You're honest, dependable, and an ex-con.
That's what I need, someone I can depend on.
I'd like to know how long it'd take you
to get off this property and out of Caledonia.
Fifteen minutes sound about right? Why don't you make it 10?
I know those two guys.
They were in the same cell block as Jerry and me.
They like to hurt people.
Do you know what you do? What?
You apologize, all the time. I'm sorry.
[Telephone ringing]
(Rockford on answering machine) This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
[Beeps]
(Dr. Jones) It's Doc Jones. What'd you do to the hand, son?
Three fractured knuckles. You hit somebody?
(Watkins) Your husband is still very weak, Mrs. Hyland.
I can only give you a moment with him.
(Jolene) Jerry.
Closer.
Caledonia.
California.
Worth a fortune. No talking.
You gonna talk, we got to hear.
Keep your voice down.
Jolene...
[breathing heavily]
I'm sorry, Mrs. Hyland. You'll have to leave now.
Remember.
I'll remember, Jerry.
(Wilson) That's her.
I'm telling you. Lennie's the one we should be on.
She's Hyland's wife. She don't know nothing.
He can't tell her nothing in there. They're watching him.
Let's go after Lennie. We stay with the honey.
She knows where Hyland's got it stashed.
Now, we're going to see where she goes.
(Jolene) How far is it?
(Rockford) A few more miles.
What if it's not there? What if we can't find it?
Relax.
It's only worth half a million dollars.
Could be more. Could be less.
Well, Jerry did say a fortune.
What's wrong?
I think we've picked up a tail.
Anybody else know about Caledonia?
No.
[Tires squealing]
[Engine revving]
[Siren wailing]
Could you give me the negative on that one?
Give me the negatives on all of them.
Know what kind of political hay they can make with a picture like that?
"Sheriff closes eyes to crime."
(Rockford) Morning, Sheriff. Take a seat over there.
How about one of you looking at the wanted poster?
Oh, no.
Show people half your face, they figure you got something to hide.
You shoot me straight on.
I want a picture that'll scare off the criminal element...
but not scare the voters.
Okay, Gib, you go on down and get those things developed.
And Gib, you bring me all the negatives.
Sure, Homer. See you later.
[Sighs]
Coming up for re-election?
Your name's Rockford? That's right.
When we ran into your deputy just outside of town, we were on our way to see you.
That'll cost you $17.50.
Well, now.
You said that you wanted to see me about something?
What about? Gerald Hyland.
Well, Hyland was in Caledonia about four years ago.
He's doing time now for a swindle he pulled.
You were the arresting officer. So?
So we were hoping that you'd give us some of the details of the arrest.
Why?
This is Mrs. Hyland. She'd like to know.
Was you Mrs. Hyland four years ago?
Yes.
Sure took you a long time to work up a curiosity, didn't it?
What's your interest in this?
I'm working for Mrs. Hyland.
Private investigator?
Private investigator.
Which means, if I don't tell you everything...
you're going to go snooping around the old newspaper files...
until you find chapter and verse on it.
Probably.
Why don't I save you time...
and Mrs. Hyland some money?
Four years ago, Gerald Hyland came through here...
doing 70 to 75 miles an hour.
Right through the middle of town.
You arrested him for speeding?
You bet your life on it.
I'd of thrown the book at him, too.
Except, I was looking through my old wanteds...
and found that the LAPD had a warrant out on him.
So I just kept him here till they came after him.
That's all there was to it.
I was so sure Jerry hid it in Caledonia.
That's what he said, "Caledonia, California. Worth a fortune."
But if he was arrested for speeding... He wasn't.
But the Sheriff just said... The Sheriff played it all wrong.
That had to be the biggest bust in his life.
He should've sat us down on cracker barrels and bored us with every detail.
But he wrapped it up in a couple of sentences.
I called a friend of mine in Sacramento.
And I had him punch it out on a computer.
Your husband was arrested for trespassing.
He was picked up at a little place
right outside of town called Alberson's Farm.
There it is.
Jerry must've buried it out here.
There'd be no other reason why he'd be wandering around some old farm.
Do you think Sheriff Prouty knows about it?
(Rockford) Probably. He saw the warrant that was out on your husband.
He ripped off, what was it, about $4 million?
But Jerry turned that money in. He made complete restitution.
Whatever he's buried, belongs to him.
Where do we start? We don't.
But it's here. So is Sheriff Prouty.
You're on private property, mister, and that's trespassing.
Sheriff Prouty. We didn't expect to see you out here.
Yes, I'll bet you didn't.
But you see, this whole county's my territory.
Now, would you mind explaining what you're doing here?
We're on, what you might call, a sentimental journey.
Mrs. Hyland wanted to retrace her husband's footsteps
during his last hours of freedom.
This is where you arrested him, isn't it?
I'm the one that asks all the questions.
Well, I'm sorry. Just what was it you'd like to know?
I'd like to know how long it'd take you
to get off this property and out of Caledonia.
Fifteen minutes sound about right? Why don't you make it 10?
(Jolene) Don't you think you should've said something?
(Rockford) Like what?
Like, "You have no right to run us out of town."
That never occurred to me.
You're not afraid of him, are you?
Me? No.
I just don't think I'd like his jail, that's all.
[Cash register rings]
I don't want to seem ungrateful,
but I could've gotten run out of town by myself.
That's why I hired you, so that things like that wouldn't happen.
I'll knock 25% off my bill and I'll only charge you for half a day.
You're not quitting? You can't quit. We have to go back there.
Why?
Because it's there. A fortune.
Well, so is Sheriff Prouty. Let's just table that problem for the moment.
Let's say it is buried on Alberson's farm.
Do you know how many acres there are on that farm?
We could be looking under artichokes for 10 years
and never come up with anything.
Jerry told me as much as he could. Well, it's not enough.
But I have to find it.
Whatever it is, it's worth a lot of money. And I need money.
You see, a good lawyer could get Jerry out on parole.
And then maybe a heart specialist could...
Well, it's the only chance he has.
I have to do it for him.
I'm sorry, Jolene.
[Gasps] Gotcha.
Len!
[Sighing] How have you been, Jolene?
Let's get inside.
Give me a real welcome.
Just set it anywhere.
You look good, baby.
I knew you were out.
Yeah? How'd you know?
I have a calendar.
Hey, look...
I never thought it was fair, Jerry getting two more years than me.
It wasn't your fault.
Have you seen him?
No. Not since they put him in the hospital.
It's pretty bad?
It's good to see you, Len.
Okay.
I'll settle for dinner.
This is nice. But it looks very expensive.
I could've fixed some dinner at home.
Yeah, only, I wanted to celebrate. And you're a terrible cook.
Well, thanks for remembering.
I got a good memory.
Have you got any plans?
Oh, I'll get something together.
Straight?
Why? Am I supposed to be reformed or something?
Let me worry about business. You worry about us.
Len, I've had four years to think about what happened between us.
Even if Jerry had known what was going on with us, he wouldn't have cared.
Now, that's not putting you down, that's a fact.
He only cared about whatever con he happened to be working on. You know that.
Well, that's an explanation. Not an excuse.
Who's looking for an excuse?
I am.
Maybe we better order now.
It's like that, huh?
Okay. We'll order.
I understand they let you in to see Jerry.
Yeah. Just for a minute.
What did he have to say?
Nothing very much. You know, he's pretty weak.
Well, I mean, he must've said something.
Like what?
Well, you know, like...
Like what, Len?
Like where he buried $746,000...
in rare stamps.
(Jolene) I told him I'd think about it.
He wants 50%. Give it to him.
Those stamps are worth three quarters of a million dollars.
They don't belong to Len, they belong to Jerry.
Why'd he tell Len where to find them? He didn't.
All Len has is a written set of directions...
that don't mean a thing unless I tell him where to look.
Jerry couldn't take a chance on giving me that paper.
Not with the guard watching us.
So he gave it to Len before he went into the hospital.
Yeah, well.
He has the directions and you have the location. Right?
And one's not any good without the other?
You better work together or forget the whole thing.
You know, I don't understand Len. Prison didn't help him at all.
Was it supposed to?
They put him in there for swindling.
You wouldn't think he'd still be pulling the same con.
No, you'd have thought he might have picked up some new ones.
I called the AMA, and they gave me a list of really good doctors.
And I've got one for Jerry.
A specialist by the name of Dr. Leland B. Harris.
A specialist costs a lot of money.
I knew I'd run into some kind of trouble,
but I never thought it would be from Len.
He was Jerry's partner.
Why don't you just give him the 50%?
It's a lot better than 100% of nothing.
Because I don't trust him.
If I went to Caledonia with Len by myself, he'd rip it all off.
I wouldn't end up with bus fare home.
So you need protection. Yes, for 5%.
Of $746,000?
Seems fair. Good.
You have to get directions from Len.
He'll have them written down someplace.
That's not the kind of thing he'd trust to his memory.
I have his address.
Once we get those directions, we'll find it.
Yeah.
But first, I have to find the keys to my car.
What happened?
I don't know. I think we better find out.
There's a police officer right here.
We ask a cop, we won't get any answers,
but we might get a trip downtown.
But I'd just as soon not explain
how we're tied in with Leonard Blair.
[Radio chattering]
(Jolene) It's Len.
Who're you looking for?
An indignant man with an authority complex.
Why? He'll be the motel manager.
And there he is. That's where we get our answers.
Hey, looks like you lost a tenant.
[Laughs]
Just checked in a couple of days ago. Hell of a way to check out.
Is he hurt badly? No. He just got beat up.
The room is in worse shape than he is.
This looks like this probably used to be a pretty good neighborhood.
It still is.
Yeah, that guy they took out in the meat wagon might give you an argument.
He'll probably be in traction for a month.
No, they're just keeping him in the hospital overnight, that's all.
Hey, you really got plugged into this thing quick, didn't you?
Of course.
I run this place. I got to know what's going on.
Insurance inspectors, the owner.
What went on here's got nothing to do with the neighborhood.
Couple of thugs come in off the street, start tearing up the place.
That kind of thing goes on all the time everywhere.
Not in Mineola. Law and order town.
L.A. Ain't doing too bad, mister.
Did the police catch the men? Did they catch them?
They almost did.
I called the cops, but the sirens tipped them off.
They came running out of here just before the black and white pulled in.
They're just a little too late to help your tenant out.
He gets beaten senseless, probably lost every penny he had in his pocket.
He picked up a couple of lousy bruises...
and he didn't lose one lousy dime.
If you're so hot on Mineola, why don't you just...
go on back there?
Not on your life. You never get this kind of action in Mineola.
If those men didn't steal money from Len,
they must've been after the directions.
Your husband talks too much.
What if they found them?
It's still only half an equation.
And your information is what makes it work.
We can't go back to your apartment.
They probably got it staked out.
I've got to get you in some safe place...
until we can get in contact with your friend, Len.
I think I'd rather negotiate with him
than the two gorillas that worked him over.
And I sure don't want them getting to you.
(Rockford) He couldn't have been hurt too bad.
He's out here hitting golf balls.
(Jolene) Len will play golf in a hurricane.
Do you see him? No, I don't.
Maybe he's around on the other side.
[Swishing]
That's him.
Will you do the talking?
Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll handle it. Just leave it to me.
Who's he?
I'm... He's with me.
I can see that. Who is he?
I'm... Jim Rockford. He's my partner.
Well, if you want to give him part of your end, that's okay.
Now, wait a minute, Len.
You keep talking about 50-50, like that's something we agreed on.
I'm not giving you 50%. No, baby, you're not giving it.
I'm taking it.
What did Jerry promise you, 10%?
Jerry's got nothing to do with it. It's his property.
I'm...
I'm going to hit a few golf balls.
Any time you want to deal me into this conversation, I'll be right over there.
You negotiate with him, Len, or not at all.
Okay. What's the deal?
Well, whatever's fair. There's three of us, we'll split it three ways.
We'll each take 33.3%.
That is the most... That's the deal.
You're cutting yourself a pretty big piece
of something that doesn't belong to you.
So are you.
Okay, it's a deal. But you got to give me the name of the town.
I give you the name of the town,
you take off like a scalded cat.
Why don't you give us the directions? It's not going to work, is it?
Don't you trust me?
Sure, about as much as you trust me.
Well, there is one way it might work. We could all go together.
Yeah, that could work. When?
Tonight. We'll pick you up.
Okay. Only, I moved.
Sleepy Hollow Motel. It's on Barnham.
What about those two apes that worked you over the other day?
They went through a lot of trouble for nothing.
You didn't, maybe, put them onto Jolene, did you?
I know those two guys.
They were in the same cell block as Jerry and me.
Which is probably how they got onto the deal.
Well, maybe, but...
they do want in, you know.
Too bad. They're not in.
So quit worrying about them.
What time tonight?
7:00? Okay.
Make sure you're not tailed.
Well?
Hey, wait a minute.
I hired you because of your prison record.
I thought you were a man I could trust.
I thought I handled that rather well.
I didn't want to give Len 50%.
You just negotiated me down from 50% to 33.3%.
No. I negotiated you up to 66 and two-thirds.
Less my 5%.
Len wouldn't have bought the deal,
if I had put it to him any other way.
Jim, I'm sorry.
I thought you were trying to double-cross me.
Well, don't feel bad about it. It did cross my mind.
You're not mad at me, are you? No. Why?
Because of what I thought back there.
No. You thought I was a crook?
You made a normal, logical assumption.
I had no right. You had every right.
Well, I really feel awful about it. Will you forgive me?
Jolene, do you know what you do? What?
You apologize, all the time. I do?
Yeah. I'm sorry.
What's the matter? Maybe nothing.
Well, it looks like we're playing follow-the-leader again.
Who are they?
I guess they're the same two guys
who worked over your friend, Len.
That reminds me, I want to thank Len for not putting them onto you.
What are we going to do?
Well, we'll try to get to Len before they do.
They know right where he is. They followed him to the golf range.
But they're not after Len, they're after us. They're after directions.
They'll settle for whoever's available.
Here we go.
[Engine revving]
It's okay. I think I lost them.
I'll pay for the ticket.
It wasn't your fault.
You know, I felt kind of sorry for them.
The cops?
Well, they had such a terrible time trying to figure out
how to write up the citation.
Not as terrible as I'm going to have trying to explain it in court.
I'm sorry.
Would you stop saying that? It wasn't your fault.
You wouldn't say that if you knew me better.
When I'm involved things just seem to go wrong.
Take Jerry, for example.
All of his life, he was a very successful man.
Until he married me. Now look at him.
Did you talk him into making swindling his life's work?
Well, no. I tried to talk him out of it.
Jerry's the one that broke the law.
Jerry's the one that's in jail.
As far as I'm concerned, that makes Jerry a loser, not you.
They got Len.
[Car doors open]
I'll lock the doors,
leave the keys in the ignition, just in case.
Don't go. I think we should call the police.
I don't think Len's going to want to wait that long for help.
Now, lock the door.
[Thunder clapping]
[Len grunts]
(Wilson) All right, we're listening, Blair.
Now, we got as long as it takes.
And the longer it takes, the harder it's going to be on you.
So why don't you just tell us where it is? I don't know where it is.
You want to work on him this time, B.J., or you want that I should?
I'm telling you, I just got half of it.
Jerry's wife's got the rest.
[Gasps]
(B.J.) I seen you talking to Jerry's wife.
We figure you made a deal.
We figure you got it all.
I can't tell you what I don't know.
Okay, I'll tell you.
You start at the courthouse.
You drive due north about 3.7 miles.
Then you go west, it's a dirt road.
Go west 2.8 miles, you make a hard right.
Wait a minute. You're going too fast.
All right.
Make a hard right, go three-tenths of a mile...
and that'll take you to a billboard,
it's buried underneath one of the supports.
Northeast corner. Is that it?
That's it. Okay. So we start at the courthouse.
What courthouse? Where? I don't know.
(Wilson) We're going to start all over with you.
Let me, Wilson.
I'm telling you. Jerry told his wife the name of the town.
She didn't tell me. He didn't tell me, either.
Why would he give you the directions
and not tell you the name of the town?
That don't make no sense. He didn't trust me.
He knew I'd try to cut her out if he gave me all the information.
Jerry knew that.
Then she went ahead and she hired some...
second rate PI and now I got him on my case...
or I'd still be trying to cut her out.
Jerry gave his wife the name of the town. She didn't tell me.
He didn't tell me. Nobody told me. You're lying, buddy.
And you're going to wish that you told us...
the truth the very first time we asked you.
Because we are going to bring you down.
[Engine revving]
What the... What are you doing here?
Whatever happened to "thank you"?
Yeah, for what? Protecting your interests?
You're a sweetheart. Start walking.
I'm sending the cops back for these guys.
[B.J. Grunts]
(Len) What about the money?
We're supposed to get the money.
We are. You aren't.
I hate to tell you this, Len, but you're out.
I wrote down the directions.
Talk about your sweethearts.
You know, it's the company I keep.
Yeah. Well, I'll see you when you get back.
Come on.
You don't really think I told those guys the truth, do you?
I mean, about the courthouse, take two giant steps?
I made it up.
Well, you won't feel too hurt if I tell you I don't believe you.
Be my guest. Check it out.
Yeah, I think I'll do that.
(Jolene) What if somebody else already found it?
I mean, it's been four years.
(Rockford) From what you told me about your husband,
he's not going to make it that easy to find.
You know, there's still something that's not really clear to me.
Could you explain to me again how I pay you?
Do I pay you at the end of the day
or at the end of the week and then...
deduct that from the 5% or what?
The 5% is a bonus.
It has nothing to do with my regular fee.
You mean, $200 a day...
and expenses and 5%?
That's right.
Look at these blisters. Two hours of digging and for nothing.
When I get my hands on that slimy, two-timing...
All right. What are you sore about?
I told you the directions were no good. You didn't convince me.
So you took a ride and you lost a little time. That's all.
You didn't really expect me to cut myself out, did you?
Not after you went to all that trouble to cut yourself in.
It's going to be 33.3...
33.3, and 33.3.
And this time, we all play it straight.
No argument.
Quarter of a million dollars apiece. Not bad.
That's not bad.
You got plans, baby?
You're not really going to spend it all on Jerry, are you?
Three quarters of a million dollars.
You throw it all down the toilet on a guy
who could hardly remember your name.
You know why?
Because you feel guilty.
You spend every last cent on him, you'd still feel guilty.
You were born guilty.
At least I feel.
You're a fine one to be mouthing off at me.
You're cutting yourself in on something that's none of your business.
That's Jerry's money and he needs it.
It don't take three quarters of a million dollars to die.
(Jolene) Tell me something, Len.
How much money have you got on your own?
How much?
Yeah, nothing.
That's all you've ever had.
Jerry was always the brains.
He took his money and he made money on it.
You took yours and you blew it.
This is the last free ride you're ever going to take on him.
When this is over, I don't ever want to see you again.
That can be arranged. Arrange it.
You're the biggest mistake I ever made in my life.
Okay, Len.
Where do we start? (Len) This it?
Yeah. This is the place.
Do you need any help?
I got all the help I need.
Come on, Rockford, let me out.
This time, you're the one who's out.
See, I got the directions. I just needed the name of the town.
And you gave it to me. This isn't it. I lied.
I don't believe you. I don't blame you.
I figured you'd do something like this,
so I deliberately drove into the wrong town.
I had to follow your bad directions, now you can follow mine.
You know that little fruit stand back down the road?
Yeah. Jolene and I'll wait for you there.
Nice try, Rockford. This is the town.
You check it out.
You know, Len was right.
He's a rat, but even rats can be right.
I do feel guilty about Jerry. Why, because of Len?
No.
He's a mistake I wouldn't have made if my marriage had been right.
It wasn't.
See, Jerry didn't want a wife.
He picked me out like you'd pick out a used car.
I was just part of his front.
All he really cared about was business.
You mean, swindling?
I'm not putting all the blame on him.
I married him for the wrong reasons, too.
What was that?
Security.
Well, well, look who's here.
Find anything? It was the wrong town.
If you'll remember, Len, I told you that.
This is not going to work.
It's going to work.
First...
you're going to have to get rid of Godzilla.
[Laughs]
That's it, Len, the negotiations are closed.
I'll see you back in L.A.
$200. Hey, you said... I said, I'll see you back in L.A.
Yeah. Right. Would you hold it, pal?
Hey, what are you doing?
You can pick this up when you see him in L.A.
Give me your right hand.
What are you doing?
Just insuring our partnership.
Before we start, I want to get one thing clear.
This is a three-way split.
When we drive into that town, and your memory starts getting fuzzy...
you can't quite remember the directions...
there's one thing I want you to remember.
I've been known to play very dirty.
You got something specific in mind?
Any parole violation would send you back to the joint, wouldn't it?
Say, carrying a concealed weapon?
I'm not carrying a concealed weapon.
You will be when the cops pick you up.
Come on, Jolene, you're driving.
We're at city hall now, heading north.
Okay. Check your mileage. Turn right.
Go exactly one tenth of a mile.
(Rockford) Move it.
(Jolene) Where? What are the directions?
We're in front of the Sheriff's office.
(Len) Turn right.
Go three-tenths of a mile more, then hang a right.
Across a field? That's what he said.
Turn right, then go six-tenths and turn right again.
All right, Jolene. Right there.
Okay. We can take these things off.
But if you find you're...
starting to lose your sense of direction...
they can go right back on.
This isn't it.
What's the matter with you, Len? Do you enjoy pain?
Wait a minute. It's just over there in the chicken shed.
Straight ahead, Jolene, to the chicken shed.
Is that it?
Yeah, that's it. Let's go.
Here, Len.
One, two, three, four, five.
[Clattering]
Where is it, Len? Right here.
I got a really good lawyer for Jerry, did I tell you that?
No.
Come on, will you? Dig.
As soon as we get the money, I'll pay him a retainer,
and he'll start work right away.
He thinks we stand a chance.
[Metallic clanking]
I hit something. I'll get it.
Why don't we let the lady have the pleasure?
(Jolene) Here it is.
Do you need a key? No, I don't think so. It's just this... Here.
"Dear Jolene and Len, there are no stamps."
"No stamps. There never were, but if..."
"If you're reading this, you believed my story and that's all that matters.
"Because, by now...
"you two hate each other.
And that is worth a fortune to me. Jerry."
He knew.
He knew about us, so he set me up.
He set you both up.
I got caught pretty good, myself.
There goes the attorney. There goes Dr. Harris.
There goes my bonus.
I'm sorry, Jim.
There you go, saying "I'm sorry" again.
Jerry didn't know you very well, did he?
No, I guess not.
I guess that's where he missed out.
Isn't this sweet? Now, can we get out of here?
(Sheriff Prouty) Don't nobody move.
You come on out of there. Easy.
And bring what you found with you.
That's it. Just easy. Move right on over there.
There you go. Right around the shed there.
That's it.
Now.
You just hand over what you got there.
There isn't nothing in here.
Give him the letter.
It's self-explanatory.
No money? Never was.
I been busting my back out here for four solid years...
and there never was no money?
Sneaking out every night, telling my wife I was going to check up on things...
breaking sod like some jackass.
When I think of all the time that I wasted...
Sheriff. You shut up. You're under arrest.
You're all under arrest. Why?
Hey, what's the charge?
Unlawful entry.
Are you sure that statute applies to a chicken coop?
That statute applies to any damn place I want it to apply to.
You going to read us our rights, Sheriff?
You're going to hear your rights, all right.
First, you're going to hear the charges.
Unlawful entry.
Trespassing.
Back-talking to an officer of the law.
And illegal parking.