The Rockford Files (TV Series) The No-Cut Contract (1976) User Reviews

The Quarterback Gets Sacked

[zsenorsock · 9/10 · 3 October 2006]

This is another one of those great episodes that begins with a couple of thugs roughing up Rockford when he has absolutely no idea what they want and what they're talking about.

This time Rockford gets in the middle of a fight between the feds including Agent Dan Shore (Wayne Tippit) who first appeared in the episode "The Reincarnation of Angie" and the mob. He's drawn in by a professional football player, "King" Sturtevent (Rob Reiner), a second rate loser with illusions of grandeur who quarterbacks for a mythical Southern Illinois team.

The script is really terrific, with a good mix of comedy and action. There's a nice appearance by the ever fetching Gretchen Corbett as Beth Davenport, and Stuart Margolin is again put to good use as Angel Martin. Garner is also in top form.

Rob Reiner, on a hiatus from "All in the Family" at the time is kind of a push as a loser football player. He's convincing as a loser with illusions of grandeur, but he's just not very convincing as a pro athlete. Even a bad quarterback is generally in some sort of physical shape. But if you can ignore that, this episode is solid.

No character

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 1 October 2012]

More often than not Jim Rockford gets dragged into some hair raising situations through no fault of his own. Sometimes he's not even working on a case and gets dragged in. And even though Angel is on the scene in this one, he didn't even have nothing to do with the particular situation in this episode.

Sometimes modest advertising is better because Rob Reiner playing the star quarterback of some minor professional football league, gets himself in some hot water over some tapes he's made involving organized crime. So what does he do, but pick Rockford out of phone book and says this private he's hired has the incriminating tapes. After a pair of leg breakers visit him, James Garner has all he can do to convince the Feds, the local LAPD, and and the mob he's got nothing to do with nothing. In the end he has to involve himself to clear himself.

Reiner is truly a low life, a person with no character at all who's got an ego telling him he's another Jim Kelly or Johnny Unitas. The scene where he's trying to pick up Gretchen Corbett who is in a police station is priceless. She's there representing Garner after he's been arrested for a murder that Reiner clumsily tried to frame him for. Corbett finds Reiner's charm, eminently resistible.

Stuart Margolin as Angel is on the periphery of this episode and for once he's not the cause of Garner's problems. Still at the beginning he's asking Garner with a con about selling a race horse who is the long lost son of Secretariat. Now that looked like a great plot premise for a Rockford Files episode.

Very funny episode

[ronnybee2112 · 9/10 · 6 January 2023]

This is a memorable episode that I found to be extremely funny. The story isn't very likely but it is indeed quite entertaining. Rob Reiner plays a very sleazy/smarmy quarterback of a bush-league football team who is named "Larry 'King' Sturdeyvant".

Mr. Sturdeyvant has bought himself a lot of trouble when he steals evidence that reveals his football team to be financed by the mob. Mr Sturdeyvant basically tries to push the whole mess off onto Rockford when the heat is on. (This Sturdeyvant character is a snake-in-the-grass,rotten-egg that has to be seen to be believed,Mr. Reiner really did a good job with this role).

What follows is the wonderful fiasco of Mr. Rockford trying to untangle himself from this mess and trying to stay alive and out of jail too! Many great regular and semi-regular cast members have short but memorable parts in this busy episode.

Despite some weak spots,this is a great episode that I enjoyed.

See what YOU think,and tell us !🌞

Rockford and the Meathead

[stones78 · 4 October 2012]

Chances are if a Rockford episode revolves around a sports theme, it'll be a solid one, and this one is no exception. Rob Reiner(All in the Family)makes an entertaining guest appearance as a professional quarterback named Larry "King" Sturtevant, although he looks more like he belongs in a beer league. Reiner seems to have had a blast, as he's out of character from the much more heralded Meathead, and had decent chemistry with James Garner. It turns out that he picked Rockford's name from the phone book, and his plan all along is to pretend that he gave Jim these recorded tapes of mob leaders, who obviously want them returned. Poor Jim knows nothing about the tapes, although he gets his trailer trashed, and gets arrested for a murder he didn't commit, and he's steaming at Larry, understandably so. It boils down to the mob being after both of the men, and once again, Angel(who is great again)gets involved, as long as the price is right. Wayne Tippit is solid as Agent Shore, who bangs heads with Jim, but Rockford usually calls his bluff; Beth has a few good scenes getting Jim out of jail, Dennis is Dennis(good thing), and look for a cameo by hall of famer Dick Butkus at a pool party. Also, look for the famous J-Turn by the Firebird, which is always a treat. After numerous attempts, Larry finally reveals that the important tapes were left with a female friend near the pool party, and even though a few goons with guns follow Jim and Larry, they do make a daring escape, as a portion of one of the tapes is played over a speaker just outside the pool just moments before Dennis and the cops arrest the goons. I would recommend this episode mainly for the quirky performance of Reiner, and how he, Angel, and Rockford work together, although not always on the same page.

GOOF: "The horse could be OUT OF Secretariat..."

[cosmicly · 10/10 · 1 May 2011]

At the beginning of the episode, Angel is describing a scam involving a fake thoroughbred pedigree for a foal. Angel says "The horse could be out of Secretariat. That's not impossible, is it?" In fact, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

In thoroughbred terms, a foal is BY a sire (a stallion/male horse), and OUT OF a dam (a mare/female horse). So although a foal could be BY Secretariat, it is impossible for a foal to ever be OUT OF Secretariat.

But that "goof" aside, "The No-Cut Contract" is a very entertaining episode of The Rockford Files. Even the supporting cast in this episode is exceptional, with NFL great Dick Butkus; Wayne Tippit who plays Agent Dan Shore not only in this episode, but in two other notable episodes of Rockford files, including a touching tribute to Gretchen Corbett's Beth Davenport in "A Portrait of Elizabeth"; and Milt Kogan, who plays various characters in other Rockford episodes, including Angel's brother-in-law Aaron in "The Empty Frame."

Meathead gets tenderized

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 6/10 · 28 December 2022]

Any episode that features Rob Reiner as a self-centred, obnoxious blowhard (in other words, playing himself) who gets slapped around by hired goons is A-1 television in my books.

America's foremost mouthy leftyst (well, not counting Julia Louis-Dreyfus or Michael Moore) plays a morbidly obese NFL quarterback who over-rates his own charms. Sort of a white Russell Wilson.

Meathead's character also faces tax troubles with the IRS and isn't on good terms with the mobbed-up team owner.

Episode is significantly weakened by the writers putting too many words in Reiner's fat piehole. I would have preferred to see his grotesque face catching more knuckles. America got quite enough of Reiner's narcissism on All In The Family. I assume his genuinely funny old man Carl pulled a few strings to get him this guest spot.

Salvaging the scenery is the appearance of super-hot Gretchen Corbett as Rockford's lawyer in a cream-colored wool dress with no discernible evidence of underwear. Even by the standards of a TV series that week-to-week featured super-attractive actresses in guest starring roles, Corbett took a back seat to nobody.

Series semi-regular Stuart Margolin (RIP) also makes another of his memorable appearances. Nearly half a century later Margolin's characterization of "Angel" is still fresh, entertaining and so indelible it featured prominently in every obit I read about him.

Meathead!

[mm-39 · 7/10 · 28 December 2018]

Meathead! If you are familiar with All in the family their is the Meathead who Archie called his son in law you will be surprised. Well meathead plays the complete opposite of what you expect. Reimer is a quarterback who frames Rockford with holding mob tapes. The No-Cut Contract has a mix of humor, and Jim's sarcastic yet slick style. Rob Reimer plays the opposite of the All in the Family character. Who lies, set ups and back stabs Rockford every step of the show. Reimer play's the most repulsive character on the series ever which says alot. Not a bad show, but memorable for the un-likable character. 7 out of 10 stars.