Alias Smith and Jones
Encyclopedia
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western
series that originally aired on ABC
from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel
as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy
as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform. The deal: a promise of conditional amnesty, by a governor who wants to keep the pact under wraps.
. 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
. 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
(Universal contract player Ben Murphy was handed to the producers because he was considered a Paul Newman lookalike.) 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
, played in that film by Ted Cassidy
. (However, unlike the TV version, the real Kid Curry was a cold-blooded killer.) The names "Smith and Jones" originated from a comment in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
when the characters are outside a bank in Bolivia and Sundance says: "I'm Smith
and you're Jones
."
The series also featured a group of robbers 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.
, Hannibal Heyes and Jedediah 'Kid' Curry (whose boyish face spawned the nickname) 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 one thing: "out of this business!" Since they have never killed anyone, they qualify for pardon
s. 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. The two are skeptical and ask, "That's a good deal?"
Heyes's and Curry's skepticism proves very well justified indeed; 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 hunter
s 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 are forced to rely on Heyes's silver tongue, Curry's fast draw, and occasionally a little help from their friends from both sides of the law.
was brought in to provide narration for the series (he rather than Davis had done so in the pilot). Story's slightly revamped intro partially explained why the renown duo didn't split to evade capture- they were cousins.
Recurring characters include:
Series writer, director and producer Roy Huggins contacted actor Roger Davis
(who had appeared in episode #19 "Smiler With a Gun" and provided narration for the series) the day of Duel's death to fill the role of Hannibal Heyes. Davis was fitted for costumes the following day, and began re-shooting scenes Duel had previously completed for an unfinished episode the following Monday. According to Swerling, the decision to continue production so soon after Duel's death was heavily criticized in the press at the time.
Roger Davis' original theme voiceover referred to the characters as "latter day heroes". The Ralph Story
intro substituted that disciption with the phrase, "Kansas cousins". In the first episode with Davis (season 2, episode 19), "The Biggest Game In the West", Heyes shouts to Curry: "Yes sir! Cousin, you're alright!". In the episode "Don't Get Mad Get Even", Curry and Heyes both make reference to their Irish grandfather Curry.
aired its final episode, leaving the eighteen-year-old Gunsmoke
, and the syndicated comedy-western, Dusty's Trail
as the only Westerns scheduled for Fall 1973.
released the complete first season of Alias Smith and Jones on DVD in Region 1 on February 20, 2007 and in Region 2 on June 11, 2007.
Timeless Media Group (under license from Universal) released Seasons 2 and 3 on April 13, 2010.
On October 19, 2010, Timeless Media Group released Alias Smith and Jones: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 10-disc set features all 50 episodes of the series.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series that originally aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel
Pete Duel
Pete Duel was an American actor, best known for his role in the television series Alias Smith and Jones.-Early life:Peter Ellstrom Deuel was born in Rochester, New York, and grew up in nearby Penfield....
as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy
Ben Murphy
Benjamin E. Murphy is an American actor. He is known for his role in the ABC television series Alias Smith and Jones, co-starring as Kid Curry, first with Pete Duel and later with Roger Davis.-Early life:...
as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform. The deal: a promise of conditional amnesty, by a governor who wants to keep the pact under wraps.
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 WestAmerican Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. It was produced, written and directed by Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files....
, 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
Roger Davis (television actor)
Jon Roger Davis is an American actor and entrepreneur. The sandy-haired Davis is best known for his boyish good looks, and lilting, Henry Fonda-like voice. He came to fame in such television series as Dark Shadows and Alias Smith and Jones...
starred as Stephen Foster Moody, and Pete Duel had the secondary but significant role of Honest John Smith, while Joan Hackett
Joan Hackett
Joan Ann Hackett was an American actress who appeared on stage, in films, and on television.- Early life :She was born in New York City of Irish and Italian extraction...
played a character called Clementine Hale, the same name as a part played on two AS&J episodes by Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
. This pilot was rejected, but Huggins was given a second chance and, joined by Glen A. Larson
Glen A. Larson
Glen Albert Larson is an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.-Career:...
, developed Alias Smith and Jones. Both The Young Country and the series pilot movie originally aired as ABC Movie of the Week
ABC Movie of the Week
The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...
entries.
Alias Smith and Jones was made in the same spirit as many other American TV series, from Huggins' own The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
to Renegade
Renegade (TV series)
Renegade is an American television series that ran for 110 episodes spanning 5 seasons between September 19, 1992 and April 4, 1997.The series stars Lorenzo Lamas as Reno Raines, a police officer who is framed for a murder he didn't commit. Raines goes on the run and joins forces with Native...
, 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
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
, starring Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
(Universal contract player Ben Murphy was handed to the producers because he was considered a Paul Newman lookalike.) There were a number of connecting themes: one of the heroes was named Kid Curry which was also the nickname of Harvey Logan
Harvey Logan
Harvey Alexander Logan , also known as Kid Curry, was an American outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang. Despite being less well known than his counterparts, he has since been referred to as "the wildest of the Wild Bunch"...
, an associate of the real Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy
Robert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
, played in that film by Ted Cassidy
Ted Cassidy
Theodore Crawford Cassidy , known as Ted Cassidy, was an American actor who performed in television and films. At 6 ft 9 in in height, he tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie...
. (However, unlike the TV version, the real Kid Curry was a cold-blooded killer.) The names "Smith and Jones" originated from a comment in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
when the characters are outside a bank in Bolivia and Sundance says: "I'm Smith
Smith (surname)
Smith is an English family name originating in England. It is the most common surname in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the second most common surname in Canada, and the fifth most common surname in Ireland...
and you're Jones
Jones (surname)
Jones is a common Celtic Welsh surname based on the English version of the parent's name ending in -S. In 1881 people with this surname were largely confined to Wales. By 1998 many Welsh people had migrated to cities in England particularly those adjacent to Wales. The earliest record of the name...
."
The series also featured a group of robbers called the Devil's Hole Gang which was based on the Hole in the Wall Gang
Hole in the Wall Gang
The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang was a gang in the American Wild West, which took its name from the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in Johnson County, Wyoming, where several outlaw gangs had their hideouts. The Gang was not simply one large organized gang of outlaws, but rather was made up of several separate...
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 TerritoryWyoming Territory
The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital...
, Hannibal Heyes and Jedediah 'Kid' Curry (whose boyish face spawned the nickname) 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
Mounted search and rescue
Mounted search and rescue is a specialty within search and rescue , using horses as search partners and for transportation to search for missing persons. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a search resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support and transportation...
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 one thing: "out of this business!" Since they have never killed anyone, they qualify for pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
s. Through an old acquaintance, Sheriff Lom Trevors (James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
in the pilot, variably by Mike Road
Mike Road
Mike Road is a voice actor and a Warner Bros. television series contract player whose career dates back to the 1950s....
and John Russell
John Russell (actor)
John Lawrence Russell was an American actor, and World War II veteran, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962....
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
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
, 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. The two are skeptical and ask, "That's a good deal?"
Heyes's and Curry's skepticism proves very well justified indeed; 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 hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
s and operatives of the Bannerman Detective Agency (a satire of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
), not to mention other outlaws. To get out of these sticky situations, they are forced to rely on Heyes's 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 sharp. 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. After Davis was hired as Heyes, his distictive voice could no longer be used in the theme intro. Ralph StoryRalph Story
Ralph Story, originally Ralph Bernard Snyder was an American television and radio personality. He was best remembered as the host of The $64,000 Challenge, a spin off of the game show The $64,000 Question, from 1956 until 1958.-Biography:Story was born Ralph Bernard Snyder in Kalamazoo, Michigan...
was brought in to provide narration for the series (he rather than Davis had done so in the pilot). Story's slightly revamped intro partially explained why the renown duo didn't split to evade capture- they were cousins.
Recurring characters include:
- Kyle Murtry (Dennis FimpleDennis FimpleDennis Clarke Fimple was an American character actor. Throughout his career, he made guest appearances in a variety of TV shows, including Here Come the Brides, Petticoat Junction, M*A*S*H, Simon & Simon, Sledge Hammer!, Knight Rider, Quantum Leap and ER...
) and Wheat Carlson (Earl HollimanEarl Holliman-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
), 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 IvesBurl IvesBurl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
) and Señor Armendariz (Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
), two ranchers on opposite sides of the US-Mexico border/Rio GrandeRio GrandeThe Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
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 FieldSally FieldSally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
), an old friend who has no problem with blackmailing the reformed outlaws when necessary. Field had appeared in only one episode before Duel's death, 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 LeeMichele LeeMichele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
. In the third season, Field did appear as Clem one last time;
- Soapy Saunders (Sam JaffeSam Jaffe (actor)Sam Jaffe was an American actor, teacher, musician and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur and The Day the Earth Stood Still...
) and Silky O'Sullivan (Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
), 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.
Death of Pete Duel
In the early morning hours of Friday, December 31, 1971, series star Pete Duel died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 31. He was reportedly suffering from depression and had been drinking heavily. Upon learning of Duel's death, executive producer Jo Swerling, Jr. initially wanted to end the series but ABC refused. Swerling later stated:ABC said, "No way!" They said, "You have a contract to deliver this show to us, and you will continue to deliver the show as best you can on schedule or we will sue you." Hearing those words, Universal didn't hesitate for a second to instruct us to stay in production. We were already a little bit behind the eight ball on airdates. So we contacted everybody, including Ben [Murphy], and told them to come back in. The entire company was reassembled and back in production by one o'clock that day shooting scenes that did not involve Peter - only twelve hours after his death.
Series writer, director and producer Roy Huggins contacted actor Roger Davis
Roger Davis (television actor)
Jon Roger Davis is an American actor and entrepreneur. The sandy-haired Davis is best known for his boyish good looks, and lilting, Henry Fonda-like voice. He came to fame in such television series as Dark Shadows and Alias Smith and Jones...
(who had appeared in episode #19 "Smiler With a Gun" and provided narration for the series) the day of Duel's death to fill the role of Hannibal Heyes. Davis was fitted for costumes the following day, and began re-shooting scenes Duel had previously completed for an unfinished episode the following Monday. According to Swerling, the decision to continue production so soon after Duel's death was heavily criticized in the press at the time.
Roger Davis' original theme voiceover referred to the characters as "latter day heroes". The Ralph Story
Ralph Story
Ralph Story, originally Ralph Bernard Snyder was an American television and radio personality. He was best remembered as the host of The $64,000 Challenge, a spin off of the game show The $64,000 Question, from 1956 until 1958.-Biography:Story was born Ralph Bernard Snyder in Kalamazoo, Michigan...
intro substituted that disciption with the phrase, "Kansas cousins". In the first episode with Davis (season 2, episode 19), "The Biggest Game In the West", Heyes shouts to Curry: "Yes sir! Cousin, you're alright!". In the episode "Don't Get Mad Get Even", Curry and Heyes both make reference to their Irish grandfather Curry.
Cancellation
The series continued for another seventeen episodes, but never regained its popularity after the loss of Duel. This, as well as the fact that the long prominent Western genre was giving way to police dramas, brought the show to an end on January 13, 1973. On January 16, 1973, BonanzaBonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
aired its final episode, leaving the eighteen-year-old Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, and the syndicated comedy-western, Dusty's Trail
Dusty's Trail
Dusty's Trail is an American Western/comedy series that aired in syndication from September 1973 to March 1974. The series is set in the 19th century about a small group of travelers separated from their wagon train who become lost. Dusty's Trail stars Bob Denver as "Dusty" Boots, the assistant to...
as the only Westerns scheduled for Fall 1973.
DVD releases
Universal Studios Home EntertainmentUniversal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
released the complete first season of Alias Smith and Jones on DVD in Region 1 on February 20, 2007 and in Region 2 on June 11, 2007.
Timeless Media Group (under license from Universal) released Seasons 2 and 3 on April 13, 2010.
On October 19, 2010, Timeless Media Group released Alias Smith and Jones: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 10-disc set features all 50 episodes of the series.
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