All language subtitles for The Rockford Files S00e01 Backlash Of The Hunter (1)

You're a sentimentalist.
How strange.

I did that backdrop…

What are you gonna do,
kill somebody else?

Shut up!

Would you look at that?

He's back in the pokie again!

You gotta be one of the dumbest-looking ape
I have ever saw!

BACKLASH OF THE HUNTER (I)
Season 1 / Pilot

This is Jim Rockfort.

At the tone leave your name and message,
I'll get back to you…

Billings, LAPD…

You know Thursday is Chapmans 20th year

and we're giving a little surprise party
at the Captain's.

I think you should come… By the way,
we need 5 bucks for the present!

Sync and corrections: BLU DUAINE
blu.duaine@gmail.com

Jerry, telephone.

- Yellow…
- Hello, Jerry, it's Milly.

Yeah, I was just about to call you.

I think we're in trouble…

Hey, you!

Ha?

Got to get off or pay for the return trip.
We're at the beach.

I've got to meet somebody.

I got to stay here
until he gets here.

Don't make me throw you off!

Bye, Mr. Butler. That's right.

Yeah.

Beautiful.

You j… just relax.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

You did me good, Mr. Butler.

Just right.

Everything is gonna be
all right now.

Some of these cases
are still "possibles."

I don't have enough time to talk to
the people listed on the AR reports.

I don't like it better than you do…

but we don't have time to
screw around on dead-enders.

Okay, okay…

How about this prosti Janet Nicolas.
You got anything good on that one?

At first we thought that the pimp
was good for it…

but he's got an alibi
that won't quit.

Maybe it's a john.
I don't know.

Dump it.

How about this wino they found
under the pier? Butler… What's with him?

That looks like a mugging,
except for one thing.

He had a pretty good bauble on his finger.
A wedding ring with a half-karat stone.

We had it appraised for $200.

Some diamond…
Probably wouldn't scratch glass.

I got a hunch it's more than a mugging.
Let me hold onto it for a couple more days.

You got anything solid?

I got a feeling, I got a hunch.

Dump it!

I settled up with Mort.

He's got the cabin all stocked
with Scotch.

We could really have
ourselves a hoot, Son.

What have you got that's so important,
you can't go fishing with your old man?

I ain't been a good father
or something?

Come on, Rocky,
don't get personal.

You're broke, right?

Aaa… you should have took
over my rig, Jimmy.

You would have made
a heck of a good trucker.

But no, you got to be
Sam Spade or something.

You're a vicious old coot.

Ten bucks says
it's a bill collector.

Make it 20,
plus welching privileges.

Are you James Rockford?

Yes I am.

My name is Sara Butler.
I'd like to speak with you, if I may.

Sure. Come in.

I bet you're that Miss Butler
from the bank, right?

I beg your pardon.

This is my father,
Joseph Rockford.

How do you do?

Is this your office?

Yeah, it's cheap, it's tax deductible,
earthquake-proof…

and when I get a job out
of town, I take it with me.

I'd like to hire you,
Mr. Rockford.

I'll be at Mort's cabin.
You got the number.

And don't forget
the welching privileges.

I won't.

Nice to have met you.

He's lost a bet. I gave him the right
to renegotiate the loss.

He'd get me drunk and we'll
settle for five bucks.

You want a cup of coffee?

No, thank you.

I hope you can afford me.

I'm sorry. What?

I like to get the business
out of the way up front.

I don't want to shock you, Miss Butler,
but I cost $200 a day, plus expenses.

Two hundred dollars?

Plus expenses.

And I only handle criminal cases
that are closed.

I get myself messed up
in a LAPD active file…

I get my can shot off.

Tell me how you got this wonderful
finishing school approach, Mr. Rockford?

People come to me all the time
and they all have problems.

Sit down. I used to be softhearted
and I'd sit and listen.

But they couldn't
pay the freight.

So they'd leave
and be all depressed…

and I'd be depressed…

and it was turning me off my own business,
so now I do it this way.

If $200 is the price,
that's fine.

Money doesn't happen to be
my particular problem.

I have enough money to hire
a platoon of people like you.

That's Rockford with a "k."

Now, may I assume
I have your attention?

What is it that I can do
for you, Miss Butler?

My father was murdered.

The police don't seem to think
it was very important.

Just a skid row killing.

Skid row?

My father was a wino.

Two years ago, my mother died.

After she died, it seemed
to be all over for him.

I tried to make him forget,
but he started drinking and ended up a bum.

Two months ago
somebody killed him…

and nobody seems to care
who did it but me.

Aren't the police on it?

There was a Detective Becker working on it,

but they closed the case…
so he recommended I come to you.

If homicide can't solve it, there's
a pretty good chance I can't, either.

Well I've just learned something
that I think changes that.

Did you tell the police?

Yes, but they still don't think
there's anything they can do.

What is it?

I'd like you to meet my brother.
He can tell you.

Could you wait outside,
Miss Butler?

I'd like to make a phone call.

Does that mean
you'll take the case?

We'll talk to your brother first,
then I'll let you know. I'll be right out.

I'd like to run a credit check
on a Miss Sara Butler.

Now that's dumb, Sara.
I mean, that's just plain dumb.

I don't want to talk to you, mister,
so you and my sister can just take a hike.

I'm not talking to anybody
about my father.

He was just a drunk.

The hell with him.

He treated you like a queen.

Bought you presents,
told you how pretty you were.

I got to carry his golf bags on Saturday
and take out the garbage.

So you go ahead, Sara,
you have sympathy.

But sympathy is an emotion
that's counterproductive.

Would you rather I take Mr. Rockford
to meet your Mrs. Elias?

You wouldn't.

Come on, Mr. Rockford.
There's someone I'd like you to meet.

Sara, wait a minute.
You can't do this.

Watch me.

You're a cop, huh?

No. What I am, sonny, is about 50 pounds
heavier and one hell of a lot meaner.

So you better straighten up your act.
I don't think I like you.

Yeah, okay.

But just don't bother Mrs. Elias.
I mean, it's not even important.

Sara thinks it's a big deal,
but it's not.

Tell me about it anyway.

This lady that I make deliveries to,
got kind of interested in me.

She heard about my mother dying
and my father getting killed.

She found out that I wanted
to be a doctor. That's all.

That's not all, Nick.
Tell him everything.

She's offered to put me
through medical school.

That's all?

I told you it wasn't much.

Will you tell him the rest?

She orders her pharmaceuticals
from this drugstore…

and has them delivered
to her house in Bel Air.

You see?

No.

Why would she deal with this drugstore?
There's 15 or 20 that are closer to her.

Look, she just does!
Sara, don't blow this for me.

How many times does a guy get a chance
to be put through medical school?

Don't mess it up.

The medical profession needs
more sweet guys like you.

All right. Yeah, thank you.

What's wrong?

I was just beginning
to like you.

I like you, too.

While we were out slapping
your brother around…

I had somebody run
a credit check on you.

Guess what I found out?

What?

You laid some bad paper on me.

People who like each other
hardly ever do that sort of thing.

How stupid of me.
That's my household account.

I'm sorry. I wrote it
on the wrong bank

Knock it off, Sara.

These guys tell me that you're the only
one in town with worse credit than me.

I had to do that.

This is important to me.
He was my father.

Somebody killed him.
They choked him with a necktie.

They took his shoes
and left him on the beach.

And they're not gonna get away with it.
Not if I have anything to say about it.

I'm sorry about that check
but nobody would listen to me.

Will you please take this case,
Mr. Rockford?

Don't you see how strange it is?

Why would she deal with that pharmacy?
It doesn't make sense.

What's that got to do
with your father's death?

I don't know, but it is strange, isn't it?
Admit that.

All right, it's strange,
but it's not that strange.

Now that you've seen Nick,
how many women do you think…

would be interested in sending him
to medical school?

But we haven't seen
Mrs. Elias yet.

She may look like she got dredged
up out of the LA river.

Nick says Mrs. Elias
is very attractive.

All right, Sara.
I say that is a little odd, but…

it's still pretty thin.

I don't see how I can help you.

What is it with you?
Are you independently wealthy…

or just on some kind of
big case or something?

What do you do for a living
when you're not writing bad checks?

I have a small bikini shop.

How much do you make?

Two hundred a week
after expenses.

So you really can't afford me.

No.

Look!

If I don't think
I can solve this case…

and I go ahead and take
everything you make in one week…

for one day of my time,
what does that make me?

I don't think
that's your problem.

I think it makes me
an unprincipled jerk.

Since I don't have any real close friends,
I have to get along with myself.

So I don't take cases where I think
I'm wasting my time or your money.

If you had any.

Wait a minute. What are you doing
for dinner tonight?

What?

I know this restaurant out
in the Valley…

and it's really very lovely.
If you're free…

Sara, don't do that.

All right, I'll look into it for an
hour or so, just for fun. No charge.

If it looks like it's gonna
develop, I'll take it on.

Good.

Here… Don't drop it.
It may bounce up and hit you in the chin.

Funny, very funny.

Oh, I don't know, Jimmy…
Go figure.

If I didn't have to
keep this job, I'd quit.

So quit.

You don't know what it's like
being on parole.

You got sprung
by the Governor. But me…

I got to check in once a week with
some fish named Norman Carter…

and I got to tell him
how it's going.

If my brother-in-law didn't own this paper,
I'd never have gotten out of prison.

No, I'm stuck, baby.
I'm stuck.

I'm sorry to hear it, Angel.

Yeah, well,
I probably had it coming.

I did that bank job.

Yeah?

When we were in prison,

you must have told me
100 times you were innocent.

Well, I wasn't.

How about you?
Did you do that thing?

No, no, I was bad-rapped.

Sure…

Sure!

Look, I told you.
Come on, be straight with me.

You were in
on that robbery, right?

Wrong!

I don't believe you.

Nobody ever did.

Look, did you find
what I wanted?

Yeah. I looked through
some old society columns…

I came up with this stuff
on that Elias twitch.

Here you go.
Take a look at that.

That's kind of strange, huh?

Yeah. Sure is.

When did her husband die?
What's the date?

Aaa… June of last year.
Here it is.

Thank you, Angel.
Let's have dinner, huh?

I can't.
It's a condition of parole:

I can't hang around with
anybody I did time with.

Oh well… when you get off then!

Hey, Jimmy.

Just between us.

You were dirty, right?
You did that thing.

No.

Come on, I'm not gonna tell
anybody. What the hell?

I just wanna know for myself.

No. I never pulled that job.

All right…

If that's the way you want to be about it,
I didn't do the bank job, either.

I never thought you did.

Well, I didn't.

See you, Angel.

The file is closed.
I thought it was a mistake.

But we're getting a homicide
a night down here…

and I've got to devote all my time
to the ones that look solvable.

Dennis, let me have a look
at the file, will you?

I can't do that, Jim.
I can't even tell you about it.

Let's face it, every time you get lucky
and you solve one of these dead cases…

it makes us look stupid.
My captain hates you.

Dennis, Dennis, look…

If you… If you could tell me,
what would you say?

If I could tell you,
I'd probably tell you

that the guy had a $200 diamond
on his finger.

And for my money
that doesn't check out as a robbery.

That's if I could tell you.

I see.

Well, I think I'm gonna poke
around a little.

If you get anything solid,
you'll let me know, right?

Right. And thanks…
for "nothing".

I thought you said
this place was informal.

What are you laughing at?

Nothing.

Listen, I thought we could
work out a deal.

I'm sorry,
I don't have specials anymore.

It's 200 a day, plus expenses.

Why so expensive?

It's not expensive.

It's just a little less than a
good plumber would make…

if he doesn't work
on the weekends.

Besides, it's dangerous.

Strange thing
about unsolved cases.

There's always someone in the shadows
who doesn't want them reopened.

You'd be surprised
how nasty they can be.

What if I paid you
on the installment plan?

I did that once and got stiffed.
Ended up in Small Claims Court.

Would you care for cocktails?

Scotch and water, please.

Make it two.

I'm trying to hire you but I guess
you just don't want to work for me.

You're not trying to hire me,
you're trying to chisel me.

How big an installment?

Twenty-five dollars a week.

Is that all?

I'll pay you, Mr. Rockford,
I promise.

That means if I work for you
for one day,

you owe me $25 a week
for eight weeks.

Are you sure
that's what you want to do?

Okay, we got a deal.

Why did you take it?

Oh, I looked into Mrs. Elias's background.
I found something strange.

Three years ago,
she was a dancer here in LA.

Did a lot of TV variety shows.

Why is that strange?

Well… She married a man
by the name of William Elias.

Mr. Elias was 68 years old…

and looked like he'd been dumped
out of a vacuum cleaner,

but he had $10 million dollars.

So they were married in Las Vegas
and on their wedding night, he croaked.

Hmm…

But I don't see how that ties
in with my father's death?

I don't either.

It didn't even happen within 10 months
of when your father was killed.

But Nick's medical school offer…

that's also strange,
and I don't like coincidences.

So, I'll look into it
for a day or so.

Thank you, Mr. Rockford.

My father is Mr. Rockford.
I'm Jim.

Thank you, Jim.

Oh well, I don't mind telling you
that his widow, Mrs. Elias…

was treated very badly
by the authorities.

They felt she had killed him because of
the amount of money involved…

but also because she was
30 years younger.

The fact that he died
on their wedding night.

That all sounds
pretty reasonable.

Yes, well, maybe… But you should have
seen his respiratory system.

His arteries were hard enough to pound
through two inches of concrete.

There is no way it could have been induced
by electric shock, or drugs, or something?

No!
As I said, Mr. Rockford…

Mr. Elias had a cousin who was trying
to cut himself into the will.

He had four different doctors
examine the body after I did.

They all came
to the same conclusion.

Mr. Elias died of a very natural
and inevitable heart attack.

Thank you.

Mr. Rockford?

Are you planning
to reopen the case?

Because if you are, and you're interested
in a medical opinion…

you're wasting your time.

Thank you for seeing me, Doctor.

Hello.

Oh, hello. Mrs. Elias?

I don't know whether you remember me,
but this is Dr. Seelman.

Oh, yes, of course
I remember, Doctor…

you did the autopsy on William.

I didn't want to bother you,
but there is a man up here…

who seems quite interested
in the coroner's report I filed.

Oh! How strange…

Yes… I felt very badly about the way
you were treated when your husband died.

Thank you, Doctor.
You wouldn't happen to have his name?

Oh, yes I do…
I have his card.

James Rockford.

It says that he's a private investigator
who specializes in closed cases.

There's no address on the card.

I see. Thank you
very much, Doctor.

Uh… Mrs. Elias…

if you ever get up
to Las Vegas…

I hope we might see each other.

Yes, of course, Dr. Seelman.
I still have your number.

Let's make a date and… plan on it.
Could I call you back later?

Of course.

Yes, I'm always in the office.

Okay, yhank you very much, Doctor.
Goodbye.

Yup, yup.

Jerry, telephone.

Yellow…

Hello, Jerry, it's Milly.

Where's this week's check?

Forget the check. It'll be there.
I've got to see you!

Hi.

Hi.

Just got back from Vegas.

The coroner who did the autopsy says
that Mr. Elias died of a heart attack.

He swears it's legit.
There is no possibility it was induced.

Well, if there was some connection
between my father and Mr. Elias,

maybe he's lying.

Why?

Well, maybe she paid him.

There were four other
doctors involved.

If you want my opinion,
it's a dead end.

Does that mean
you're off the case again?

Yeah… Look I didn't charge you for the
time, 10 hours driving up to Vegas and back.

I just…

put in seven cents
a mile and the gas…

and the time I spent working on it up there
and the two phone calls here.

It comes to $75. It's tax deductible.
This is your receipt.

What kind of a jerk are you?

My own kind, I guess.

Look, Sara, I'm sorry. I…

I know you want to find out
who killed your father, but…

Well…

If you wanna take the advice
of a friend, forget it.

Even if you find out
who killed him…

he'll still be dead and you won't feel
any better about it. Believe me.

You don't know
anything about it.

You're standing there with
your seven cents a mile

and your two phone calls…

and you're trying to tell ME
about my father.

Well. I'm GOING to find out
who killed him.

It was nice knowing you, Sara.

I think you better bury your father
before he buries you.

Yes?

It's Jim Rockford.

Look… I was thinking there's still
one other thing I could look into.

What's wrong Jim? You just figure out
you're overdrawn at the bank?

You don't have to get smart.

Now, I might take a look at Mrs. Elias.

If she's sending eight other guys
through medical school… Well…

maybe you'll give up on all this.

How about it? If that's the case,
we got a deal?

You there?

Yes.

Tell you what I'll do.
I'll make this half-price.

Thank you, Jim. But don't hurt
Nick's chances for medical school.

- Damn it!
- What's wrong?

I tore my picture.
I'll call you later.

You don't look much
like a dean of admissions.

What do I look like?

You look like a truck driver
in a suit.

I'm not.

Actually, being a dean of admissions
is quite a challenging job.

Most people don't realize it, but…

at Mollar we have at least 1,200
applications for every opening.

Oh? Twelve hundred?!

What a job you must have
screening them out…

I had no idea.

Most of those
are multiple applications.

That means they are people who are
also applying to other medical schools.

I see. Well…
What is that you want of me, Dean…

Simpson. Carter Simpson.

It says that you're the one
who is going to pay for…

Nicholas's education at Mollar
and uh…

Since you are not related
to Nicholas Butler…

We just wanted to make sure that you're
willing to pay for the whole four years.

What we're trying to determine is…
just how…

deep your interest
in Nicholas really is.

I don't think that came out
the way I wanted it.

Nick Butler is a very bright young man,
whose mother and father are both dead.

I'm very wealthy, so I've decided
to do this boy a favor.

Does that answer your question?

Yes, almost.
Just one other thing.

The school would like to know
if you could set up some sort of trust…

to guarantee the full four years.

Believe me, it's not that we
don't trust your word… It's just…

we have to have certain guarantees.

After all, it's going to come
to almost $15,000 a year.

Call my attorney. He'll take care
of all the arrangements.

Oh, that's wonderful.
Thank you. Thank you.

You know, Miss…
Mrs. Elias…

since you are interested,
we have other needy applicants.

Perhaps you'd be interested
in helping some of them.

No, Nick is my only charity case.

Goodbye.

That's a lovely, lovely pool.

It is.

Must be comfortable
on a warm day like this.

Goodbye, Dean Simpson.
Call my attorney.

What was he doing here?
What are you doing here?

You don't even know
who he is, do you?

Yes I do.
His name is Simpson.

His name is Rockford and he's the man
you sent me to follow.

What is this $8.62?

That's tax.

There's no sales tax
on a personal service.

It's not a sales tax.
It's a federal tax.

It's part of the fee.

I just break it down separately
for my own records.

Oh…

- Who's buying the hotdogs?
- Me.

I have to tell you something.

You certainly have been
a new experience for me.

Sara, if Mrs. Elias had said anything
I could sink my teeth into,

I would have kept on.

But I called her attorney
and he's setting up the trust.

I don't know what her interest
in Nick is.

But I'm at a dead end.

I even tried to get friendly
but she wasn't buying.

Maybe your rates were too high.

No need to get nasty.

This is the second time you've quit and I'm
still getting these slips of paper from you

- I'm not even sure you're really off this case.
- I'm not sure, either.

You go home.
I'll call you later.

Hey!

- Hello, Jim.
- How are you, Harry?

The usual?
Yeah, please.

- What are you gonna have?
- Bourbon and water.

Hey, pal,
I got myself a real problem.

Could you loan me $20?
I'm with this girl from the office…

I figured, I put enough booze in her
and let her watch the acrobatic dancers…

I could make a score
but I'm running out of dough.

I put 10 scotch and sodas in that broad,
she's drinking me under the table.

Just let me have that $20.
Give me your address, I'll mail it to you.

I'm awfully sorry.

I'm good for it. Everybody knows
I'm good for it, pal.

You gotta be one of the dumbest-looking ape
I have ever saw!

Of course, you big muscle-bound guys,
you're usually compensating…

for feelings of inadequacy.

Meaning?

You know, queer.

That's fine, mister.
That's just right.

Everything is gonna be
all right.

Sync and corrections: BLU DUAINE
blu.duaine@gmail.com