I have been shot at, hit over the head, robbed of $10,000.
Incredible as it may seem, all by myself I figured out I was in a little trouble.
You better be police, or I ain't talking.
Not exactly. I could have been if I wanted... I ain't talking.
Lady!
Haven't you ever wanted something so much...
that you didn't care how you got it? Haven't you?
Once you're in, you're in. Or you're dead.
I want Nancy Wade.
Either you give her to me, or you're dead.
[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]
(Marilyn Reed) This is Marilyn Reed. I want to talk to...
Is this a machine? I don't talk to machines.
[Dial tone]
Mr. Moss. Yeah. What is it?
You are Mr. Moss, aren't you? Yeah.
What can I do for you? I'm Jim Rockford, a private investigator.
Your secretary said you wanted to see me.
Yeah, good. Glad you're here.
What do you charge? $200 a day, plus expenses.
Any good?
That's a little like asking the headwaiter how the steak is, isn't it?
[Chuckles]
Okay, Rockford, I'm gonna give you the ground rules.
One, I don't like getting fleeced.
So you try to rummy up the expense account, I'm just not gonna pay it.
I want receipts for everything. You got it? Everything.
I know you guys. You're all expense-account hot dogs.
I only mention this so that you'll know that I'm wise to you going in.
You get the picture, mister?
Hey, I got a black belt in karate.
Good. 'Cause I got a black belt in seven iron.
You want this job?
We've got this little loss-of-life policy...
that we're trying to pay off, a Mrs. Olivia Wade.
She died and left her daughter, Nancy, $10,000.
And we're obligated by the Insurance Commission...
to spend a certain time looking for her.
And you want to make sure that the daughter gets what's truly hers, right?
Sure. Anyway, this dead woman, our insured...
she's got a sister living somewhere in Los Angeles.
You might be able to get some information...
as to the daughter's whereabouts from her.
You got an address on the sister?
No. We looked. We tried everything. Can't find the sister.
We know is that she's in the city somewhere and her name is Mrs. Ted Wainwright.
Now, how about it? How about what?
You gonna take it? You gonna say please?
No.
All right. I'll take it.
[Laughs]
You got to move your right hand over a little.
(Rockford) "Mrs. Ted Wainwright."
You really looked, didn't you?
Detective? Police? Well, you better be police, or I ain't talking.
Not exactly. I could have been if I wanted... I ain't talking.
Lady!
[Groans]
You shouldn't know how to do that, unless you know how.
What's the matter with you, lady? I'm not here to repossess the TV.
I'm working for an insurance company.
Your sister died and she left some insurance money.
Yeah. Well, who'd she leave it to?
Nancy, her daughter.
No. That can't be right. There's a mistake.
No, it is true. They hired me to find her.
How much was the policy? I'm not allowed to say.
Don't that beat all? I mean, Nancy.
She run off when she was 16 and she didn't come home, never.
I'm over at Olivia's, day and night, scrubbing and cleaning up the place...
and looking after her. And who did she leave that insurance money to?
That ungrateful kid. Now ain't that a bummer?
Yeah. That really sounds awful, just rotten.
Anyway, do you know where she is?
If I help you, how much is there in it for me?
For you? $10.
Get your foot out or get ready to lose it.
$20... $50!
You're on an expense account, ain't you? Yeah, but I got to be careful.
You make it $100.
Look, the man I'm working for, he's... I ain't fooling.
$100, I'll let you have something. Maybe it'll help, maybe it won't.
Okay. Get your foot out.
I ain't gonna let you come in here. You just wait right here.
Let me have the money. What's that?
After Olivia died, I went over to pick up the mail, and this was in the box.
It's a letter from Nancy. Did they correspond a lot?
Nancy used to send letters to Olivia.
Olivia never answered them. She disowned her.
Where'd the letters come from? All over the country.
Get out of here, mister.
(Rockford) "Dear Mom, I want to come home.
"I got a lot of fences to mend. But I want to try.
"I'm at the Monarch Hotel in Las Vegas, Room 210:
"Please write to me this time. Love, Nancy."
Well, don't let it choke you up. Very touching.
You owe me $200, plus $5 for the gas, and $100 for the letter.
It's 1:30. You haven't put in a full day yet. Where's the receipt for the hundred?
I didn't get one. Why not?
You had to be there. No receipt, no expense payment.
But I'll make you this deal.
You fly up to Vegas, give the check to Nancy Wade...
I'll throw in an extra $200.
You can mail it for a dime. No.
Terms of the policy demand that the payment be made by cashier's check.
It's too risky to mail.
You'll personally give it to Nancy in front of a notary.
You are bonded, of course. Just barely, yeah.
Well, you'll need a roundtrip plane ticket to Vegas.
Flight leaves in about an hour.
I like first class.
I like coach.
[Woman laughing]
Hi. We're full up.
You have a lady here, Nancy Wade, Room 210.
Nobody here by that name. She checked out?
Never has been any Nancy Wade in 210.
This is her picture.
Never saw her before.
[Telephone ringing]
Monarch Hotel. Yeah.
(Nancy) Go away.
It's the fire inspector. Open up, please.
What? Who?
The fire inspector.
Hi. Now wait a minute.
I'm a private investigator.
I work for an insurance company and I have a $10,000 check for you.
Here, wait. Here.
See.
Now may I come in?
Why? What insurance?
Have you heard about your mother? Yeah.
I heard about her from a friend in L.A.
Yeah, this life insurance money, she left it for you.
I'm sorry. I... It's okay.
...just didn't know she had any insurance.
My mother and I, we didn't get along, but...
Hey, it's okay. You don't need to explain.
I'm just delivering a check for a fee.
It's just that I feel such strange about it.
It's not like I couldn't use it. Yeah.
Do you have a bank nearby where we could deposit it?
Bank. Oh, no. I don't have a bank. No.
Just leave it here. I'll take care of it.
It should be notarized, and the best way to do that is to take it to a bank...
and then you can deposit it there.
Look, it's a cashier's check. You should get it deposited.
Miss Wade, are you all right?
Yeah, sure. Of course.
There's a bank right down on the highway in a shopping center.
Should we use that one?
Just a minute.
Miss, are you in some kind of trouble?
Look, it's none of your business.
If I need a guy on a white horse, I'll call the circus. Okay?
I'm glad we got that settled.
Get in the car. They're coming.
[Engine starting]
Let's get moving.
[Engine starting]
[Tires screeching]
[Telephone ringing]
How do you do? My name is Rockford. This is Miss Wade.
Herb Strock. What can I do for you?
I have a cashier's check for $10,000.
It's payment on a life insurance policy.
Miss Wade would like to open an account, and I'll need the transaction notarized.
Proof of delivery.
That can be arranged.
On deposits like these, we need some information.
IRS and all that.
If you'll write down your full name and Social Security number...
we'll feed it into the computer.
Just take this over to Mrs. Trask. Right over there. She's a notary public.
Thank you.
How do you do, Mrs. Trask? Hello.
Mr. Strock sent us over. We're opening an account.
My name is Rockford. This is Miss Wade, and she's opening the account.
It's Nancy Wade. W-A-D-E.
Everything all right?
I'm not sure. What's wrong?
You said you wanted to open an account here.
Yeah. According to our records...
you already have an account here with $300,000 in it.
There must be some mistake.
No. Not with the same Social Security number. Look.
I think we better call the bank manager. Mrs. Trask, get Mr. Stewart right away.
Come on! Get in! Get off me.
Get in the car. No, let go of me.
Let's go!
[Tires screeching]
I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know what's going on here.
Neither do I.
But I can assure you that Miss Nancy Wade has $300,000 on deposit here.
Well, I'd like to deposit this in her account and have it notarized.
Of course, but we'll have to get her to authorize it.
What for? Well, for the banking commission...
regulating board of governors, half-a-dozen bank officers...
but mostly for me.
Because if I don't get her signature for her power of attorney, I get fired.
I'm sorry. Believe me, I'd like to accommodate you.
She's a very strange young lady.
When somebody has $300,000 in the bank, you don't call them strange.
What do you call them? Eccentric.
Operator, I'd like to place a person-to-person call, please...
to Mr. Edward Moss...
of the Western Mutual Insurance Company in Los Angeles, please.
[Telephone beeping]
Yes, Mr. Rockford.
Yeah, Mr. Moss. I'm afraid I have some very distressing news for you.
You've lost the check. How did you know?
Because it's the one thing you could do that would distress me.
Well, I didn't really lose it.
To tell the truth, it was stolen. As a matter of fact, I was attacked.
That's comforting. You did say you were bonded.
Yeah, even if I don't get the check back
You're covered.
Problem is...
I'm running a little low on cash. I wonder if you could wire me a couple...
That's out of the question.
Mr. Moss, I don't think you fully grasp the picture.
Now my bonding company will cover the check...
and then they'll drop me.
The word will get out. I'll be out of the business.
You were hired to find Miss Wade and give her the check.
You've lost her and the check. Until they're recovered...
Western Mutual has no obligation to pay you.
Call me when this situation has been corrected.
[Dial tone]
[Engine starting]
I'll be damned.
[Audience applauding]
[People chattering]
[Cutlery clattering]
[Engine starting]
Take the girl to the trailer. Okay.
Now, Ken, don't you think you're overreacting?
How much time did you actually have on those books?
Long enough. An hour and a half?
With all those phone ringings and interruptions.
I wanted you here because I wanted to explain it to you.
I understand holding companies. I understand cross collateral.
And I understand your books, Mr. Robertson.
Ken, you're making a mistake, a very big mistake.
No, I made that when I associated myself with you.
We have nothing more to discuss. All right.
[Car engine starts]
Bye.
This is Robertson.
(Rockford) Bring the girl to the house.
Okay. Come on. I said come on!
Darn! I do that every time. Come on.
[Horse neighing]
Hey! You! Come on!
[Gun firing]
[Tires screeching]
Terrific.
This is a good out-of-the-way place. They'll never find us here.
What are you looking out there for? We lost them.
I didn't think things could get any worse. Why didn't you stay out of it?
You didn't bother to ask me if I wanted to go with you.
It never occurred to me. I could have handled it.
I could've promised that I wouldn't make trouble.
But then you come charging in like this...
Why are you eating? I'm hungry.
You don't understand, do you? You don't know how much trouble you're in.
I have been shot at, hit over the head, robbed of $10,000.
Incredible as it may seem, all by myself I figured out I was in a little trouble.
Now I'd like to know why.
What does it take to get through to you? I want you to leave me alone.
Not until you tell me what's going on.
No! Yes.
And that's the only way you stand a chance of getting rid of me.
[Sighs]
All right.
I was sick of working in dives, singing for drunks...
scratching for the rent money.
About six months ago, I was working in a club in Lexington, Kentucky.
And a man named Robertson walked in, and he said he thought I had talent.
And he wanted to back me. You jumped at the chance?
You bet I did.
Haven't you ever wanted something so much...
that you didn't care how you got it? Haven't you?
I signed a lot of contracts with this record company...
Focus Records, power of attorney, personal management.
He brought me out here to Las Vegas.
I've been making more money than I ever saw in my whole life...
$200 a week.
$200 a week for a Vegas lounge act?
You got to be making more than that.
$200 is all I see.
According to Mr. Robertson's private ledgers...
I am making $25,000 a week at the lounge...
and $20,000 from the record company.
When did you find that out? About ten days ago.
He has a new secretary.
And she and I became sort of friendly and she told me about these ledgers...
that he keeps in an antique cabinet in his office.
She saw them and she told me.
It sounds like you've been taking in laundry...
which accounts for the $300,000 in the bank.
It's syndicate money.
They've been using me to channel it into legitimate business fronts.
I didn't even know. When you found that out...
you shouldn't have tried to run. You should've gone to the cops.
I couldn't! If I went to the police...
then the Internal Revenue Service would start checking.
I don't have any proof against anybody. All the money is in my name.
I would be the one to go to jail. Now don't you see what you've done?
What I've done?
I was gonna talk to Mr. Robertson and promise him I wouldn't say anything...
if he would give me back my contract and let me go.
Nancy, you don't walk away from men like Robertson.
Once you're in, you're in. Or you're dead.
There must be something I could do.
Not without bargaining power.
Who's this Mr. Mamoto or Mamato?
He represents a Japanese company, Audiometrics.
You know where we can find him?
I went to a party at his house a couple of weeks ago. Why?
Well, he doesn't like Mr. Robertson's bookkeeping, either.
Now, you got everything you need here?
Don't open the door. Don't look out the window.
I'll pick you up in the morning.
I don't know. I'm not a citizen of this country.
What you're proposing, breaking and entering, burglary.
No, I'll be doing all those things.
What I'm asking you to do is perfectly legitimate.
Nice try.
You looked at Robertson's phonied-up books once before.
What's wrong with asking for an appointment to look at them again?
Because while I'm looking at them, you'll be trying to steal the real ledgers...
making me an accessory to a whole series of crimes.
Miss Wade. Mr. Mamato, I'm out $10,000.
Is that all?
Well, it may not seem like too much to the high rollers, but to me...
it'd put me outta business. If I can get my hands on the books...
I can do some horse trading, get my check back.
What about my contract?
I'm not unsympathetic, Mr. Rockford...
but $10,000 doesn't seem like much...
when you're worried about three-quarters of a million.
That's how much Robertson took you for?
I can't tell from the books that he showed me.
Audiometric manufactures audio cassettes and players.
For the past year, year and a half, we've been getting into the album market.
And very quietly, we've been buying into Focus Records.
And now you're wondering what you bought for three-quarters of a million dollars.
(Mr. Mamato) Exactly.
I'd like to have a look at those private ledgers.
I have quite an investment at stake.
So have I. So have I.
You both keep talking about money.
What about me? What about my contract? Don't you care about people?
I didn't forget about your contract. You didn't mention it.
I didn't forget about it. Just don't worry about it.
Does that mean you're gonna take care of it?
Yes. How?
Just one thing at a time.
Ken, it's good to see you.
All right. Keep looking. I want you to find her.
I want you to find both of them.
I'm glad you came. How are you?
Fine. How's everything with you, Tom?
Just fine. I'm glad you thought it over.
Look, this time no phones, no interruptions.
If I have any questions, you'll be there to answer them.
Absolutely. I will be there every minute...
and when you look at those books, you're gonna be surprised.
Ken, once we get these records straight, you'll realize this was a mistake.
We'll see. I'm telling you...
[rattling]
What was that? I'll be right back, Ken.
Wait a minute, Tom. What's the matter?
You were going to give me some answers. Right.
I'd like one now. What are you talking about, Ken?
Talk To Me was on the charts for ten months.
It got a lot of play, and I know it sold.
But according to your books, it never got off the ground.
Would you mind explaining that?
Come on, those are probably just preliminary figures.
All right. I'll have a look. Okay?
There you go.
I got a fast 20 minutes for lunch, and you're not helping my appetite much.
I'm giving you a chance to be a hero.
I work for the U.S. District Attorney's office, not a swap meet.
Okay. Look.
I'm giving you enough information to put Robertson away for a long time...
and I get out from under. What's wrong with that?
What's wrong with it is you can be arrested on a half-a-dozen charges.
Those are serious felonies. Look, Mr. Hanzer...
the bottom line is I'm not gonna do 10 years...
and I'm not gonna get myself killed. Okay?
No, it's not okay. Chilidog. Make it two.
I'm sorry, I couldn't do it by the book. That's just the way it went.
Rockford, you can't take the law into your own hands.
I didn't like the alternatives.
What does it take to get you moving, anyway?
Somebody got to splatter my brains all over the street?
All right, let's say it happens that way.
Let's say it doesn't.
Just wire me for sound, and we'll agree on a code word.
Let's say, "Geronimo."
How are you gonna work that into a conversation?
How the hell do I know? I'm gonna deal with or without your help.
With it, you get Robertson.
Without it, I still get my $10,000. It's up to you.
Either way, I deal. I don't know.
Don't worry, pal. We'll make it work out.
[Telephone ringing]
Yeah. I'll take it.
Mr. Rockford.
Yeah, I'm sorry about the bookcase.
You mind telling me what you're doing, besides getting yourself killed?
You don't want to scare me, Mr. Robertson.
I'm liable to turn your books over to the cops.
Do you still have the books?
You still got my wallet?
Okay. What is it you're after?
You certainly didn't get involved in all this for 10 grand, did you?
I would have done it for five.
I'm a businessman. I'd still like to stay in business.
Now I could keep those books and bleed you dry.
But, then, blackmail has a way of turning nasty.
So I have what I think is a fair proposition. Like what?
I give you the books. You give me my check and my wallet.
And that's it? That's it.
And if you still have those two gorillas looking for me, put them back in their cage.
What guarantee do I have that you won't bring the cops in?
You pick the place for the exchange. I come alone. You come alone.
Okay.
All right.
You got yourself a deal. Where?
Just a little quiet place...
where you and me can have a private business dealing.
I got my check. You got your books. They are your books, aren't they?
You ought to know. You stole them.
Everybody's happy, except Geronimo.
Not quite, Rockford.
I want the girl.
I don't know where she is. I don't believe you.
You wanted your books, you got them.
Even Geronimo would say that's a fair deal.
What? You got your books.
Look, Rockford. The girl could hurt me.
She wasn't part of our deal.
[Car door opening]
Hey, you said you were coming alone. I lied.
I want Nancy Wade.
Either you give her to me, or you're dead.
Since you put it that way.
Geronimo!
[Car tires screeching]
Behind you. Police!
What did you do? Drop your guns! Go stone deaf?
We got here, didn't we? I'll get Robertson.
[Panting]
Got you.
He said he was gonna be here.
I hope he didn't leave and go home. Relax, will you?
You've just got out of one contract.
Don't be in such a hurry to sign another one.
I'm a little impulsive, I guess. Yeah, I guess.
(Mr. Mamato) Nancy, Jim.
[People chattering]
Sit down, please.
Hi. Hi.
Listen, Nancy.
I know it's a little soon to be talking about a new deal...
but the Focus Recording Company in Japan would like to sign you.
Really? Really.
Look, I haven't got the whole deal roughed out yet...
but it's gonna be something like this.
We'll give you $50,000 in guaranteed trade promotion.
We'll have your picture beat around to every rack jobber and one stop in the business.
And you'll get a 7% deal on a 100% of retail.
Really?
And we should probably start with a five-year term deal...
with annual option clauses. Hey, hold it.
I don't want to be a killjoy, but what's the hurry?
Jim, this doesn't concern you.
It's between Nancy and me.
Hey, why don't you go take a dip in the pool?
No offense.
Why don't you go soak your head? No offense.
Now we've only known you a fast 18 hours.
You may be the Jack the Ripper of the record business.
A five-year contract with annual renewal clauses.
What kind of a chicken deal is that?
Hey, bug off.
Nancy, do yourself a favor, hon. Go slowly.
I know you mean well, Jim.
And I know you really want to do what's best for me.
But bug off.
[Chuckles]
No offense.
Yeah.