Juanita Bartlett Movies

In this western, a female sheriff must fight to keep her job by capturing a dangerous bandito. She must also fight with international revolutionaries. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single "TV movie"), glamorous socialite Kendall Warren (Lauren Bacall) insists upon helping Jim (James Garner) track down the mysterious assailant who has been trying to kill her--and to find out why she has been thus targetted. This case hits a snag when the most likely suspect, gangster Tommy Minnette (Carmine Caridi), ends up murdered himself. And what has become of Princess Irene (Dana Wynter), the woman who hired Jim to protect Kendall in the first place? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Jim (James Garner) has cooked up an elaborate sting operation to save the printing plant owned by the father of fellow private eye Richie Brockelman (Dennis Dugan) from the clutches of crooked sports promoter Coombs (Robert Webber). The scam is wide-ranging indeed, involving a travelling King Tut exhibition and a popular auto-racing track. While simultaneously endeavoring to pull off the con and preventing his "pal" Angel (Stuart Margolin from gumming up the works, Jim also finds himself falling in love with enigmatic co-conspirator Odette (Trisha Noble). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season six of The Rockford Files marks the return of James Garner as wryly humorous ex-con turned private eye Jim Rockford -- but not for long. Weary of the role, fed up by constant quarrelling with the production staff over story values and working conditions, and racked with pain from a variety of job-related injuries, Garner abruptly quit the popular series just before shooting wrapped. With no star, there was no Rockford Files, and the show was canceled -- leaving one announced episode, "Never Trust a Boxx Boy," uncompleted and abandoned. But before this could happen, the season opens with "Paradise Cove," highlighted by the much-publicized guest appearance of Mariette Hartley, who was then appearing with Garner in a series of popular camera commercials. (The warm rapport between the two actors was so persuasive that many viewers assumed they were married, prompting Hartley to half-seriously go around wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the message "I am not Mrs. James Garner!".) This is followed by the two-parter "Lions, Tigers, Monkeys, and Dogs," with guest-star turns by Hollywood icons Lauren Bacall and Dana Wynter. Other highlights during the series' final season are the return appearances of Tom Selleck as the insufferably lucky P.I. Lance White in "Nice Guys Finish Dead," James Whitmore Jr. as casually unscrupulous detective Fred Beamer in the same episode, and Rita Moreno in her Emmy-winning role as troublesome prostitute Rita Capkovic in "No Fault Affair." And speaking of Emmies, Rockford Files co-star (and occasional writer and director) Stuart Margolin this season walked home with his second gold statuette for his portrayal of Jim Rockford's delightfully untrustworthy former cellmate Angel Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) is delighted at the prospect of his son Jim (James Garner) being reunited with interior decorator Valerie Pointer (Patrick Crowley), who'd been Jim's girlfriend back in the late 1950s'. But Val has a habit of stirring up trouble wherever she goes--and on this occasion, she is being stalked by a would-be murderer. Likely suspects include Val's son-in-law Eric (Ted Shackelford) and her rather formidable new client Zarakarian (Robert Quarry)--and what about Jean Ludwig ($Elizabeth Brooks), who offers a job to Jim for the express purpose of getting him out of town and far away from the luckless Val? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rita Moreno makes her first series appearance as freewheeling prostitute Rita Capkovic, who is one of Dennis Becker's most reliable (but least welcome!) street informants. When Rita is attacked by a couple of shady French-speaking characters, she hires Jim (James Garner) to find out who is trying to kill her and why. The trail of clues leads to a Canadian hockey team, which in turn is linked with Rita's best friend Maggie...who turns up dead before the final fadeout. This episode earned an Emmy award for guest star Rita Moreno. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While studying for his Lieutenant's exam, Dennis Becker (Joe Santos) is assigned to investigate the murder of the wife of Deputy Police Chief Towne (Byron Morrow). Knowing all too well that Dennis will never get his promotion--and more likely will face demotion--if anything goes wrong with his investigation, Jim (James Garner) surreptitiously tags along to provide assistance. But Jim's efforts may be all for naught when Dennis uncovers some embarrassing truths about the late Mrs. Towne's dalliances with various paroled convicts. A pre-stardom Ed Harris appears in a pivotal role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Garner took time off from The Rockford Files to star in the "retro" TV movie The New Maverick, written by Rockford stalwart Juanita Bartlett. Garner steps into the role of western gambler Brett Maverick as though the 20 years since the original TV series had never passed; he is costarred, as ever, with Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick. Charles Frank is introduced as the Maverick boys' young nephew Ben, a Harvard dropout and gambler-in-training who would carry the action when this film graduated into a brief TV series titled Young Maverick. The plot involves a train holdup, stolen gatling guns, a stupid politico (Eugene Roche), and a gang of Eastern gangsters led by horse-hating George Loros. Susan Sullivan costars in The New Maverick as Poker Alice, a character who was later given a pilot film of her own. The New Maverick is in its own modest way just as much fun as Mel Gibson's expensive Maverick feature film of 1994--which also costarred the evergreen James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Police detective Dennis Becker (Joe Santos) is suspended after being framed on a heroin-possession charge. Since the drugs in question had been confiscated by the police, it would seem that somewhere in the Department is lurking a "dirty" cop determined to destroy Dennis. In his efforts to prove his friend's innocence, Jim (James Garner) matches wits with a third-rate nightclub comic (Jack Carter) who is acting as go-between for a notorious drug dealer. This is the first of two Rockford Files episodes in which James Garner is reunited with his former Maverick costar Jack Kelly, here cast as the villain of the piece. Also making guest appearances are future Hill Street Blues regular James B. Sikking as a zealous internal-affairs officer, and Bucklind Beery, son of series costar Noah Beery Jr., as a policeman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not long after Jim (James Garner) hides his .38 in a cookie jar, he is charged with murder when the weapon is used in a gas station holdup. Can the pilfering of the pistol have anything to do with Viola Wenke (Nora Marlowe), the new cleaning lady that Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.) talked Jim into hiring? Perhaps--but first the detective must figure out the connection between the murder of a gas station attendant and a radical paramilitary group headed by one Lee Ronstadt (Adrienne Marden). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hired by Dr. Eric Albach (Larry Linville) to find the doctor's missing wife Tracy (Corinne Michaels), Jim is confused by Albach's seeming lack of concern over whether Tracy is brought back dead or alive--or at all. In fact, the farther Jim gets away from solving the woman's disappearance, the more money Albach lavishes upon him. It turns out that Albach is using Jim as the unwitting guinea pig in an elaborate behavioral experiment...and by the time Jim figures this out, a murder has been committed and an aging movie star (J. Pat O'Malley) has been sucked into the intrigue! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the opening episode of The Rockford Files' third season, private eye Jim Rockford (James Garner) can't get the police to believe that his stewardess friend Lori Jenivan (Sharon Gless) is being pursued by a killer. But the fact is that Lori has been vulnerable to attack ever since she made an offhand comment to "frequent flyer" Timpson Farrell (John McMartin), a widely respected rare coin collector. Unfortunately, the girl was the proverbial Wrong Person in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time--and she has tumbled to the fact that Mr. Farrell moonlights as a professional hit man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide