Carol Thorne (Lynnette Mettey) may well think Jim’s crazy, but the fact is, we routinely see that Jim Rockford is one heck of a driver. I don’t know if Garner’s doing all his own driving—probably not; it would be foolish to risk your star that way. But it was one of the recurring details of Jim’s character. He ends up in an awful lot of car chases, and most of the time, he’s able to get free through sheer fancy driving. Though sometimes, it’s the kind of luck he always ends up with—sometimes good, sometimes bad.
He’s hired by Mr. (Robert Symonds) and Mrs. (Irene Tedrow) Hoad. Or so he’s told. They want him to track Carol Thorne, whom they believe will lead him to their son, Cliff (Jim Antonio). Now, they want to find Cliff, all right. But that’s because Cliff was in on a robbery three years earlier and is sitting on the money. He’s really Miles Keeley, and she’s really Dixie. He was part of the robbery gang. They want their money, and they want to share it with as few people as possible, thanks all the same.
It’s nice to see that Jim’s in a simple, old-fashioned caper. It’s not the mob. It’s not a vicious killer. It’s just a bunch of people interested in stolen money. Jim’s interested, too, though it’s worth noting that Jim cares more about the idea of a finder’s fee than the idea of just running off with the whole bundle. There’s a reward. The reward would be legal money. Less money, but the lack of stress is worth something by itself, after all. Cliff’s been on the lam for three years and unable to spend the stolen money; the reward spends the same day and is free of worry.
While Jim does take a lot of heat from the alleged parole officer, it’s also quite clear that it’s the first sign he has that there’s something wrong. If you’ve been pardoned, they can’t send you back to prison for associating with ex-cons. And Jim has explicitly been pardoned. The way cops keep pressuring various of Jim’s associates stems from their being on parole. The rules on parole are very different.
I will say that Jim does one thing that bothers me, and it’s one of the things James Bond does that bothers me. (That’s a considerably longer list.) He surely does introduce himself as James Rockford a lot. Not always, but often enough. Or Jim. But it does seem a bit silly to me to introduce yourself by your real name when you’re getting to know a woman you’ll be spending time with over the course of a few days. That’s easy enough to look up, isn’t it?
Take Care of Rockford Files: Jim’s threatened with a gun. There’s a car chase. Another light week—is Jim slipping?
Lynnette Mettey was all over the place in the 70s, and played love interests for Kojak, Quincy, and Hawkeye Pierce. She was also in the first regular episode of Columbo (the one directed by Stephen Spielberg).