Now, you gonna do
what I tell you.
Sign this right here.
Do you mind my asking
how you got mixed up
in a flaky scheme like this?
You disposed of them?
You mean a whole
drilling crew? 20 guys?
How could the D.A. go for
a first-degree m*rder charge
when he doesn't even
have the w*apon?
There's a good chance
I maybe able to help you.
Really?
Hold it. Don't move.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
ROCKFORD
ON ANSWERING MACHINE..
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name
and message.
I'll get back to you.
(BEEPS)
SHIRLEY.. It's Shirley
at the Planted Pot.
There's just no easy way
to tell you this, Jim.
We did everything we could.
Your friend d*ed.
ROCKFORD: Come on, Dad.
You can get your mail later.
ROCKY: Boy, I sure can.
Look at this stuff.
Social security check,
Medicare forms.
Ah, look at this one.
Glen Oaks
Retirement World.
''Spend your prime years
in security-patrolled
comfort.''
(SCOFFING)
Oh, man, I can remember
when I used to get
real mail.
Business offerings,
job opportunities,
letters from my buddies
down in South America
working the big rigs.
Jim, you go on. I...
I don't think I feel like
going fishing today.
You go ahead.
Oh, come on.
What are you talking about?
Not five minutes ago
you were trying to figure out
the best spot to drop a line.
Well, maybe that's part of
what the problem is. All this
fishing, fishing, fishing.
There must be a better way
for a man to spend his time
than sitting around all day
with a string in the water.
Well, all right. Here.
All right,
I'll see you around 5:30
at the restaurant then, okay?
Yeah.
(CAR STARTING)
Hey, what do you think
you're doing?
Now, you gonna do
what I tell you.
Sign this right here.
What's this?
I ain't gonna sign this.
Sign it, old man. Now!
(LAUGHING)
HOWARD: I don't
believe it, man.
(HOWARD LAUGHING)
Hey!
Hey, why don't you do yourself
a favor, old man, and just
go on back in the house?
(HOWARD LAUGHING)
Hey, hey, you guys.
Hey!
Get out of there.
Somebody call the police.
(CAR ENGINE STARTING)
(AIR SQUEALING)
Hey, you guys!
ROCKY: Hey!
Get the old geek
out of sight.
Get the tire changed
and get out of here.
ROCKFORD:
Dennis called me, Dad.
You know,
you could've gotten k*lled
this morning.
What makes you think you have
the right not to tell me
something like that?
I'm your son, remember?
Well, I wasn't doing too bad.
I can handle myself all right.
What were they after?
You know,
I really don't know.
The only thing
I can figure is that,
well, they were after
the oil leases.
I've been filing on some
Federal Government oil leases.
As an investment.
An investment?
Yeah. It costs you
10 bucks a month to file
and they put together a list
of all the available parcels
and then they have a drawing.
If you pull your name
out of it, you win.
That's not an investment,
that's a lottery.
You're living
on Social Security.
You can't stand $10 a month.
If you want to gamble,
why don't you go play bingo
or something?
You know,
a quarter a card.
Look, if I'm so dumb,
how come I'm 1,960 bucks
ahead, huh?
You've made money?
Parcel 334. I won it.
My share was $2000.
What do you mean
your share?
Well, I had to split
with Claude Orzeck.
He's the broker fellow
up there in Coulter City.
He's the one
that's so good
at filing for me
'cause he knows where
all the good parcels are, see?
Then if you happen to win one,
you split with him
fifty-fifty.
Where'd you meet
this Orzeck character?
Oh, I never met him.
I just send him the money.
Here you go.
Thanks.
Dad, do you mind my asking
how you got mixed up
in a crazy, flaky scheme
like this?
There ain't
nothing flaky about
the United States government.
And that's what this is.
This is what's called
a simultaneous drawing.
And the reason for these
simultaneous drawings
is to put the little guy
on the same level
with the big oil companies.
And this guy, Orzeck, he
chooses the numbers for you?
That's right.
Well, I think I'm going to
take on a little salad, huh?
Dad, how does this
invisible Mr. Orzeck
get his information?
Well, they get it
from the oil companies.
You see, the oil company
will call him up and say,
''Look, we'll give you $10,000
for parcel number
such-and-such''
and then he has
his client's file on it.
If one of them wins,
they just turn it back to
the oil company. It's simple.
Doesn't that defeat
the purpose?
These two g*ons made you sign
a blank form assigning away
all oil and mineral rights
so that means there is someone
who can just sign
their name now
and they own all the rights.
Yeah, but for what, sonny?
I ain't won no parcel
for two weeks.
I sold 334 for $2000
to that man
up in Coulter City.
A Mr. Gerald O'Malley.
Yeah, but, Dad,
you signed the paper today.
That means whatever it is,
they've got it.
Well, I signed it
and I didn't sign it.
What do you mean?
Well, I ain't
the dumb old duffer some of
you fellows think I am.
I've got a trick or two
up my sleeve.
Okay, Rocky, what'd you do?
I signed it left-handed.
Can you imagine how mad
those guys are gonna be
when they find out
that that signature
ain't no good?
Yeah, Dad, I think
you could safely say that.
Oh, watch them,
they're stale.
No, these are croutons, Dad.
They're not stale.
You've already gotten yourself
into a lot of trouble, Rocky.
Those guys are
going to come back.
Well, the answer
to that's easy.
I'll go on up
to Coulter City
myself then.
You?
Well, Claude Orzeck might know
something about all of this.
Dad, I do this kind of thing
professionally, why don't you
just let me handle it, huh?
Look, if you're trying to say
I'm too old to take care of my
own business, I ain't.
Oh, come on, Rocky.
I've got clients
that are...
That are 15 and clients 90.
I'm a professionaI
investigator.
Now, what has age
got to do with it?
All right then,
I'll hire you myself.
200 bucks a day and expenses.
Just like anybody else.
You can't afford it.
I can. I got
my oil lease winnings.
Okay, I'll make
a business proposition
with you.
Now, I figure that
whatever is going on
is worth at least $2000
or these g*ons wouldn't be
messing with it.
So I'll take a percentage of
anything we can manage to get
over the $2000. All right?
Fifty-fifty?
That's way too much.
That way we're partners.
Dad...
No, no, no.
Fifty-fifty, or no deal.
Deal.
ROCKFORD: Dad, who turned you
on to this scheme?
ROCKY: Harry Sharu,
down at the Gearjammer Tavern.
He's the one aIways buying
drinks for the house.
Dad, isn't Harry also
the one who lost 500 bucks
on that astrology
chain letter?
ROCKY: Just think, sonny,
one of them there beauties
may be ours before long.
ROCKFORD: I hope so, Dad.
I hope so.
Why don't you just
go ahead and check in?
The first step is to see
if I can find out
just exactly
how much that lease
is worth.
Well, I'll go with you.
No, no.
Now, I've got a way to handle
this. It's not a two-man job.
You just handle
the logistics
for now, okay?
I mean, they're
important too, Rocky.
Where are you going?
I am gonna go
meet your partner.
Claude Orzeck.
ROCKFORD: Lyle Sawyer,
Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
And you say you're looking
for oil leases?
Yes, sure am, Mr. Orzeck.
I'm gonna buy me some land,
punch out a well.
I've got 60 crickets
pumping back in Bartlesville.
I don't like to brag,
but that is a lot of
good production.
Sort of keeps my mother-in-law
out of my tent.
You know what I mean?
I sure do, Mr. Sawyer.
Well, I've got a honey
over here.
Number 297.
Right here.
Two hundred and twenty acres,
but it sure does
look promising.
Mighty fine
shale formation.
A thousand-barrel-a-day well
come in last month,
two miles away.
Now for a colleague
I could let that thing go
for, oh, $50 an acre.
Yeah, well that's a
possibility, but seems
a little small, doesn't it?
How about this parcel
right over here.
This 334?
I'm afraid that one's
already been sold.
Matter of fact,
I didn't get but $20 an acre
for it.
And I doubt
if it was worth that.
Now this 328 up here,
that is a sleeper.
Yeah, I hate
to interrupt you,
Mr. Orzeck,
but I tell you what
I'd like for you to do.
I wish you'd make a list
of all the available leases
and how much
you want for them.
And I'm gonna get in my car
and I'm gonna drive right
out there and stand on them.
That's how I buy
all my leases, Mr. Orzeck.
If there's oil under there,
I can feel it.
ROCKY: That ain't
a bad-looking
orange grove, anyway.
There's your property line.
That's it, right there?
That's it.
You know, Rocky,
maybe you ought to start
thinking about taking
your $2000
and counting
your blessings.
Well, as long as we're here
we might as well take a look
at it anyway, huh?
There's a gate
right here.
Hey, sonny, lookie here, look.
Look at all them
big tread marks there.
There's been something
big in here like maybe
a Cabover Pete or something.
You sure it's not
farm equipment?
Oh, no. Not a chance, sonny.
This is bigger than that.
This could even be
a 1 2-gear forward rig.
Something like that.
Yeah, well, all right,
let's take a look.
Oh, it's posted there.
That's all right.
There's nobody around.
Unhook me, Rocky.
Y'all going somewhere?
Well, I guess
we can't fool you.
My dad and I, we just
dearly love oranges
and we were passing by.
We thought we'd pick a few
for breakfast. You caught us
right in the act.
I'll be glad
to pay you for them.
Clear out.
This land's posted
and y'all are trespassing.
Posted?
Oh, hey, it's posted.
Oh, I didn't realize
it was posted.
You know, we saw
all the tracks in here,
it looked like there
had been a lot of traffic.
Been hauling logs.
Yeah, well then
this is your land then, huh?
I farm it.
Sure has been nice
talking to you.
I guess you've been
doing a little
out-of-season hunting.
No season on varmint.
(CAR STARTING)
Number one,
this is number three.
MAN ON RADIO..
This is number one.
Go ahead, Willie.
Been a couple of fellows
down here poking around,
asking questions.
Thought you ought
to know about it. Over.
That's a roger.
Follow them
and stay with them. Out.
Al did, too?
Well, that's exactly
what Gary did.
He just up and says
he's off to another job,
he didn't know how long he'd
be gone, he didn't even know
where he was going.
Well, he claims
the pay's real good,
but... Help you?
Yeah. Would you give us
a wake-up call, please?
6:00, Room 42.
Hello, Phyliss?
Oh, the story's so ridiculous.
Thank you.
I'll bet you anything,
Al and him wound up together
and ran off to Fresno
with a couple of teenyboppers.
I couldn't care less
what it was,
to tell you the truth.
We gotta go rent a car.
Let's go.
Hey. Hey, look at the well.
Look at the well there.
I bet you
that's why them monkeys
was after this piece.
'Cause there's
a well on it, Jim.
(ROCKY CHUCKLING)
It's capped. Dry hole.
Yeah, it looks like
it's been here
for a long time.
Hey, look at that.
7,000 psi.
Thing must be stuck.
Hey, listen.
Supposing that ain't stuck?
(ROCKY LAUGHING)
Set-screw
on the ground.
ROCKY: I can't find it, sonny.
I don't see it nowhere.
Rocky, let's get
out of here.
Listen to that.
You listen to it.
You're the one
that lost them.
All right,
maybe they're still
around here somewhere.
They've got to have
a car here somewhere.
All right, Ed, go out...
Go out to the property line.
Tommy and Gene,
you all fan out
through the grove there.
And somebody turn that thing
off before half the county
knows about it.
Come on, Rocky. We've got
to get to the car. Come on.
Well, we can forget
about that. Rocky,
let's get out of here.
I'm going to have
to hotwire this thing.
Let's get it shut off.
Set-screw. Get the set-screw.
I've got a pipe wrench
in the trunk.
Well, get it, dummy.
(ENGINE STARTING)
Duck.
Come on.
They saw too much.
HOWARD: Try aiming
at the gas t*nk.
(g*n f*ring)
ROCKFORD: Keep down, Rocky.
ROCKY: We did it.
We lost them.
I sure wish I'd known whether
or not I signed away my rights
to that property.
It doesn't look
like you did.
What about O'Malley?
I don't know.
We're back to square one.
If you did sell it,
why would they still be
after your signature?
Oh, I don't know.
We're going to have
to get rid of this truck
and get a car.
ROCKY: $23 a day
for a car like this
and they didn't even
clean the ashtrays.
Well Dad, when you're in the
oil business, people think
you're a high-roller.
Ah, Rocky...
Jim, I...
I think I'll stay here,
if you don't mind.
No, I don't mind.
See, I been thinking, well,
the more I'm walking
around on the streets,
the easier it's going to be
for those guys
to grab me.
And if they ever get
a signature out of me, that's,
that's all she wrote tonight.
I was thinking maybe you ought
to do all the prowling
around here, you know,
and see if you can find out
who really owns those leases,
huh?
Fine, fine.
Yeah, all right,
I'll see you later.
Yeah.
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)
Hi.
With you in
just a second.
What can I do for you?
My name's Jim Rockford
and I'm looking for the U.S.
Geological Survey officer.
That's me, Wally Link.
Wait a minute. Jim Rockford.
That name sounds familiar.
(CHUCKLING)
It's Joseph Rockford.
Sent out a lease
to him this morning.
Any relation?
Yeah, he's my dad.
Yeah, was that Parcel 334?
Yeah, that's the one.
I'm sorry it was late.
I've been on vacation
and, uh,
things were sure stacked up
when I got back.
This procedure
kind of throws me.
Doesn't the Bureau of Land
Management issue those leases?
The Bureau decides
who gets it.
But it isn't officially issued
until I put my stamp on it
and sign it.
Where'd you mail it?
Your dad's post office box,
right here in town.
I didn't know he had one.
Anyway, right now,
my dad holds title
to that lease, right?
Sure does. Unless he's
assigned it to someone else,
of course.
In which case the assignment
becomes valid as soon
as the lease is issued,
which was this morning.
You wouldn't happen
to know anything
about a Gerald A. O'Malley,
would you?
I think he does some
oil dealing around here.
O'Malley.
No. Doesn't ring any bells.
Thanks.
Excuse me.
Are you Mr. O'Malley?
Mr. Gerald A. O'Malley?
Sure am.
Well, I'm George Wheeler.
I'm with the NationaI
Credit Institute.
I can never find my glasses.
Well, as long as you can read
it, that's all that counts.
Well, yes, yes.
Now, we're running
a credit check
on a Mr. Claude Orzeck.
We understand that you've done
some business with him.
Is that right?
Sold him a ham once.
That's the extent of your
dealings with him?
Oh, hell, no.
He's my mother's sister's boy
by her third husband.
I see.
Well now, we understand
that Mr. Orzeck is
in the oil business.
And that you are, too.
We won't have nothing
to do with oil.
Claude, he goes around
and gets people to sign
anti-oil petitions.
I signed some myself.
Then I am correct in assuming
that you have never bought
an oil lease from Mr. Orzeck?
Mister, I don't even
use oil products,
if I can help it.
I won't be a party to it.
A party to what?
w*r. The destruction
of the world.
That's exactly what
it's gonna be about. Oil.
Them that has it against
them that wants it.
Do you know
that 23 critical masses
of fissionable plutonium
disappeared from United States
nuclear facilities
last year alone?
No, I didn't know that.
Well, the United States
government claims
it was all inevitable
manufacturing losses,
so forth and so on.
But I know it was
the t*rrorists
that got them.
Turning them into bombs.
I'd like to talk
about Mr. Orzeck.
I'm a little confused...
Any graduate physics student
can rig one.
It may not be the most
efficient b*mb in the world,
but it don't really matter.
Even if it's a low-yield,
say, well, 10 kilotons,
all it takes is a few of them,
strategically placed.
Do you think that
our government
is going to admit
that its own carelessness
is responsible
for the deaths
of hundreds of thousands
of its own citizens?
(SNICKERING)
Yeah, that's not a very
pleasant thought,
Mr. O'Malley.
Want to see my shelter?
Beg your pardon?
The b*mb shelter.
Yes, I really would, I'd like
to see that but I'm running
a little late.
So maybe some other time.
It's right over there
by the edge of the trees.
Two feet of concrete,
reinforced.
Air, water and food
to last two months.
That's what it's going
to be all about, see. Food.
Food. Yeah, it would be.
Oh, Yeah.
Build your shelter now,
mister.
Remember, charity ends
where survival begins.
(CAR STARTING)
ROCKY: If O'Malley says he
doesn't know nothing about me
signing that lease over to him
then it's got to still
be mine, doesn't it?
Dad, you did sign it
over to him. And the paper you
signed is still valid.
So it's floating around
out there somewhere.
Well, who's got it then?
I don't know.
Probably whoever
sunk the well.
They wouldn't drill
a well unless they
owned the rights.
You think it could be Orzeck?
Orzeck couldn't drill his way
through a cloud.
And the two guys
with the g*ns,
they're just country beef.
Somebody else
is running this show.
I'll look around
and see if I can find out
who sunk the well.
You going to be
all right here?
Yeah.
Hi. All right if I sit
right over there?
Sure, I'll be with you
in a minute.
The old man saw us.
Where'd he go?
He went out back.
Excuse me, I'm looking for
a gray-haired man wearing
a straw hat and suspenders.
Out back.
ROCKY: Hey, hey!
GIRL: No!
It's all right.
It's all right, honey.
This is my boy, Jimmy, here.
We fooled them, Jim.
Phyliss sent them
out the back door.
I thought you were going
to wait at the motel.
I keep telling you
I can take care of myself,
ain't that right?
Hey, Rocky,
you gonna tell him?
Huh? Oh, oh, yeah.
Jim, I've been telling her
all about you on account of
she needs a private detective.
I told her you're
about the best there is.
All right, well, let's talk
about it someplace else, huh?
Yeah.
I don't want
that Goodyear blimp
to come back and land on us.
And now,
I haven't seen my boyfriend
in three weeks, I mean,
he was out of a job
and then he called
a couple of days ago...
Your boyfriend's name is Al,
and he's a roustabout, right?
How'd you know that?
What did I tell you?
Isn't he terrific?
I tell you, Phyliss,
I think there's a good chance
I may be able to help you.
Really? How?
Well, I don't know yet.
But, I'll give you a call,
okay?
Oh, thanks so much,
Mr. Rockford.
Now, look, I'm going to give
you my home number
and if you can't reach me
there, you can reach me
at Pete's Cafe.
All right.
Thanks so much.
You're welcome.
That was a neat trick.
Just like one of those
mind-readers.
That wasn't a trick, Dad.
What I found out
this afternoon was
as far as anyone
around here is concerned,
nobody ever drilled
on Parcel 334.
And they went
to a lot of trouble
to cover their tracks.
I think they might even have
disposed of the drilling crew.
Well, you figure Phyliss'
boyfriend was one of them?
Yeah, and the girI
at the other motel,
the one with the hairdo,
her boyfriend, too.
You disposed of them?
You mean a whole
drilling crew? 20 guys?
What did they do with them?
I don't know.
But let's try Orzeck again.
He's all we've got left.
ROCKFORD: It's open.
(SHUSHING)
Hey, there may be
somebody in there.
Let's come back later.
It'll be light in about
an hour.
(SHUSHING)
You just wait here.
Jim, are you okay?
Orzeck.
Hey, you all right?
Well, I'm feeling fine.
But I've seen Orzeck
looking better, though.
He's dead.
ROCKFORD:
Parcel 332, 333, 335.
No 334.
I bet they got it.
Come on, let's get
out of here, Jim.
The first paper
that you signed turning over
the lease to O'Malley,
who was the broker?
Orzeck.
Orzeck and some silent partner
must have been running a con
to rip off valuable
oil leases.
Dad, that had to be
what was going on.
POLICE DISPATCHER ON RADIO..
Two-X-ray-Zebra
and any unit in the vicinity,
identify and handle a 21 1,
4654 Lake Avenue,
Claude Orzeck's office,
first floor. Handle Code 3.
O'Malley told me that Orzeck
was aIways trying
to get him to sign
these anti-oil petitions.
But the old man never
wore his glasses.
Now I'm betting
that what he signed were
blank lease assignment forms.
With O'Malley's signature
already on them, all cousin
Orzeck would have to do
is fill in his own name
and the valuable parcels
would revert to him.
Let's look in the ''O's''.
POLICE DISPATCHER ON RADIO..
Two-X-ray-Zebra
Pickup on 187 DC.
Handle a 21 1,
4654 Lake Avenue,
Claude Orzeck's office,
first level.
Your call is Code 3.
Well, now.
There you go.
All you have to do is fill in
one for Parcel 334 and it's
back in your Easter basket.
Listen, those guys that k*lled
Orzeck, they don't know about
these pre-signed forms.
They're liable to get after
old man O'Malley
to try and make him
sign them over
to them again.
That old man
wouldn't stand a chance.
Maybe we ought
to call the cops, huh?
I don't know. His place
is about 20 minutes
from here.
Maybe the goon squad
is already on their way.
Sonny, somebody might
have called the cops.
(SHUSHING)
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello.
ROCKFORD..
Mr. Gerald A. O'Malley?
Yeah.
Yes. This is Roger Martel sir,
Kern County Civil Defense.
Yes, sir.
What can I do for you?
Government agencies
have informed us
that the Che Guevara unit
of the ALF
is planning to detonate
a jerry-rigged nuclear device
in Bakersfield
unless some Federal prisoners
are released by daybreak
this morning.
Now wait a minute.
What's the yield, man?
What's the yield?
Am I in the k*ll radius?
We're not sure what the yield
is, but you are correct
in your assumption.
You are in the k*ll radius.
Well, you're very calm
about it.
I've written you people
letter after letter
about this kind of thing
and you've ignored it.
Now, now, you're,
you're certain that
she's going to blow?
Just in case, sir,
my advice would be to proceed
immediately, and I repeat,
immediately,
to your b*mb shelter.
We've already had
some leaks on this
and as your neighbors may come
seeking protection from you,
and no doubt they would be
armed and desperate...
Oh, shut up. I've got
a million things to do here.
That's the dirtiest trick
I ever heard you pull.
Look, the man built
that b*mb shelter
to save his life
and that's what
we're using it for.
Now, come on.
We'll call the police
from somewhere else.
Let's go the other way.
Hold it. Don't move.
Spread eagle
on the floor.
Come on.
(CAR TIRES SCREECHING)
RUSS: Hey, there he goes.
Come on.
Hey, here he is
over here.
Hey, you!
There he goes,
come on.
How can he sign
if you blow him in half?
How could the D.A. go for
a first-degree m*rder charge
when he doesn't even
have the w*apon?
He's figuring
on an accomplice,
a third person
who got away
with the g*n.
Well, then it'd be him
that k*lled Orzeck, not us.
Well, the law says
an accomplice
is just as guilty
as the person
who pulls the trigger.
Look Jim,
let's just let this thing
settle for a few days
and if nothing else turns up,
he'll probably let you cop a
plea of breaking and entering.
And spend a year
in this county? No.
Are you kidding?
No. The D.A. cannot go
for a m*rder one charge
unless you've got a g*n
or an accomplice, right?
Right.
Okay, tell him we'll deal.
He can set a reasonable baiI
on the B and E.
We get out of here,
nab the m*rder*r
within 24 hours,
and then he dismisses
all charges against us.
He'll never even
listen to that.
Well, why not?
If we don't deliver
the murderers
he's still got us
on the B and E charge.
He's got us, period.
Would you like to hear
my idea or not, Dad?
When I was nosing around town,
I heard that it's
common practice
for the owner of
the leaseholds to auction
them off for a profit.
The oil companies
and the independent dealers,
they come in, bid on whatever
they think the parcel
is worth.
So we're going
to auction off parcel 334.
Hey, now,
wait just a minute.
I ain't so sure
I want to auction that off.
It's mine now.
Besides, there's oil on it.
Exactly.
And there's only one other
party who knows that
besides us.
And that's Orzeck's k*ller,
and he's going to make sure
he's the winning bidder.
I don't get it.
Dad, if you bid $5,000,
what do I bid?
Six thousand.
Uh-huh. And if you bid
$10,000, what do I bid?
Eleven...
Hey, I get it.
I get it.
The guy that knows there's oiI
on the property
will aIways bid more for it
than the fellow that doesn't
know it.
Oh, that's wonderful, Jim.
That's great.
Rocky's the rightful owner.
The other man lost out.
His only hope of getting it
now is to pay for it.
Well, I'm willing to try
to sell that to the D.A.
Good.
Anything's better
than sitting around here
staring at the gallows.
ROCKFORD: In addition
to the cash price,
the seller,
Mr. Joseph Rockford,
will retain a five-percent
overriding royalty.
Now, are there any questions?
Very well.
Shall we start the bidding?
$50,000.
$50,000.
$50,000?
$75,000
Do I hear $80,000?
$85,000.
$85,000.
$90,000.
$90,000 to the gentleman
in the back.
$95,000.
$95,000.
$96,000.
$96,000.
$98,000.
$98,000 in the back row.
Do I hear a $100,000?
MAN: $100,000.
ROCKFORD: $100,000.
$101,000.
$101,000?
ROCKFORD: $101,000.
$102,000.
MAN: $105,000.
ROCKFORD: $105,000.
$108,000.
ROCKFORD: $108,000.
$1 10,000.
$1 10,000. $1 10,000.
$1 1 1,000.
That's got to be the guy.
$1 1 2,000.
That's got to be the guy.
Do I hear $1 15,000?
$1 15,000? $1 15,000?
We have $1 1 2,000.
We have $1 1 2,000.
Let's hear $1 13,000.
$1 20,000.
$1 20,000
from the gentleman
in the back.
Do I hear $1 25,000?
$1 25000? $1 25,000?
We have 1 20,000.
Let's hear $1 23,000.
$1 23,000. $1 21,000.
It's gonna go
for $1 20,000.
Very well,
$1 20,000 going once,
$1 20,000 going twice,
$1 20...
One minute, please.
Police officer.
Sir, please remain
in your seat.
Come on, let's go.
Get out of here.
(g*n f*ring)
How do you like this?
His name is Thomas Snowcroft.
He's in charge of development
in this area for Westco.
The Westco?
They got gas stations
every two, every two blocks.
I've had a credit card
with them for years.
m*rder isn't their
corporate policy.
Snowcroft is in development,
so he has a quota to fill.
I'm sure the strong-arm
methods were his own
brainstorm.
Westco.
The only ones that still
do your windshield.
ROCKFORD:
Ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to thank you
for driving
all the way out here.
Before we reopen the bidding,
I'd like to point out that
this little gauge right here
says 7,000 pounds
per square inch.
So I'll have to ask you
not to smoke.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the bidding is now reopened.
$500,000!
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
All right. Cheers.
Oh, Mr. Rockford.
Mr. Rockford. You were right.
This is Al.
You were right.
He came back.
(WHOOPING)
Have a drink, Al.
Well, Mr. O'Malley?
No hard feelings, huh?
No. I ought to thank you.
Except for the way the police
chopped up my shelter
with their jackhammer.
Well, I'll have it fixed
in a few days.
Make it even stronger.
I'll drink to that.
Hey, hey, sonny.
Come on down here.
Let's get
our picture taken.
All right. Mr. O'Malley.
Where, right here?
With my lawyer.
Yeah.
Where? Here?
All right. Thank you.
Say, how well did we do?
Has anybody figured it out?
Well, let's figure on
1,000 barrels a day, okay?
That's reasonable.
All right, at $1 2 a barrel,
that's $1 2,000.
You figure maybe 10 wells,
$1 20,000.
Now the operator gets
30o/o and 35o/o
goes to each of you.
Which would be
$42,000 a piece.
$42,000. That's pretty good.
You know it's funny,
someway I had the thought that
it might be more,
the way everybody's
carrying on and everything.
Dad, that's $42,000 per day.
$42,000...
For each of us.
That's before expenses.
Oh, naturally. And taxes.
That goes without saying.
I think I need
some more champagne.
Oh, boy.
Hey, look, Dad,
I want to talk to you
about something.
Now when we agreed,
you know,
that we were going to be
partners, we were talking
about a few hundred dollars.
Maybe a few thousand,
if we got lucky.
But it's an awful lot of money
and it just isn't right.
Of course,
it's right, sonny.
It couldn't be righter.
If it wasn't for you,
I wouldn't have anything.
And even if we hadn't been
so lucky, the past few days,
well, working together,
you and me,
I tell you,
it beats fishing.
It sure does.
Hey, Wally. Wally Link.
Come on over here.
Have some champagne.
Champagne for Wally.
Hey, Wally, this is my father,
Joseph Rockford.
Hi.
And this is my attorney,
Beth Davenport.
How do you do?
Wally's the USGS officer
that issued our lease for us.
Yeah. Parcel 334.
When did you sink that well?
We didn't.
Somebody else drilled it
and then capped it.
But still, it came in
before you sold it.
Oh, quite a while ago.
We were lucky.
But you see, I didn't issue
that lease till yesterday.
Does it matter?
Yeah, it does.
The reason the BLM
sends me those leases
in the first place
is for me to verify that
there's no proven geologicaI
structure on that land.
I checked it out,
but I didn't notice the well,
the way it was hidden.
I don't get it.
Well, uh...
The only reason the government
gives those leases away
instead of selling them
is to encourage people
to drill where nobody knows
that there's oil.
I mean, if an area's
already producing,
that's another matter.
I think what he's saying
is the lease
wasn't yours to sell.
I'm afraid that is
what I'm saying.
MAN: Is there
a Mr. Rockford here?
I'm sorry.
MAN: Mr. Rockford?
Thanks for the champagne.
Mr. Rockford?
Yeah, sure, Wally.
You're welcome.
MAN: One of you folks
named Mr. Rockford?
I have a bill here
for $192 for champagne.
Partners.
Yeah.
03x06 - Coulter City Wildcat
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Follows ex-convict turned private investigator from his mobile home in a parking lot on a beach in Malibu, California.
Follows ex-convict turned private investigator from his mobile home in a parking lot on a beach in Malibu, California.