The Rockford Files: While returning to Los Angeles with some bail money for a client, Jim suffers with car trouble and is forced to stop over at the Great Blue Lake, a small town in development. On the advice of the car mechanic, Jim puts the $10,000 bond money in the safe at the Land and Development Office, ensuring to get a receipt from employee Murray Johnson. Being cautious, Jim follows Johnson home sees him use a hidden key to enter. The next day Jim goes back to the Land office, but because Johnson is not present speaks to owner Walter Hart regarding the $10,000. Hart does not believe Jim, because his receipt bears the name of a man Hart does not employ, so Jim calls Sheriff Mitchell, and discovers the $10,000 is not in the safe. Jim takes Mitchell to Johnson’s home, only to find it occupied by Mildred, a waitress. Although Jim shows her the hidden key, she has never heard of Murray Johnson. Jim is determined to regain the money – not caring how, so calls Rocky and asks him to come and bring along ‘Fast Harry’ De Nova. Harry is reluctant, but owes Jim a favour from prison so goes undercover as a salesman for the Land Office. Rocky poses as a customer and is shown the lake – which is in fact wide piece of desert land, but the salesman Tanner, can see everything that he describes – its just in development. Rocky reports back to Jim, seeing it as a swindle, when Walter Hart visits, returning Jim’s money that was found with his ex-employee Terry Birch – aka Murray Johnson. Before he can leave the county Jim is arrested for Birch’s murder and jailed. Using Rocky to lead the Sheriff into a false sense of security Jim busts out of jail by walking out the front door, and steals the record ledgers from Hart’s office, offering to exchange them at ‘the Lake’…

Starring:

James Garner, Joe Santos, Noah Beery Jr

Genre:

Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller