The Rockford Files - "Chicken Little is a Little Chicken"

Original Air Date: November 14, 1975

Directed by: Lawrence Doheny

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: Angel (Stuart Margolin) asks Jim Rockford (James Garner) for help without explaining the whole messy situation in which he is caught up.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Jim’s lawyer, Beth (Gretchen Corbett) is the one who leaves a message on Jim’s answering machine during the title segment. She says, “Jim, it’s Beth. You have the vet’s number, the flea collar and extra litter. One thing I forgot . . . keep him away from other cats. He’s not very discriminating.”

Sure enough Jim tells Angel in the middle of the episode that he is staying at Beth’s apartment to watch her cat. During the establishing shot of the apartment building, we hear some Poor Cat Screeching. When we finally see the kitty in question, he is a tuxedo cat sitting on the back of the couch where Jim is resting. For some odd reason the cat is licking a pom pom on the quilted couch cover.

The Rockford Files - Chicken Little is a Little Chicken - tuxedo cat licking pom pom on back of couch where Jim Rockford James Garner is sleeping

The cat then jumps off the couch over Jim, waking him up. The exact same Poor Cat Screech is heard. The cat is not seen again but the same screech is repeated when Jim gets on the phone to talk to Angel. “I’ll feed you later!” Jim states. When the cat is still screeching after Jim gets off the phone, he cries, “I’ll get something to eat, okay!”