Alias Smith and Jones

infobox Television
show_name = Alias Smith and Jones
format = Western
runtime = 48 X 60 minutes
2 X 90 minutes
creator = Glen A. Larson
original packager = Universal Studios
starring = Pete Duel
Ben Murphy
Roger Davis
country = United States
network = ABC
first_aired = January 5, 1971
last_aired = January 13, 1973
num_episodes = 50
list_episodes = List of Alias Smith and Jones episodes
imdb_id = 0066625
tv_com_id = 229

"Alias Smith and Jones" is a Western television series on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Kid Curry, a pair of Western outlaws trying to reform.

When Duel died suddenly on December 31, 1971 (reportedly of a self-inflicted gunshot), an attempt was made to continue the series with another actor, Roger Davis, in the role of Heyes. The series continued for another seventeen episodes, but never regained its popularity after the loss of Duel. Davis first voiced the intro theme, which explained the storyline. When he was hired to play Heyes/Smith, Ralph Story assumed the intro narration. In the final season the intro referred to Heyes and Curry as "Kansas cousins". Two episodes that season also made reference to them as cousins.

Inspiration

"Alias Smith and Jones" began with a made-for-TV movie of the previous year called "The Young Country", about con artists in the Old West. It was produced, written and directed by Roy Huggins, who served as executive producer of "AS&J" and, under the pseudonym of John Thomas James, at least shared the writing credit on most episodes. Roger Davis starred as Stephen Foster Moody, and Pete Duel had the secondary but significant role of Honest John Smith, while Joan Hackett played a character called Clementine Hale, the same name as a part played on two "AS&J" episodes by Sally Field [Yoggy, Gary A., "Riding the Video Range: The Rise and Fall of the Western on Television", McFarland & Co., 1995, pp.477-478] [imdb title|id=0066595|title=The Young Country] . This pilot was rejected, but Huggins was given a second chance and, joined by Glen A. Larson, developed "Alias Smith and Jones". Both "The Young Country" and the series pilot movie originally aired as "ABC Movie of the Week" entries.

"Alias Smith and Jones" was made in the same spirit as many other American TV series, from Huggins' own "The Fugitive" to "Renegade", about men on the run crisscrossing America and getting involved in the personal lives of the people they meet. One major difference was that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry "were" guilty of the crimes that they were accused of committing, but were trying to turn over a new leaf.

The series was inspired by the success of the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. There were a number of connecting themes: one of the heroes was named Kid Curry which was also the nickname of Harvey Logan, an associate of the real Butch Cassidy (unlike the TV version however, the real Kid Curry was a cold-blooded killer).

The series also featured a group of outlaws called the Devil's Hole Gang which was based on the Hole in the Wall Gang from where Cassidy recruited most of his outlaws.

However, in order to give them an element of sympathy, Heyes and Curry were presented as men who avoided bloodshed (though Curry did once kill in self-defense) and trying to reform.

Premise

Operating primarily in Wyoming Territory, Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry are the two most successful outlaws in the history of the west. However, the west is starting to catch up with the modern world: safes are becoming harder to crack, trains more difficult to stop, and posses more skilled at tracking them down.

Heyes, the leader of the Devil's Hole Gang, falls out with the other members and he and Curry decide to "get out of this business". Since they have never killed anyone, they qualify for pardons. Through an old acquaintance, Sheriff Lom Trevors (James Drury in the pilot, variably by Mike Road and John Russell in the series, due to the sporadic nature of the character's appearances), they manage to contact the territorial governor. He agrees to grant them amnesty, but cannot do so openly without angering the public. He therefore makes a deal with them: if they can stay out of trouble for a considerable but unspecified period of time ("until the governor feels we deserve it") and not tell anyone about their arrangement, they will be cleared of all charges. Until then, they will still be wanted ("That's a good deal?").

However, the straight and narrow path is not easily traveled. Heyes and Curry (now calling themselves Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones) often find themselves tangling with lawmen, bounty hunters and operatives of the Bannerman Detective Agency (a satire of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency), not to mention other outlaws. To get out of these sticky situations, they must rely on Heyes' silver tongue, Curry's fast draw, and occasionally a little help from their friends from both sides of the law.

Characters

Heyes was deemed "cunning", and Curry was "gunning". Heyes/Smith was considered the brains of the duo, and a card shark. Curry/Jones was the master gun hand, and the brawn. Usually, Heyes figured out ways to make money and save the twosome from precarious situations.

Recurring characters include:
*Kyle Murtry (Dennis Fimple) and Wheat Carlson (Earl Holliman), members of the Devil's Hole Gang, formerly led by Heyes and Curry;

*Harry Briscoe (J.D. Cannon), a Bannerman detective who occasionally finds himself on the wrong side of the law;

*Patrick "Big Mac" McCreedy (Burl Ives) and Señor Armendariz (Cesar Romero), two ranchers on opposite sides of the US-Mexico border/Rio Grande waging a feud over a valuable bust which represents land that had been owned by Armendariz until the river temporarily switched course, moving the border with it, allowing MacCreedy to sell the land. Heyes and Curry get stuck in the middle;

*Clementine "Clem" Hale (Sally Field), an old friend who has no problem with blackmailing the reformed outlaws when necessary. Field had appeared in only one episode when Duel died, and she declined to return to the program. Several scripts intended for her were rewritten to feature Georgette "George" Sinclair, who was played by Michele Lee. In the third season, Field did appear as Clem one last time;

*Soapy Saunders (Sam Jaffe) and Silky O'Sullivan (Walter Brennan), both retired confidence men that the boys call on when in need of a large sum of cash and a good con to get them out of trouble.

Episode guide

*main|List of Alias Smith and Jones episodes

Production notes

* Filming was not halted immediately following the news of Pete Duel's death. Instead, the crew was ordered to film around his role until a decision was made as to the future of the series.

References in other works

*The title was parodied in the 1980s British comedy series "Alas Smith and Jones".

*The title was also parodied in "Smith and Jones", a 2007 episode of "Doctor Who"

DVD releases

The complete first season was released on region 1 DVD on February 20 2007 and region 2 DVD on June 11 2007.

Memorable quotes

* Narrator: " Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry: the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West. And in all the trains and banks they robbed they never shot anyone. This made our two latter-day Robin Hoods very popular with everyone but the railroads and the banks" (when Davis advanced to a leading role and the narration was rerecorded by another actor, "Robin Hoods" became "Kansas cousins").
* Narrator (from the pilot): "Into the west came many men. Some were good men and some were bad men. Some were good men that had some bad in them, and some were bad men that had some good in them. This is the story of two pretty good bad men."
* Kid Curry (from the main opening sequence in every episode): "There's one thing we got to get Heyes"; Heyes: "What's that ?"; Kid Curry: "Outta this business!"
* Wheat Carlson: "If it don't involve dynamite, it ain't gonna work."
* Hannibal Heyes: "You know ever since you became a dancer you've been some prima donna!"
* Kyle Murtry: "That's the dirtiest trick I've ever heard of... but I like it."
* Harry Briscoe: "Remember! A Bannerman man never forgets!"
* Kid Curry: "I'd say 'tender' but then you'd feel called upon to say something clever and I'd have to kill ya."
* Sister Julia: "By any chance are you two gentlemen Catholics?"
Kid Curry: "No, uh, Kansans, ma'am."
* Hannibal Heyes: "Alright? I'm better'n alright. I'm brilliant."

Trivia

* Duel's sister Pamela appeared on a 1983 episode of the Christian talk show "The 700 Club" discussing Duel's depression. The actor did mention suicide to her saying, "I've been watching you, your stability. I think you can endure it".
* Today, Roger Davis is a successful California real estate developer.
* Ben Murphy continues to act and is very popular in Great Britain, having made "meet and greet" appearances in England in summer of 2006.
* Gene Roddenberry, of "Star Trek" fame, wrote the story for the episode "The Girl in Boxcar #3."

References

Further reading

*Sagala, Sandra K. & Bagwell, JoAnne M. (2005). "Alias Smith & Jones - The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men". Albany: BearManor Media ISBN 1-59393-031-3

External links

* [http://www.asjcollection.com Alias Smith & Jones Collection]
* [http://www.framecaplib.com/asjlib.htm Alias Smith & Jones Image Library]
* [http://www.aliassmithandjones.net/ Alias Smith and Jones The Remake]