Jim's old friend Sara Butler hires him to find out the real reason her employee Aura Lee Benton died. The police believe it was a drug overdose but Sara is convinced she was murdered.Jim's old friend Sara Butler hires him to find out the real reason her employee Aura Lee Benton died. The police believe it was a drug overdose but Sara is convinced she was murdered.Jim's old friend Sara Butler hires him to find out the real reason her employee Aura Lee Benton died. The police believe it was a drug overdose but Sara is convinced she was murdered.
- Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford
- (as Noah Beery)
- (credit only)
- Motorist
- (uncredited)
- Campaigner
- (uncredited)
- Witness
- (uncredited)
- Campaigner
- (uncredited)
- Campaigner
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough this is the second appearance of Lindsay Wagner's character of Sara Butler (she was in the series' pilot), Bill Mumy who played her brother in the pilot also appears here, but, not as her brother. Wagner was originally intended to portray Sara Butler in a recurring role throughout the series, but her contract with Universal was soon to expire. Her first appearance as Jaime Somers on a two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) two months after "Aura Lee, Farewell" had originally aired was intended to be her final involvement with Universal. However, audience reaction of her Jaime Somers role resulted in a new Universal contract with her own series.
- GoofsNear the end, when Jim and Sara are being pursued by Dirk, the weather changes from shot to shot, alternating between shots of bright sunny weather and shots of dense dark fog.
- Quotes
Jim Rockford: This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your name and message, I'll get back to you.
Caller: Mr. Rockford, you don't know me but I'd like to hire you. Could you call me at... my name is, ugh... never mind, forget it.
- ConnectionsReferences The Rockford Files: Backlash of the Hunter (1974)
There's a lot of good stuff in this episode. We get the first of five appearances on the "Files" of Robert Webber, who always made a great foil for Garner. We have another rare appearance of Jim's printing press. And "Lost in Space" star Billy Mumy makes his second appearance on the show as a hippy painter. Oddly enough, his other appearance was in "Backlash of the Hunter" as Sara Butler's brother. Even though Lindsey Wagner's back, this time the two are not related. Melissa Greene plays Aura Lee and apparently this was her last professional appearance, after a short career in shows like "Kolchak: the Night Stalker" and (ironically) "The Six Million Dollar Man".
Somehow though this episode never really takes off. Jackie Cooper's direction seems particularly plodding and slow, which brings the whole episode down. The mystery isn't that great, and its pretty obvious who the killer is. There's also a pretty bad scene in which Rockford tries to pass himself off as a cop--using his real name and dressed in a big sweater, looking for all the world like anything BUT a cop. Kinda dumb for someone as savvy as Jim Rockford. It's a mistake they would not make later in the series. In many ways this episode is a lot more "Mannix" than it is "Rockford".
- zsenorsock
- Oct 18, 2006
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