All language subtitles for The.Rockford.Files.S01E02.The.Dark.and.Bloody.Ground.1080p.SKST.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track5_[eng]

(radio chatter)

I need a dime!

Well, fill 'er up.

You might have
some change coming.

Give me a dime, or I'm
gonna crack you open

like a piggy bank.

- All right.
- You're angry.

Why would I be angry?

You hired me to do a job,

and I nearly got
killed in the process.

Oh, no.

Now if you think
that's gonna stop me,

you've got a short memory.

(phone ringing)

This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave
your name and message.

I'll get back to you.

(machine beeps)

Hey, Jim, this is Louie

down at the fish market.

You gonna pick up
these halibut or what?

(sirens wailing)

(radio chatter)

(overlapping radio chatter)

No!

Nope.

Jim, you don't mean that.

Look, the last time
we worked together,

I not only didn't
make any money,

I had to
refinance my car.

But I need you.

My client needs you.

She's a pauper.

She doesn't have a cent.

Well, that gives us
something in common.

All she's got is
this little piece

of property in Arizona.

Well, that puts
her one up on me.

It would take her
months to sell it,

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

but because she owns land,

she can't use a public defender.

That's why I
donated my services,

and I knew that once
I explained it to you

that you'd want
to donate yours too.

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

Beth, I spent five
years in prison.

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

Oh!

(waves crashing)

Jim!

No!

(waves crashing)

(line spinning)

(waves crashing)

Do we have to talk out here?

We don't have to talk at all.

Beth, I don't
take charity cases.

They're not part
of my survival kit.

I take them!

You can afford to.

You picked
the right grandfather.

Oh!

Please, Jim.

For me?

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

All right, Jim, I won't
ask for any commitments.

Just meet Ann Calhoun.

Listen to her
side of the story!

No.

- Oh, Ann.
- Hi.

This is the man
I told you about.

Jim Rockford, the best private
investigator money can buy.

Mr. Rockford, oh, thank God.

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

There doesn't seem
to be anything, anybody.

He's going to help you, Ann.

Well, now, wait a minute, Beth.

No commitments, remember?

I said I'd listen.

I didn't say anything
about helping.

(crying)

Boy, you wanna see a workload?

Now that's a workload,
and you got some nerve

to come sniffing around
here about something

which is off my desk,
which is closed.

Becker, sometimes you
sound just like a cop.

I am a cop.

Oh, that must be it.

And how many times
I gotta tell you about coming

around this office?

Now the Calhoun
case is closed.

You wanna waste
your time on it,

fine, but don't waste mine.

How could you close this
case on what you've got?

On what we got?

Witnesses, half the people
in the motel heard

Ann and Kevin Calhoun
having it out,

tearing up the joint--motive.

He told her to go
back to Arizona.

He was staying in LA.

There ain't no better
motive than that.

Woman scorned.

I think that's
what they call it.

Well, not lately.

An opportunity.

After the fight, Calhoun
slams into the bedroom,

and it's quiet for 15 minutes.

15 minutes later,
Ann Calhoun leaves the motel,

and then the fire breaks out.

And you figure she
spent that 15 minutes

killing her husband?

He was smothered,
and that's official.

Direct to you from the coroner.

He was dead before the fire.

No blisters,
no smoke inhalation.

It was supposed to
look like an accident.

She planted a cigarette
in his right hand.

It was burned.

The fire spreads
across his torso

and burns the other hand.

Then you don't have a
positive identification?

Positive iden--his wife
identified him.

There wasn't a mark on his face,

and she admitted
that the two of them

didn't know
a soul in town.

Who else had a motive?

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

He crashed that party.

We checked it out.

Nobody knew 'em.

Or nobody admitted
they knew him.

Becker, you're just gonna
have to get this case

back from the DA.

I mean, it won't hold.

You take opportunity.

You're wide-open on that one.

Calhoun was in his
bed, asleep.

Anybody could have
walked in on him.

Well, hold it,
hold it a minute.

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

It's that flaky attorney,
the one who collects

the lost causes
like they were rare coins.

Beth Davenport.

That's the one.

She's trying to
con you into working

for nothing again, right?

And you figure
we re-open the case,

you're off the hook, right?

That's what I had in mind.

I can see it's not gonna work.

Damn right.

The hot sauce, please.

With your stomach?

Yeah.

We may have a deal.

I knew it.

I knew the minute
you met Ann Calhoun

you'd know she's
not capable of murder.

Well, that isn't
why I'm doing it.

- She's a sweet, gentle woman.
- Look, Beth--

And the case the police
have against her is laughable.

There is not one shred
of hard evidence!

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

I said we may have a deal.

Now you pay my expenses.

I'm donating my services.

I'm not going to make a dime!

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

is innocent, you pay my
expenses plus $200 a day.

And no arguments,
no bargains, no nothing.

That's it, all right?

All right,
we have a deal.

Good, and I'll tell you
what I want you to do.

I want you to
find out everything

Ann knows about her husband,

where he was born,
where he went to school,

where he worked, everything.

I'll come by your place
and pick it up later, all right?

(train horn blowing)

(train signal dinging)

(engine accelerating)

(horn honking)

(tires screeching)

(engine accelerating)

(tires screeching)

(tires screeching)

(tires squealing)

(tires squealing)

(horn honking)

(horns honking)

(engine accelerating)

(tires squealing)

Phew.

Hey, it's an emergency.

I need a dime.

Hey, mister, I don't
even give directions.

Look, somebody just
tried to kill me.

I need a dime.

Well, fill 'er up.

You might have
some change coming.

Give me a dime, or I'm
gonna crack you open

like a piggy bank.

All right, all right.

You got it.

Here, you owe me 90 cents.

Just put it in the tank.

(coin clinking)

Uh, hello,
highway patrol?

Yeah, my name is Jim Rockford,
and I'm at 622-4699.

Do you know where, uh--9.

Do you know where--hey,
what's the name of this place?

Farber's Garage.

You know where
Farber's Garage is?

Well, somebody in a truck
just tried to kill me.

(radio chatter)

Did you find anything?

Like I told you, Mr. Rockford.

We found it.

You can't arrest a tractor.

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

The rig was stole
from the Junction Café

about, uh, three hours ago,
and then it was dumped

two miles north of the highway.

Did you dust it for prints?

No, we didn't.

Me and none of
the boys is licensed

to drive nothing that big.

There's this guy, Burt.

He helps us out
from time to time.

He brought it back
to the station.

Nobody thought to tell Burt
not to wipe any fingerprints

off the steering wheel?

Do you know how
many cars we got?

How many men?

How many miles we got to cover?

Okay, there was a slip up.

You got the
department's apology.

Maybe somebody tried
to kill you, maybe not,

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

Probably turn out some
kid out to have his self

a little fun.

People move here
for their health, huh?

(airplane engine noise)

Hold it right where you are.

Now don't make a move.

Put your hands up.

Up!

Rocky.

Jim, what are you doing here?

I live here,
what are you doing here?

Well, I'm just keeping
an eye on the joint.

You know how it's always
getting all tore up

every time you ain't around.

Why don't you put
that thing away?

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

Oh, I don't need one.

It's yours.

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

Two people try to
kill me in one day,

and one of 'em turned out
to be my own father.

Somebody tried to kill you?

- Are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

Well, somebody tries to
kill you, you're not fine.

What happened?

Let's just try to
forget it, huh, Rocky?

I know.

You think I can't
swallow it straight.

You think I'll
worry, don't you?

Well, won't you?

Look, I'm not the
kinda fella that says

he knows all the answers.

I never was, but for
a man who doesn't like

to get stomped on,

you are in the
wrong line of work.

Not now, Rocky, huh?

You never gave
trucking a chance.

You know, I still
got connections.

I could help
get your A1 myself.

It's good pay, steady work,
and it is safe!

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

Huh?

I just got
my tail chased

halfway across
the state of Arizona

by the front end of a semi.

It tried to run
me off a mountain.

A tractor, was it,
what kind, a Kenworth?

A Mack, what was it,
Peterbilt?

What difference does it make?

What--look, I tried to
show you the differences

before you could walk.

Was it a cab-over?

Well, yeah, it was flat-nosed,
high, it was a cab-over.

Nice paint job,
blue and white,

but what are we talking
about tractors for, huh?

The point is it
tried to kill me.

- No.
- What do you mean no?

Look, suppose we're talking
about something small,

like 14-6.

All right, now you got
14,600 pounds barreling

down the highway at you

at 70 or 80, and they can do it.

They got the gears.

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

Maybe he wasn't a union driver.

Maybe, but I don't think
he wanted to kill you.

I think they wanted to
just scare you to death.

(door closing)

Toothpaste?

Toothpaste.

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

I didn't charge you
for my new jammies.

You're angry.

Why would I be angry?

You hired me to do a job,

and I nearly got
killed in the process.

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

My father wants an autographed
picture of the truck,

and you're so torn up,
you're arguing

over a tube of toothpaste.

(tires squealing)

(horn honking)

Watch out!

You all right?

All right?

Good.

Anybody hurt over there?

No, we're all right.

- What's wrong with you?
- I'm sorry it happened, fellas.

Okay, guys.

Let's get back to work.

What happened?

No brake fluid.

Somebody loosened the fitting
on the master cylinder.

You mean it was deliberate?

Yeah, and that's twice.

Then somebody did try
to kill you in Arizona.

It doesn't make sense.

Nobody knows you're
working for Ann Calhoun,

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

And whoever killed
Kevin Calhoun.

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

He wasn't born
in Arizona at all.

He never worked for
the Central Valley Press.

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

no Social Security
number, no nothing.

Kevin Calhoun never existed.

There's no record of him
prior to your marriage

in Flagstaff
two years ago.

That's impossible,
I knew him,

we were married for two years.

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

How did you meet him?

It was an accident, chance.

He was in Flagstaff.

He'd been traveling.

Listening to the country,
is what he called it.

He was a poet.

Did I mention that?

No.

He was.

Kind, sensitive.

We were very happy.

On the day your
husband was murdered,

he threatened to leave you.

He'd had too much to drink.

He didn't mean it.

But you argued.

He slammed the door,
went into the bedroom.

What happened during
that 15 minutes

before you left the motel?

Jim.

Nothing, nothing happened.

I was angry, hurt, so
I went out for a walk.

Why doesn't anyone believe me?

All right, all right.

About that party
you went to in Bel Air,

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

He didn't crash,
he was invited.

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

We didn't.

At least I didn't.

Kevin must have known someone
because he was invited.

You sound pretty
sure about that.

Why?

The way he behaved.

He wasn't hiding from anyone.

He was there very openly.

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

Did you have any
trouble getting in?

No.

Well, didn't you ask
him how he got there,

who invited him?

No.

I saw he had had
too much to drink.

We... left almost immediately.

You weren't even curious, huh?

I mean, on the way home
in the car you didn't ask him?

On the way home,
no, I didn't.

We started to argue the
minute we got in the cab

because he said he didn't wanna
go back to Arizona again, ever.

You ever seen them before?

Yes, at the party.

Who are they?

That's Elizabeth Gorman
and Clyde Russell.

Those are your hosts.

You weren't introduced?

No.

There must have been
over 200 people there.

Did you ever see your
husband talking to 'em?

He didn't, not
while I was there.

Why?

Well, you say you were invited.

They say you crashed.

I hired you to investigate,
not to prosecute.

What were you doing in there?

You were acting as though
Ann killed Kevin Calhoun.

As far as I know, she did.

Jim.

Beth, there are only two people
who are above suspicion.

That's you and me.

If you can lose sight of that,
you're not the attorney

I think you are.

What are you poking
around in there for?

The car's fixed.

I just wanna make sure
it didn't get un-fixed.

Well, at least you
came up with something,

although I've never heard
of Elizabeth Gorman

and Clyde Russell.

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

the royal family.

Who are they?

Well, I couldn't find out
too much on them.

They're new in town.

Lots of money.

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

The movie?

Oh, they do have money.

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

Hm.

Gorman.

Gorman--somebody named
Gorman wrote the book.

Where are we going?

To the police station.

Why?

Well, I've got to tell 'em what
I found out about Kevin Calhoun.

We're sitting on evidence, Beth.

Oh, no.

Now if you think
that's gonna stop me,

you got a short memory.

Oh, wait, wait!

Don't tell me.

Tell them.

(horn honking)

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

I've already given it to you.

Evidence in a capital crime.

I'm counsel for the defense.

You're acting as my agent.

There's no question
of withholding evidence.

You're on firm and legal ground.

How firm?

Information that you
uncover as an investigator,

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

You are not required, by law,
to divulge said information

to the police.

There's nothing about it
in the penal code,

but it's common
knowledge and practice.

It's an unwritten law.

There are no
unwritten laws, Beth.

Trust me.

Kevin Calhoun assumed
a false identity.

We don't have any reason.

That's what I want you
to find out when you confront

Elizabeth Gorman
and Clyde Russell.

What do you want me
to confront them with?

How do I know,
whatever works.

You're making 200 a day.

Plus expenses.

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

Are you implying
that I could be bought?

Yes.

What are you doing now?

I'm gonna go find a telephone,
and I'm gonna call an attorney.

I need some legal advice.

I'm an attorney.

Yeah.

(horse hooves hitting ground)

You know, I walked right by you.

Right by.

Did you get the time
on Carried Boys?

I had a shot at her in a
claiming race two years ago,

but I let her go.

Could have had her
for $5,000, yeah.

She looks awfully good.

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

Jim, I thought we settled

all that Mr. Rockford
business at your party.

Oh, I've been meaning to call
you and say thanks again,

and I'm sorry.

For what?

Oh, about your guest?

Oh, what was his name?

Mr. Kevin Calhoun.

I read about it in the paper.

I read about it too.

Sad business, sad.

Not all that sad, Mr. Rockford.

We didn't even know the man.

You didn't?

You mean he crashed the party?

It doesn't seem possible.

Well, shouldn't have happened.

Elliot is very good at
opening the right doors

and closing them
on the wrong people.

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

Elliot Malcolm.

- Yes.
- No.

Elliot, he was at the party.

Mr. Rockford was
not at the party.

I guess I just have
one of those faces.

Your face was
not at the party,

and your name wasn't
on the guest list.

I made it out myself.

You crashed the party too.

- I'm afraid so.
- Not a chance.

Well, there were over
200 people there, Elliot.

I said not a chance.

I had a guard on every gate,
I had a guard on every door.

Nobody got into that party that
I did not want at that party.

You make it sound impossible.

It was impossible.

I'm not gonna argue with you.

You're the expert on doors.

Nobody crashed the party.

Not me, not Kevin Calhoun.

I didn't say that.

Yes, you did.

What was that all about?

Probably a lawyer
checking out the party.

Somebody was just
indicted for that murder.

And you just told him
that Kevin Calhoun

was invited to the party,

and our statements to the
police say that he crashed.

That's one of
the things he does.

Elliot puts parties together
and makes introductions.

Elliot went to all
the right schools,

knows all the right people,

and knows how
to make them pay off.

Well, evidently he's gonna
marry Elizabeth Gorman.

Eh, new money.

What does that mean?

Old money would
never marry Elliot.

Uh, tell me something, Beth.

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

Of course not.

Why would you ask
a thing like that?

I don't even have new money.

(knocking at door)

Rocky?

No, it's Beth.

I found out who killed
Kevin Calhoun.

- Who?
- Clyde Russell.

Why?

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

I start--why
aren't you dressed?

I am dressed, for bed.

Well, put your clothes on.

I started looking into
Clyde Russell's background,

and I found that
he's into copyrights.

Now that's a very
specialized field,

so I asked a friend of mine,

an expert,
to help me, and he--

For $200, you could
put your clothes on.

Anyway, there is the
most peculiar thing

about the copyright
law in this country.

I mean, it's insane.

It sounds as if the whole thing
were written by a mad man.

Listen, wouldn't you think

that when a company buys
a book that they own it?

Especially if the
contract says so.

Yeah.

Well, they do, except--

It'd be a lot easier
if I could look at you

when I'm talking to you.

Not for me.

Except what?

Except for this kinky law.

A company can buy a book
for a million dollars,

but when the copyright
renewal time comes up,

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

It's not theirs anymore.

Can you believe that?

No.

Are you sure?

Positive.

17 U.S.C. 24.

It's all there.

But what's all that?

Title 17, United States
Code Section 24.

You mean to say
somebody can spend

a million dollars for a book,
and just because the author

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

That's it.

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

Hm.

And that's exactly
what happened

with The Dark and Bloody Ground.

They were halfway
through the picture

when her husband died.

That's when
Clyde Russell moved in.

Elizabeth didn't know
she suddenly owned

the rights to the book.

So Clyde made a deal with her,

and then he hit
the motion picture company

for 25%.

The biggest thing since
Birth of a Nation, yeah.

Which makes Clyde Russell
an opportunist, not a murderer.

Jim, Clyde Russell--

(phone ringing)

Would you excuse me a minute?

Hello?

Mr. Rockford?

It's Clyde Russell.

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

That's right.

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

today, and I think we've got
to talk about Kevin Calhoun.

I bought the old Blackford
place at 3972 Ambazac Road

in Bel Air,
do you know the house?

Yeah, I think I
know where it is.

Just let yourself in
the back way, will you?

The gate will be open,
and come straight

to the pool house.

The pool house.

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

Clyde Russell
resigned from the Bar.

Well, don't you get it?

Nobody resigns from the bar

unless they got something
pretty shady to hide.

Clyde Russell is a
high-class ambulance chaser,

only he chases copyrights.

Kevin Calhoun was a writer.

No, Kevin Calhoun was a poet.

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

Well, there's something there,

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

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

After what happened
at the track today?

You couldn't get
in the back gate.

10 bucks says I can.

You're on.

Shall we call an ambulance?

He won't need an ambulance.

Oh.

Hey, hey.

I'll be all right.

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

Come on.

(gunshot)

Go call the police.

(tires screeching)

(horn honking)

(tires screeching)

(horn honks)

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

I got hung up at the hospital.

- You're hurt.
- No, I'm fine.

Elliot Malcolm got messed up
pretty good though.

Elliot killed Clyde?

Yeah, and he tried to kill us.

Me twice.

I don't believe it,
he's not the type.

Because he went to
the right schools?

He's the type.

He's just not very good at it.

Has he confessed?

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

But if I figured it out,

they're gonna be
right behind me.

Come on, I want to get
to Elizabeth Gorman's

before they do.

(knocking at door)

Elliot, I have been--

When it's bad news,
I knock first.

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

I'm gonna have
to call the police.

Well, you won't have to.

They should be along any minute.

Elliot Malcolm's
in the prison ward

of the Santa Monica Hospital.

- Is he, uh--
- Oh, he'll be fine

in time for the trial.

What trial?

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

I don't believe you.

You don't have to.

You can check it out
with the cops.

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

He didn't even know about it,
but he figured it out,

so, uh, he had to go.

Elliot was just protecting
you, or should I say,

he was protecting
his investment?

He's talking now, Elizabeth.

And he's gonna keep
right on talking.

He's got nothing more to lose.

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

It might help you
with your answers

when the police get here.

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

Not even when they start
asking about your husband?

Mr. Rockford,
would you mind leaving?

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

I don't believe
that Clyde's dead,

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

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

(sighs)

I'm warning you,
just leave me alone.

Oh, you are alone.

This came off
during the accident.

"To Elliot, with all my love,

Elizabeth."

According to this,
your husband was killed

in a boating accident
off the coast of Mexico,

only his body
was never recovered.

Kevin Calhoun was Steve Gorman.

When he heard
about the movie,

he showed up here to get
his slice of the money,

and you killed him
to protect your interests.

(police sirens wailing)

I thought he was dead.

For three years I
had to live with that.

Believe me, that hurt.

And then one day,
the day of the party,

he shows up with a
new name and a new wife.

No explanations
and no apologies.

He was there to collect the
money with no thought to me

or what I'd been through,

and no more thought than when
he faked the boating accident

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

And what he put me through,

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

(police sirens wailing)

That's why I killed him.

(crying)

Have you heard
from Ann Calhoun?

She phoned me from
Flagstaff this morning.

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

10 cents a mile?

I thought it was 7.

It is, if you're
a nostalgia buff.

That toothpaste
is still on here.

That's right.

All right, I'll pay it.

Thanks, sport.

Oh, but the spark plug
lead and this brake job?

Parts and labor?

I'm afraid that'll
have to come off.

What are you talking about?

Now those represent
attempts on my life

and yours in the line of duty.

Attempts that were only possible
because of your negligence.

You should have
locked your car.

The hood?

There's no lock on the hood.

Then I suggest
you have one installed.

This sort of thing
must crop up all the time

in the line of work you do.

Just give it to me,
give it back to me.

Forget about the expenses.

I don't wanna talk
about it anymore.

Give us two tacos, please.

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

Oh, don't be ridiculous, Jim.

I'm going to pay you
for your services

and your expenses,

just as soon as
Ann Calhoun pays me.

Well, that wasn't our deal.

Of course it was.

Don't tell me you
misunderstood me?

Naturally, payment
will take some time.

Ann doesn't have much,

except for that
little piece of property.

And who knows how long
it'll take to sell it,

and how much
she'll get for it.

Okay, okay, Beth.

How about a compromise, huh?

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

You retain me on
the Elizabeth Gorman case.

Now you owe me that much.

I'm the one that recommended
you, and she can afford me.

She can afford you,
but she doesn't need you.

I have a brilliant
defense planned.

She'll be out in six months.

But you know, I am
working on another case,

and we could certainly
use your help on that.

Of course, the man
is virtually penniless,

but you'll love him, Jim.

He's 70 years old,
but alert--

Jim?

Jim!