
Come on, sit down. Have that one.
You don't seem too happy about all of it.
Well, I ain't never seen truckers like these.
What's the matter with them?
They ain't eating.
Now, you see that pair over there at the pinball machine?
They've been here for a solid hour.
The tall guy, all he's had to eat is crackers and coffee.
The little guy, he ain't eaten nothing but three mints he stole off my cash register.
Maybe they're just getting the lay of the place, Dad.
You really giving free seconds?
Yeah, Vince's idea. He thought maybe it'd pull them in, you know.
But we ain't selling no firsts, so it's kind of hard to give away seconds.
Yeah, well, I'm gonna have something.
Hey, Vince, I'm gonna have a cup of that chili,
and I want some of Vince's special soup and how's the veal tonight?
Left over from yesterday.
Fine. Fine. I'll have that and
Summit Inn special salad and lots of coffee.
(LAUGHS) Yeah, it's funny. I never knowed you was such a big eater.
Of course, now I'm in the restaurant business,
I guess it's natural I notice them things.
Boy, you are a big eater.
Oh, yeah. I have been for a long time.
Especially when the food's this good.
Jimmy.
Thank you, Vince.
Well, going over here, see if I can talk in some guys with big appetites.
Vince, that's some kind of chili.
Some kind of chili.
How are the receipts tonight, Rock?
$15.35, not counting Jim here.
And not counting the 30 or 40 pennies in the mint bowl.
Well, they're sure a lot better than they were yesterday.
I think things are beginning to move right along.
In a week or so, you're going to have to beat them off with a stick.
Don't you think so, Rock? Don't you, Vince?
Sure you do.
Sonny, are we doing something wrong?
Oh, no. Not that I know of. Maybe the chili's a little too hot.
Hot? What do you mean "hot"? It's not hot.
A little spicy, maybe, but not hot.
Look, Vince, I don't want you to take this the wrong way,
but maybe the chili has just a hint too much garlic in it.
You know, I've been eating it regularly now for a couple of days and...
'Course, chili is such a personal thing, you know?
Maybe "spicy" would be a better definition.
Yeah, yeah. You know, a lot of people like their chili spicy.
I know I do. Don't I, Dad? Always like it spicy. The spicier, the better.
Oh, yeah, yeah. I think
probably the chili is a winner.
Sure.
Let's go on home.
Rocky, did you tell Jimmy about last night?
Oh, I been so preoccupied, I forgot.
What about last night?
Well, Vince thinks that somebody was in the restaurant last night after we left.
He put the mixer on the soup counter and it got moved,
and somebody left the door on the fuse box in the kitchen open.
You think a prowler?
If they hit the cash register, they were sure in for a big disappointment.
Well, there's not much you can do,
except make sure you've got good locks.
Good night, Rock, Jim.
Good night, Vince.
I'm sorry about the chili. I hope it won't give you heartburn.
Hey, Vince...
Vince, I just think you ought to ease up on the garlic.
Too much in the soup, I'll bet.
Yeah, maybe.
Maybe I ought to take the cloves of garlic
out of the salt cellars on the tables, huh?
Yeah, maybe. It's just a thought.
It's nothing you have to decide on tonight.
By golly, I just didn't have the heart to tell him, Jim.
I'm sure glad somebody did.
I didn't know about them cloves in the salt cellars, neither.
Good night, Dad. Good night, Jim.
(HAMMERING)
All right, hold it. Now get down.
Get up against that wall. Move.
(GUN FIRING)
Okay, you throw the heater out, then you come out behind it.
I don't have a gun.
Let's go. This is a scoped deer rifle.
You move, it'd be hard to miss.
And I couldn't.
Get up against there.
See who this cowboy belongs to.
James Rockford.
We stopped the wrong guy, Sid.
Hey, how was I to know? I mean...
You shouldn't have let the other guy make tracks.
You was down here to prevent that.
All we got is old Joe's kid.
You wanted me to drill the other guy? You never said drill him.
I gotta tell you everything?
All you got to do is blow a pin out. Simple.
You never said that. You never said anything.
Shut up.
Hey, I hate to break this up...
You shut up, too.
You're old Joe's kid?
I stopped being a kid when I went in the Army.
Who's the guy who took off?
I don't know. I saw him back here, I came back to find out.
I don't know who he is.
Okay, get lost, Rockford.
You're out of here in 15 seconds or you're a dead prowler. Go.
See you.
I hate this.
I really hate this, and don't think I'm not gonna tell them
down at the garage on Tuesday.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
You're through. I'm gonna get you if it's the last thing I do.
You understand what I'm saying, mister?
Who are you? What are you talking about?
Sure, you don't know anything.
Fine with me. I seen that act before.
You're all through, Rockford. Count on it.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
ROCKY: Hey, Jim.
Jimmy, Jimmy!
Hey, Dad, I was just gonna call you. We gotta talk.
We sure do.
ROCKY ON MACHINE: : All he said was, "That's a promise."
Then he drove off.
Yeah, all right. Take it easy, Dad. Just slow down, will you?
What do you mean, take it easy? How can I take it easy?
Who is this guy that's threatening me?
ROCKFORD:An old man in a rumpled brown suit.
Yeah. How'd you know?
A hunch. Dad, you know a guy by the name of Sid
that hangs out at the restaurant up there at night?
Sid, no. Unless he's a friend of Vinnie's.
You mean Vince, your partner?
No, no. His nephew, Vinnie.
Oh, Vince has a nephew named Vinnie? What's he doing up there?
Well, he's staying out back there.
Remember I told you there's three or four acres in back of the restaurant, way out there.
Oh, yeah.
Well, Vince asked me if the kid could stay there.
Seems he's had trouble at home or some darn thing.
He likes cars and, well, there's a barn or a garage or something.
Look, what about this guy that's threatened me?
Let's get back to that.
Well, I don't know, Dad. I mean, I saw his car outside the hospital,
then it was outside the restaurant tonight.
He was prowling around out there.
That ties him in with Bruce Weinstock in some way,
and it has to do with you or me or Vince Whitehead or his nephew, Vinnie.
Or Sid,
or Don Silver or the Green Bay Packers, I don't know. I hate it.
Well, what do you think?
Well, I think I ought to find out more about Bruce Weinstock.
I'm gonna find his address and go out there and check on it first thing in the morning.
I better tell Vince.
Hey, not now. At least, not until I find out what's going on.
I mean, this whole thing is flakey. I want to know why.
Miss Capicci, is Bennie there? Put him on.
Hello.
Bennie, it's Eddie. I gotta pull a favor.
I want you to put this guy Rockford on ice for me, Bennie.
Things have changed, Ed. The whole place is full of new people.
Bennie, I can bring down Cappobianco.
Who cares?
That was Chicago 40 years ago. Ancient history, Ed.
Not to me. He took out 12 of my best friends.
Give me the address.
He's gonna show up at a place belongs to a guy named Bruce Weinstock.
The address is 10938 Landale Street, Hollywood.
Come on, we don't have much time.
Hold it.
You're going for a ride, Tarzan.
We're going to have to get old Don Silver up here
and get a shot of all this unguarded hilarity.
The nurse propped me up this way.
I have two hours a day when I can be unhooked from traction.
I can't feel anything in my legs.
You have a very interesting garage, Mr. Weinstock.
It's full of miniature mics and receivers and electronic goodies.
They told me I could be paralyzed from the waist down.
Of course, I'm hoping for a recovery, you know.
But if it happens, it could take a very long time.
What'd you do with these little mics and receivers?
Nothing. I don't use them for anything.
Yeah, well I figured it was something very specialized like that.
Of course, I think you probably need some marketing ideas.
I was thinking of some on the way over here.
You know, here's one you'd really like, Bruce.
How about just sell all these itty-bitty mics to itty-bitty people.
I have a small electronics company.
I sell miniaturized custom electronic equipment.
Now there's a market we can mine.
But I wouldn't go around giving away free samples,
like this one you put in my trailer.
Come on, I didn't use one of those at...
You know, I got to give you a lot of points for gall, Bruce.
I mean, there you are up on top of my trailer planting a bug,
you take the big fall, and now you and Don Silver
are really actually going to try to take me into a personal injury suit.
Don says... You're in a lot of trouble.
Now let's stick to your troubles.
We've got a very sticky invasion of privacy suit, breaking and entering.
And then there's a whole range of interesting civil suits,
starting with emotional cruelty.
You're not going to believe this, but I haven't been sleeping well lately,
and I'm starting to develop abdominal lesions from tension and worry.
I've got this doctor over in Nogales who'll write me a very neat letter for the court.
Hey there, you're starting to improve already.
Hey, don't you forget to tell Don about that when he comes in.
What do you want?
Well, aside from all the obvious things,
I want the name of the guy who asked you to plant this thing.
And I want to know why.
I don't know why. He offered me a lot of money and I did it.
What was his name?
LaSalle. Edmund LaSalle.
He lives in some dump next to the Santa Monica Freeway.
A hotel called the Ozark Court.
ROCKY ON MACHINE: We got to get them window curtains up.
I think maybe we should change the special for tonight.
VINCE: Okay, Rock. But I got to get going on the stew.
You know, it takes me three hours to get it cooked.
Hang it up. Get on your feet, Rockford.
Hey, what do you want with me and my father?
You know, I think one day... Sit down.
You pukes are gonna realize
that some of us on the other side don't care about your juice
and your connections in Washington.
What are you talking about?
I'm talking about Ted DeAngelo,
who, after a life of disappointment, puts on his three-piece suit
and with his badge in his hand, goes out a ten-story window in Frisco
'cause he just can't stand it no more.
I'm talking about guys like Nessie, who pay for the funeral and die broke.
Nessie?
Eliot and me put 50, maybe more, of you smart heads in a fruit jar.
But you just kept coming.
Eliot Ness? Are we talking about the Eliot Ness?
Because if it's any consolation to you, mister,
Eliot Ness was one of my childhood idols.
So you pay him back
by hooking up with Cappobianco?
Cappo who?
"Cappo who?"
"Cappo who?" That's priceless. Come on, we're going downtown.
I'm not going anywhere with you, mister.
You know what Nitti said when we dropped the net on him and Cappo and them others?
Don't shoot?
He said, "Me and Cappo is gonna sink this case in court."
And he did, too.
That was back when we was busting the stills and running through barns
with a special truck Nessie paid for out of his own pocket,
with a plow on the front.
Look, I hate to appear short tempered, mister,
but what the hell does this have to do with anything?
You sit up here, you're eating dog food,
you're planting bugs on innocent citizens,
all because some guy named Ted DeAngelo
jumped out a window ten years ago. Am I missing something?
That doesn't make sense.
I'm a guy who has a list,
and who, just 'cause he gets pensioned off,
ain't gonna go sign up for no State handouts.
I'm gonna get Cappobianco and...
Who?
He's your father's partner, Vincente Cappobianco.
Cappobianco means "white head".
That explain it for you, mister?
It sure explains the garlic.
INSPECTOR: Okay, Mr. Rockford, I suppose that about does it.
Be sure to leave your address with this department on your way out.
What about my charges? I was brought down here at gunpoint
by a man who is nothing more than a civilian. That constitutes kidnapping.
You're letting him walk?
I got breaking and entering charges against him. He was in my room.
Shut up, Ed.
Inspector, perhaps we can prevail upon Mr. Rockford to fill us in, off the record.
Prevail? Off the record?
This guy is in business with one of the biggest mobsters of the past 50 years.
Prevail, my sweet aunt.
You are not a constituted officer.
You are not licensed to carry a gun.
You want to make sure that Mr. LaSalle doesn't have a weapon
when he leaves this department?
Inspector...
And perhaps you could show ex-agent LaSalle his way out?
I still want to file that kidnapping charge.
He's right, you know. You and your dad are in business with a hood.
Now, I could make things tough for you, Rockford.
So why don't you cut your losses and get out of here?
I'm not sure I like the way that sounds, Inspector.
Look, Ed's an old man.
They didn't leave him much when they took his badge away.
So why don't you forget the kidnapping, I'll forget the B&E,
and we'll all go away feeling cheated.
Hey, did it ever occur to you that my dad and I
didn't know that Vince Whitehead was Vince Cappobianco?
Never entered my mind. I don't believe it.
Well, let me tell you something, Ed...
Make that Mr. LaSalle, will you, sonny?
My dad spent 40 years pushing a diesel around this country.
He still thinks that bookmakers are somebody like McGraw-Hill.
All he wanted to do was set up a little business
and quit sitting around, waiting to die.
I'll cry tomorrow.
Hey.
You lean on him just one little bit, Eddie,
and you'll cry, period. Now, that's a promise from Jim Rockford.
I ain't got time for this.
Why don't we quit trading blows?
Why don't we throw in together? Pool what we know?
Why?
Because something's about to happen
and I want to make sure my dad doesn't get hurt.
You can count on somebody's getting hurt.
It's Tuesday. That's Cappo's afternoon at the garage.
Come on, you wanna see your pappa's partner?
So I say to this guy, "What are you talking?
"We ain't got but three guys
"who handle that kind of action for the whole Eastern Seaboard.
"You got a better shot at running a numbers wheel in Harlem."
So you told him.
Yes, sir, but it ain't gonna be enough.
You could clear it with New York. We fix him in about a month.
He just disappears.
I'm retired, Dave. I got no pull with them anymore.
Except sometimes I do favors, you know?
But you could talk to them, sir. Tell our side.
Even if we was to give this guy 16 weeks intensive.
Just so he knows he ain't the only one on this track,
that we got some action and to watch out for who he bumps into.
You talk to him again.
You tell him if he doesn't think we mean business,
to come next Tuesday. I'll tell him myself.
Thank you, Mr. Cappobianco.
There he is, kid. Cappobianco sitting in a garage
like a gumbo prince, with this scum coming to see him.
Well, my dad always liked to go down to a place called the Wheel-A-Rama.
He sat in a chair there and gave advice to guys
on how to stay awake on long hauls. Stuff like that. Funny.
You think that's funny?
Wait'll you get there, kid. Ain't gonna be so funny then.
Well, I didn't mean funny like that. What I...
Hey, there's a number trying to catch up with a bullet.
He's wild. Did two years for car clouting. Just got out.
They call him Crazy Horse.
You know he was using the property up behind the restaurant?
Sure. So what?
Well, I don't know. But there's Vince Whitehead, my dad,
who are partners in a restaurant, and then Vince loans the property
out in back to his nephew who's a recent graduate of Quentin.
The word's out that he's working on cars up there,
supposed to be restoring them.
No kidding?
But maybe he isn't restoring them,
maybe he's up there switching VIN numbers and stripping them down.
It would be dumb of Vince to own a restaurant and allow that to go on out back.
Only he doesn't own it. Dad does.
Vince had it set up that way because of his tax problems.
He takes a cut of the profits. Dad owns it.
Maybe this time.
You were right. You were sure as hell right.
Let's go.
Smart.
Ten minutes after they're stolen, those cars are out of LA.
Three hours later, they're being shipped all over the country as spare parts.
No way to prove those parts don't come from Germany or Italy.
Operation like this ought to net couple of million a year. Tax free.
Yeah, we've seen enough. Let's get out of here and bring in the law.
Don't do what you're thinking, Ed.
You're retired, we're outnumbered.
We got them. Let's just don't mess it up, okay?
Wish I could think of a way to get Cappobianco up here.
I'm going down and prowl the place.
You get the cops.
Ed! Ed, come back here.
Damn.
That way.
You happy now?
Move it.
Hey, Vinnie, we got visitors.
Go down and tell Uncle Vince. Tell him to get up here.
You again. You got some nose on you, Sherlock.
I've been meaning to fix that.
Don't bother. I'm gonna fix it for you.
Put them in the saddle room.
Move it. Come on, over there.
Hey, Vince, where's the chili order?
Vince?
Did you ever hear of communicating, sharing the plan?
Or are you just too used to being the Lone Ranger?
You're like a dog with an old shoe.
When you gonna leave me alone?
When one of us is dead, Vince.
Looks like it's gonna have to be you, Eddie.
Don't spend it till it's yours.
Here, I think we can work something out, fellows.
There's no need to spill any blood.
You seen Pricilla?
She's dead, almost two years now.
Nobody told me.
Do them both.
How long till they get here?
I called you five minutes ago. Now get the cops up here.
MAN ON RADIO: : They're already on the way.
Get on it.
Now, Sid.
(HORN HONKING)
(POLICE SIRENS BLARING)
(MAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
What's going on here, anyway?
How come Vince and Little Vinnie are holding guns on you?
Man, I don't understand none of this.
You know, Dad, sometimes I just can't get enough of you.
Gotcha.
You know, if this room were on fire,
Weinstock would be the first one out the window.
Oh, really?
You know, I don't know why we're having this meeting.
After all, Mr. Rockford, he can't agree to anything.
It's up to his insurance company
and we're negotiating with them, and I think
we're going to arrange a nice $40,000 settlement out of court.
I don't believe this!
Bruce, here, is up on my roof planting an illegal bug, he falls off,
and my insurance company is supposed to pay him $40,000?
Not to mention the fact that there's nothing wrong with him.
BETH: Jim. Jim, please, let me handle this.
Mr. Rockford has instructed me to file an invasion of privacy,
emotional stress countersuit.
However, if you'll drop your suit, we'll drop ours.
Right. Wrong.
Out of the question. We're not interested.
I don't think you have much of a case there, anyway.
Okay, okay. Now, Bruce,
I'm gonna be on you like a sweatshirt.
You get out of that chair for one second, it's going to be on film.
It's not easy to stay in a chair indefinitely.
Well, I think this is beginning to deteriorate.
Oh, honey. Donnie, can we finally get the hell out of here?
I have to be at the casting offices at Universal
in 25 minutes.
We're leaving.
Well, as Perry Mason always used to say...
Oh, brother.
"See you in court."
Oh, it's a super part. It's a super, super part.
Well, wish me luck.
Or as Flo Ziegfeld always used to say, "Break a leg, honey."
Good idea. Then Don can sue Universal for damages.
Jim, I think we ought to forget it.
They're gonna beat us in court.
The man is not paralyzed. I saw him move his legs, Beth.
I'll testify to that.
Who's gonna believe you? You're the defendant.
I've got a good story here, Beth.
Nobody wants to listen.
Doesn't anyone want to listen?
The one thing these guys can't cover is the money.
You can follow the money.
It's a real Hansel and Gretel deal.
You follow that dough, you can pin a numbers rap down tight.
You got the guy sewed up!
And that's why you use numbered accounts, Swiss banks.
You get the loot out of the country fast.
Once it's abroad, you got no worries.
Now, unless you're on wet pavement or a long downhill grade,
you take them brakes and you put them near the rear of your rig.
Now that way, it makes sort of a drag.
You know, sort of like an anchor.
Well, you may burn up a little brake fuel,
but you ain't gonna jackknife and hurt no poor motorist.
Hey, Dad, come on. Let's go.
You know, I remember one time a while back...
My goodness, it was like 20 years.
I flipped a sixteen-wheeler on that grade coming out of Sioux Falls.
You know, about a mile east of the summit. Well now...
Dad, come on. Let's go.
I'm coming, Sonny. I'm coming. Like I was telling you,
if you've got them breaks.