User Reviews

Jim is hired by a particularly obnoxious client, Larry Kirkoff (James Woods) to find who killed his parents. The trouble is everyone--the mob, the police, even Rockford himself believes Larry did it himself.

This is a classic "Rockford" episode: Jim meets a beautiful woman (Julie Sommars, who'd later be a regular on "Matlock", gets drugged, gets beat up, gets beat up again, solves the crime and gets stiffed out of his fee.

The casting is outstanding in this show. James Woods was near the beginning of his career here, but he creates an unforgettable character as the cold, arrogant Larry Kirkoff. Julie Sommars is both cute and interesting and as union boss Al Dancer, Abe Vigoda just radiates power and toughness. It's a far cry from his funny "Fish" character on "Barney Miller". The henchman of Dancer's Rockford tries the cigarette trick on is played by Milt Kogan. He's great in this and would later appear on the series as Angel Martin's brother in law Aron. Also worth mentioning is Philip Kenneally as Muzzy Vinnette. He's the guy who stands in the dark, illuminated only by the lights of the Firebird while he warns Jim off the case (nicely directed by Lou Antonio). The whole show is well cast, right down to Kirkoff's Doberman (who I believe appeared with Garner in "They Only Kill Their Masters"!) Despite all the threats and coldness, there's still a lot of humor in this episode, such as when Jim wakes up after being drugged and discovers he's not wearing any pants. "Hey, what have you been doing anyway?" he asks. What's great is they never DO explain it!

This one had me guessing! What works here: Well Jimmy has to investigate a murder case for a client whose parents were murdered. The story line is basic but has many twists and turns for an hour show. The twists and turns keeps the viewers guessing. The Kirkoff Case has many Rockford files themes. Mob involvement, many notable actors and the F B I. Jim get's followed and the usual treatment. A close scrape with the mob, and an interesting conversation with the F B I are memorable. Jimmy had me guessing how does Rockford get out of this pickle and solves this? The character driven show has Jim's comical wit, slick moves, and some luck roll together to solve the Kirkoff Case. A memorable performance by James Woods as Rockford's client as a nasty client. The dogs gave Wood's character some what creepy feel and Wood's character makes for a surprise ending. Eight stars.

After debuting in the pilot TV movie 'Backlash for the Hunter', private detective Jim Rockford (ever charismatic and likeable James Garner) takes on a case for smarmy young heir Larry Kirkoff (James Woods), who'd been accused of murdering his filthy rich parents. Among the characters Rockford encounters is the bright, upbeat Tawnia Baker (Julie Sommars), who makes no real effort to hide the fact that she's a gold-digger who'd been seeing Larry's father.

'The Kirkoff Case' tells a good mystery story with a refreshingly "average Joe" kind of hero, the kind of guy who doesn't always have the upper hand and who is destined to take some lumps before the tale is over. The good thing is that this viewer wasn't two steps ahead of the lead character the entire time, and was pretty satisfied with the twists & turns laid out for him.

An impressive roster of guest stars includes Roger Davis as a mysterious "cowboy", Abe Vigoda as a union boss, Joe Santos as series regular / Rockfords' cop pal Dennis Becker, Milt Kogan as a strong-arm man, and the gravelly-voiced Philip Kenneally as a thug named "Muzzy". Shortly into his acting career, Woods was already displaying the kind of chops that served him so well.

The resolution, as I've learned, was all too typical for the series; Rockford was forced to live hand-to-mouth so often since he *rarely* got properly compensated by his clients! But the affable character is obviously able to take things like this in stride.

The episode was directed by actor Lou Antonio, whom you may know from "Cool Hand Luke" and the original 'Star Trek'. It marked the debut of Noah Beery as Rockfords' father, who'd been played by Robert Donley in the pilot.

Seven out of 10.