The Young Country

I remember seeing this TV movie as a child and really enjoying it. I wish it would show up again so I could compare it to the series it fostered.

This is the pilot that ABC passed on. Apparently, they thought the movie to be a little too Maverick-like (a reviewer at the time actually described Davis's lazy student turned drifter to be a cross between Maverick and another Warner Brothers cowboy, Sugarfoot) and wanted a little more action/brawn and a buddy relationship.

Exit Roger Davis, for the time being. Enter Ben Murphy and the second successful pilot, now called "Alias Smith and Jones".

overly repetitive theme song boring watching everyone screwing each other

"The Young Country" was an installment of "The ABC Movie of the Week" and is currently posted on YouTube...like so many of these made for TV movies. I generally enjoyed these films...especially the really goofy ones involving alien impregnations ("The Stranger Within"), witches in Old Salem ("Crowhaven Farm") and weird monsters living up in the chimney ("Don't Be Afraid of the Dark"). They were neat because they were edgy and different. Edgy and different is NOT what I would call "The Young Country"...a film that seems an awful lot like the TV show "Maverick" and several other movies I've seen over the years.

The story involves a couple gamblers who try to outdo each other-- and the big prize is retrieving some stolen money. To do so, one poses as a lawman. There's more to it than that...but I don't really care to talk about it more.

The bottom line is that folks trying to film flam each other is a dull topic to me...and this treatment is even duller than usual. Perhaps you'll enjoy it...it just wasn't to my taste.

Following service in the US Civil War, tightly-attired Roger Davis (as Stephen Foster Moody) arrives in a small western town. After playing cards with poker-faced winner Wally Cox (as Ira Greebe), Mr. Davis hits the trail. He happens upon $38,040 in saddlebags and decides to return it to Mr. Cox in Kingsberg, Colorado. But nobody in town remembers Cox. Likewise handsome Pete Duel (as Honest John Smith) rode into town with Davis, after the wheel on his coach broke; he becomes involved with the mystery. Pretty girlfriend Joan Hackett (as Clementine Hale) hooks up with Mr. Duel, then Davis; she is looking for a man with money. Local lawman Walter Brennan (as Matt Fenley) isn't sure who to trust...

This ABC Tuesday "Movie of the Week" was a hit with viewers. It was re-vamped to more closely resemble the popular film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) and became the series "Alias Smith and Jones" (1971-1973). That starred Duel and Ben Murphy. Two aliases in this story are "Aaron Grimes" and "John Closkey". The "Doctor Mudd" character played by Thomas Bellin is likely intended to be the physician associated with John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln...

"The Young Country" also served to "introduce" Davis to the public, after resurgence in popularity as a regular on ABC's daytime serial "Dark Shadows" (where he appeared 1968-1970). In fact, Davis was already a veteran of two nighttime series. It is interesting to see Davis is the leading man, with Duel clearly secondary. Probably, Davis did not want to commit to the series spin-off, initially, due to his feature film career prospects. He joined "Alias" after Duel's sad suicide. Writer/director Roy Huggins does well with early scenes, featuring Davis on a train and good western sets. The ending could have been improved with a re-appearance from Mr. Brennan. He is owed some money for listening to Davis' jail cell singing.

***** The Young Country (3/17/70) Roy Huggins ~ Roger Davis, Pete Duel, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan

This was made before the hit and by the same people who made the hit show Alias Smith and Jones which starred Peter Duel and Roger Davis. It has the same kind of writing, directing, themes and even the same actors, props and scenes. Why this wasn't picked up as a series is another TV mystery because it is as good as Smith and Jones. It is different as Duel plays a con man after some stolen money and Davis is a semi-honest nice guy who finds the money and intends to return it but gets mixed up with Duel and the talented funny gorgeous Joan Hackett. For any fan of Smith and Jones this is a must see. I have been a Smith and Jones fan since I was 9 and watched it in it's original run and reruns and now on DVD. I was reading about the show when I came across this movie and watched in online. It is really good and would like on DVD but it's never been released as I can find. But again if you are a fan of Smith and Jones or Peter Duel and Roger Davis see this.

For billing purposes Walter Brennan is the star of The Young Country, a made for TV western. But the actual stars are Peter Deuel, Roger Davis, and Joan Hackett a trio of confidence workers operating in the old west.

The amusement value of this film is of the chuckle rather than the belly laugh kind of humor. The two men get a hold of a lot of money Wally Cox embezzled from the bank he worked at. They're working at cross purposes and then discover that seemingly goody two shoes Joan Hackett has been conning them both.

The film served as the pilot for the Alia Smith And Jones western series where Ben Murphy replaced Roger Davis. And then ironically when Peter Deuel committed suicide Davis replaced Deuel.

The western holds up well after 50 years, western fans will enjoy.