From: "RG Naylor"
Newsgroups: alt.tv.rockford-files
Subject: ON-LINE REVIEW--FIND ME IF YOU CAN--EPISODE 8
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 01:49:46 -0700
Greetings fans. It's time again to reminisce about the days
of old; back in the good ol' seventies. We have another
episode for you; it's called Find Me If You Can, starring
Joan Van Ark as Barbara Kelbaker and Paul Michael Glaser
(Starsky and Hutch) as Ralph Correll. It originally aired
November 1, 1974. This promises to be an intriguing
episode, so get your coffee brewing, your Kielbasa
roasting, and your favorite chair positioned. Oh, yeah, if
you are fortunate enough to have this on tape, slip it in
and read while you watch.
29 Cove Road, Malibu. At sometime in the early evening, a
stray dog slinks by, and a taxi pulls up carrying an
attractive blonde lady calling herself Florence Baker.
Inside the trailer, James Rockford is on the phone with his
friendly neighborhood bank, trying to get a teller to lose
the rubber check he wrote until he can cover it. She makes
a sarcastic remark about his credit rating, which causes
Jim to angrily respond, "EVERYBODY'S got a credit rating."
So what's established here is that Jim needs money badly.
In walks Ms. Kelbaker. She tells Jim she wants him to find
her. He thinks she's putting him on, but she isn't. She
tells him Florence Baker is not her real name, and that she
wants to know if she can be found. "You see, I don't want
your job to be difficult, I want it to be impossible." The
first thing Jim does is pour her a drink in a tall glass,
and then later, he brings it down to Becker at the
Hollywood station.
Dennis Becker has the results from the prints the lab
lifted, but Jim's going to have to pay a price; his L.A.
Laker tickets. You see, Dennis wants to bring Rockie along.
Dennis gives Jim his client's name, Barbara Kelbaker, and
all the usual info you get from a license, including her
last known address.
Jim is now entering a church, and inside is his client. Jim
tells her never to call him up and tell him to meet her
somewhere, and then hang up. He reveals that her name is
Barbara Kelbaker from Pacific Grove, and other related
stuff. She is visibly upset at this. Jim wants to know what
is going on. She doesn't want to tell him. She still wants
him to try and find her. He agrees, against his better
judgement.
Pacific Grove, California. Jim is at the police station,
talking to an officer who went to school with Ms. Kelbaker.
Jim plays a trick on the officer, and manages to get a name
that otherwise would be next to impossible. Ralph Correll
from Denver, Colorado, who played in the Pro-Am Golf
Tourney in Monterrey. Jim tells him he's never heard of
him, and as Jim leaves, the guy realizes he's been scammed,
and gives a look of incredulity.
Denver, Colorado. Jim's at Correll's penthouse office, a
building in downtown Denver, and tells the receptionist he
met Ralph in the Pro-Am, but Wyatt the receptionist isn't
fooled. Wyatt seems an unlikely type to be working for the
likes of Ralph Correll. After checking with Correll, Wyatt
calls "Vinny" to be sure that Rockford finds his way out of
the office. As Jim leaves, he shoots a sheepish look back
at Vinny. Down at the first floor lobby, Jim notices an
elevator that serves the penthouse only. He calls up to
Correll's office, impersonating building security, claiming
there's a report of a gas leak, and that they will have
evacuate the building. The official sounding tone he uses
is perfect, and hilarious. He somehow gets a jacket with a
name tag on it, and goes up to the penthouse via the
elevator. When Correll enters the elevator, he shoves the
goons that are following him back, and closes the door, so
he and Correll can be alone. Paul Michael Glaser does an
excellent job here as a gangster. Jim drops Kelbaker's
name, and tries to get some info on her, with no luck.
Correll threatens Jim as he leaves the elevator. Jim does
not seem frightened. He makes it safely out of the
building.
29 Cove Road. Jim's client calls, and he tells her he's
been in Denver, seeing Correll, and that Correll is mobbed
up. She says she didn't know that when she first met him,
and Jim says she knew it when she hired him. Jim reads her
the riot act because she put him in danger unnecessarily.
He offers to send her the remaining money she gave him, and
not only does she refuse to clue him in, she tells him he's
still working for her, and then hangs up again. Jimmie is
mad, and slams the phone down.
Later on, while Jim is on his way back from the market, a
couple of guys in a Ford LTD pull up and stake his trailer
out. When he comes back, they identify themselves as F.B.I.
agents, and Jim spots them as phonies right away. This is a
good fight scene. He doesn't let on, and asks one of them
to hold his groceries while he opens the trailer door. Then
he sucker punches the guy, and immediately gets punched in
the solar plexus by the other guy. They end up against the
car, where Jim is punched again, and then Jim reverses and
punches the goon. Just when you think Jim's going to win,
the other guy has gotten up off the ground and he hits Jim
over the head with his gun.
Unknown Warehouse. Jim awakens to the mugs of these two
goons who visited his trailer...and Ralph Correll. They
pick him up off the ground, and Jim says, pointing to one
of the goons: "Does that talk, or just hit?" Correll starts
making threats. Rockford then explains how he knew they
weren't Feds. They weren't wearing narrow ties. Correll
wants to know who hired Jim. Jim tells him. Correll gets
angry, stating that Barbara Kelbaker stole $50 grand from
him. They think he knows where she is, and he convinces
them he doesn't. Correll says: "I'm through with him." and
Jimmie looks at the two goons, who move threateningly, and
says: "That's just a figure of speech." LOL.
29 Cove Road. Jim returns to find Rocky's truck there.
Rocky unlocks the door for him, and they talk about the
spare ribs, which Rocky threw out. Jim then complains about
the cost. One of many comments in the series about the cost
of food. Inside, Jim tries to ward off any lectures about
his chosen profession while he washes up. This is a good
scene. Jim's trying to get some attention over his head
wound, and Rocky's ignoring that and talking about an old
friend's business proposition. Rocky's about to leave, so
Jim says: "What's a matter with you Rocky? The two
gorilla's beat me into the ground, and all you can talk
about is hardware." Rocky slowly looks up at Jim with a
hard stare in his eyes, and says: "Because I am tired a
talkin' to you. You don't listen to nothin' I say anyway.
Look at your face. Look at that eye. Two inches to the
right, and you'd be missin' that eye!" Jim quips: "Ah,
yeah, but look at it this way; two inches to the left, he'd
a missed me completely." Rocky then storms out of the
trailer slamming the door.
Moments later, Barbara Kelbaker calls, and Jim tells her to
call him at the payphone at the Sand Castle. Jim tells her
he was picked up by Correll's goons. He tells her that
Correll knows she's hiding in L.A. She wants Jim to have
the remainder of the retainer she gave him, but Jim
objects, his inherent curiosity manifesting itself. Jim
asks her about the $50 grand, and she says it wasn't theft,
she was just "reclaiming" herself. Then she says a few more
words before hanging up. Barbara starts crying as the scene
fades to commercial.
Paradise Cove Beach. Jim's out after dark walking along the
beach. He seems to do this whenever someone he cares for is
in trouble, and there seems to be nothing he can do about
it. The next day, Barbara calls, and Jim tells her to call
the Sand Castle again. Barbara tells him she's got to see
him. She tells him to meet her at a hotel, and then hangs
up on Jim. That's gotta irk him something fierce.
Highway One South. Jim's moving right along, and then
notices he's got a tail on him. So he pulls off the
highway, drives into a tunnel under the road, and tells a
man in a truck on the other side that there is an accident
on the other side, he'll get an ambulance if the guy will
go back to see to the accident. This effectively blocks the
tunnel, leaving Jim on one side, and the goons on the
other. Smart thinking! As soon as Jim's sure he shook them,
he smiles, and drives on.
Somewhere outside of San Diego. They're at a restaurant by
the sea, and they go for a walk. She tells him she saw
Ralph Correll kill a man name Saul Mantee. She tells him
the details. She became worried that Ralph would get
suspicious about whether she heard anything that night, so
she started giving him ultimatums about marriage, using it
as an excuse to leave. She asks him if he knew who Saul
Mantee was, saying: "Well, aren't you supposed to know
about things like that?...Who's who in crime, that sort of
thing?" Jim shoots back in a dry tone, loaded with poise:
"Oh, yeah, well I go down to the post office every few
days, and catch up on the wanted posters." LOL. The
catalyst for the murder of Mantee turns out to be a
territorial dispute. Mantee wanted to move in on Correll's
action, so Correll killed him. Jim tells her that by hiring
him to go looking for her, he acted inadvertently as a
messenger that Correll had something to worry about. Jim
tells her she needs to tell her story to the Denver D. A.,
because it's her only chance. Then she conveys that she
will need him to help her get to Denver to tell her story.
Jim balks at first, but then that familiar music plays, the
same music that played during the touching scenes in other
episodes (like Aura Lee Farewell, with Lindsay Wagner).
Barbara says: "Well....Jim, you..." and Jim says: "I have
to help you... You need me... I'm the only one you can
trust." He then sits back in his chair for some good old
fashioned soul searching. Both touching and humorous. It's
scenes like these that made the series.
Denver, CO. At the office of D.A. Morgan Tallman, Jim has
been waiting a long time. The receptionist is acting
indifferent, so Jim starts to complain. But when she takes
her glasses off, and gives Jim a "you're really starting to
get on my nerves" look, Jim backs off. I always thought she
was way out of line there, and that Jim shouldn't have
backed down. At ten minutes to six, the D.A. finally comes
out of his office. Jim tells him he's got an eyewitness to
the Mantee killing, and the D.A. says he's got a signed
confession that a small time hood did the killing, and Jim
gives a look of surprise.
Motel in Denver. Jim drives his rental car to the motel,
but Barbara isn't there.
Ralph Correll's Pad. Correll heads up stairs to his bedroom
with a "piece", and enters his walk in closet, and is
surprised with a choke hold from Jimmie boy. Jim
says:"...you see you can't yell with a busted windpipe, you
just kinda whistle." Correll's face is orange/red. Before
Jim lets him go, he tells him it won't bother him "one bit"
if he has to shoot him in the back. As soon as Correll gets
his breath, he tells Jim that "Broder" is gonna "break"
him. The next line is delivered well:"Well, Broder's not
here. There's just you and me and your gun." Jim demands to
know where Barbara is, and points the gun. Correll says:
"You're not gonna shoot. Bluffing only works when you got
the other guy scared...." Jim replies: "You don't have to
work so hard, Correll. I've been lookin' for a reason to
pump one into you...." This is one of those times in the
series when Jim's tone is dead dog serious. A brief staring
contest ensues, and then Correll says: "You'd do it,
wouldn't ya?" Jim says: "You bet." Jim surprised me in this
scene. He was really prepared to kill the guy. Correll
smirks, as if he's laughing at the low value placed on his
life. Jim explains that in order to avoid the goons
downstairs, they're gonna wait up there until everyone's
asleep, and then walk out the front door. He sits down, and
tells Correll to stand where he's at. Jim handles this
perfectly.
Later on, they pull out of Correll's property, Jim is in
the passenger seat with the gat on Correll. Then, as they
move down the street, there's the sound of a car starting,
and we see it pulling out of another driveway, following
Jim and Correll. Correll pulls into a warehouse marked
"Correll Trucking." Jim holds Correll at gun point, and
Correll bangs on the door to the warehouse and yells inside
to "open up." When the thug opens up, he sees Jim, and
tries for his gun, but Correll tells him to give up the
gun. Now Jim's got them both at gunpoint. Jim brings them
over to where Barbara is sitting, and asks her if she's all
right. She turns her face toward Jim, and there's tears in
her eyes, and bruises on her face. Correll says: "You've
got it all wrapped up, eh?" Jim says: "Looks that way."
Correll quips: "Not from where I'm standing, buddy." He's
alluding to the fact that "Howard" has a gun on Barbara
from up in a loft. Jim calls his bluff, and then hears
Howard say: "No, you knock it off." before the sound of the
gun's hammer clicks. Jim tries to maintain his position by
pointing the gun in Correll's face, and clicking back the
hammer. Correll doesn't back down, and Jim takes a look
over his right shoulder at Howard before giving up the gun.
Jim says to him: "You always cover yourself?" and Correll
says: "Always." Jim starts to get on Correll's nerves, and
Correll says: "I'm gonna take care of you myself, and I'm
really going to enjoy it." Jim says: "Who's gonna take care
of Barbara?"--a real gentleman to the end.
Correll orders everybody outside, and then grabs Barbara by
the lapels, and tells her he's sorry, and asks her why she
didn't keep running. You can tell that Barbara is still in
love with the guy by the look in her eyes. Love is blind.
Just then, a police loudspeaker yells out "freeze, police!"
Correll pushes Barbara out of the way, and points his gun
at the cops, and Jim punches the guy next to him, grabs his
gun, and points it at Correll. Jim motions with his hand
for Correll to give up his gun, or is he challenging him to
shoot? Correll says: "You keep yourself covered
too....Nice." Here he's showing a bit of admiration for his
nemesis. Jim tells Barbara he got in touch with the D.A.
when he found her missing, and the cops were following him
when he came to Correll's house. She asks Jim: "What'll
they do to him?" Jim half chuckles and says: "Do you care?"
and she says: "I care." Again with the music, at just the
right moment. As she walks away from Jim, Jim looks at her
and half shakes his head.
Taco Stand. I guess this is the one right there in Paradise
Cove. They're eating tacos, and Barbara has had enough. Jim
asks her: "Barbara, how did you ever get mixed up with a
guy like Ralph Correll?" She starts explaining, but Jimmy
starts to interrupt her with the fact that the guy was a
killer, so she ends the discussion of Ralph Correll. Well,
good, then Jimmie can bring out his bill for his services.
But, there, uh seems to be a bit of a problem. You see,
Barbara wants to return the money she stole from Ralph, so
she won't be able to pay Jim right now. She says: "....But
you're an honest man. You wouldn't want that kind of
money." Jim starts to look away from her, and she says:
"Jim? Would you?" Jim looks at her and says: "Yeah, I
would." indignantly, and they cut to a freeze frame of the
both of them walking away, while Barbara is giving Jim the
"oh, you rascal" smile.
I give this episode a 4.0. The acting was excellent. I hope
y'all enjoyed this review. Next week, we'll be covering the
9th regular season episode, In Pursuit of Carol Thorne.
Until then, keep on Rockin'.