Alias Smith and Jones

Under the creation of Glen A. Larson and Roy Huggins(who serves as executive producer)along with Jo Swerling, Jr., the television series "Alias Smith and Jones" premiered on ABC's Thursday night schedule in prime time on January 5,1971 producing 50 episodes until January 13,1973. Out of the 50 episodes that this series produced,Season one produced 15 episodes airing from January 5, 1971 until April 22,1971.Season two produced 23 episodes airing from September 16,1971 until March 2,1972. The third and final season of the series saw it's move to Saturday nights in an earlier time slot produced 12 episodes airing from September 16,1972 until January 13,1973.(Where it was placed opposite "All In The Family",and "Emergency!). The Western-adventure laced comedy series starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry who were outlaw cousins trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty,aiming to keep the pact a secret. The "condition" in which they had to follow was that they were still wanted by the law until it becomes advantageous for the Governor to sign their clemency.

"Alias Smith and Jones" was modeled after the phenomenal success of the 1969 theatrical feature "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford that was a colossal box office hit. So the powers that be over at Universal(which produced the series) along with network executives at ABC though it would be a great idea to cash in on the success of the film. On March 17, 1970, the origin of "Alias Smith and Jones" began with a two hour made for television movie titled "The Young Country" about two con- artists in the Old West premiered as a special presentation on the ABC Movie of the Week. It was produced and directed by Roy Huggins(who also served as the executive producer) that also starred Walter Brennan and Joan Hackett. The two leads played by Roger Davis and Pete Duel were in the TV-Movie version with special guest star James Drury(of "The Virginian" fame). The TV-Movie version was indeed a smash hit and along with creator and producer Glen A. Larson on board gave the greenlight for the series. In fact both "The Young Country" and the series pilot originally aired as ABC Movies of the Week.

"Alias Smith and Jones" was made in the same spirit as his other American produced TV-series from Huggins' own shows such as "Maverick","Cheyenne", "The Fugitive", "Run For Your Life" to "Renegade" just to name a few. "Alias Smith and Jones" was next to the last of the great American television Westerns which dominated the prime-time schedule with "Gunsmoke",and "Bonanza" still standing among the last of the dinosaur of Westerns. The problem was that the network put this great Western series on it's prime time Thursday night schedule for the remainder of it's first two seasons(1970-1971 and 1971-1972) where it went opposite NBC's top-rated variety series "The Flip Wilson Show",and went neck in neck in competition with CBS' "Bearcats!". In fact "Alias Smith and Jones" held it's own on it's Thursday night time slot...an astounding feat in prime time television until the sudden death of actor Pete Duel which almost brought the show to a halt in production. Series writer-director,and producer Roy Huggins contacted actor Roger Davis(who was the narrator in the opening credits of the series' first season) to replaced Pete Duel in both Season 2 and Season 3. The rest they say is history. Actor Ralph Story became the main narrator for Seasons 2 and 3 of the series .

"Alias Smith and Jones" brought in big time directors, big time writers not to mention big time guest stars as well. Actress Sally Field appeared in two episodes of the series as the character Clementine Hale(Joan Hackett portrayed the character the TV-Movie Version). Other guest stars that were on the series included Burl Ives, Pernell Roberts, Alan Hale, Jr., Jack Cassidy, Cesar Romero, Neville Brand, John Russell, Rory Calhoun, Susan Oliver, Chill Willis, Slim Pickens, Claudine Longet, Denver Pyle, Susan Saint James, Jack Elam, Earl Holliman, Dennis Fimple, Michele Lee, Alejandro Rey, Sam Jaffe, and J.D. Cannon.

The series continued for two more seasons,but within the show's third and final season(which moved from Thursday to Saturday nights in an earlier time slot) it never regained it's popularity after the tragic loss of actor Pete Duel. "Alias Smith and Jones" was indeed the next to the last of the Western genre that was giving way to gritty police dramas brought the show to an end on January 13,1973. Three days after "Alias Smith and Jones" was canceled by ABC,another long-running popular Western series "Bonanza" aired it's final episode after 14 seasons and 431 episodes for NBC on January 16,1973. Leaving the eighteen year-old "Gunsmoke"(which ended it's 20-year run on March 31,1975),and the syndicated comedy Western series "Dusty's Trail" and "Kung-Fu" as the only Westerns scheduled for the 1973-1974 Fall Season.

The rest were cop dramas when "Alias Smith and Jones" was replaced on the ABC prime time scheduled by the police drama "Griff" starring former "Bonanza" member Lorne Greene and former "Alias Smith and Jones" member Ben Murphy.

In the UK this gentle, unassuming western series stormed straight into viewers' hearts; garnered enormous audiences, and generated many fond memories... how many among us still recall the 'five pat-hand' poker trick? Lots and lots, I'd wager.

What made it so successful, in retrospect, was the thoroughness of the script preparation and the subsequent chemistry between the two leads. Roy Huggins' (aka John Thomas James) thoughtful and professional approach was everywhere. Many of the most memorable moments within the series were based upon fact and/or documented historical incidents e.g. soap selling dodges, poker escapades, safe-cracking attempts, and - although I was unaware of this as a child - it explains why so much of the series' background 'hung true'. Toss in the amiable, laconic tit-tat verbal interplay between Hannibal Heyes (Pete Duel) and Kid Curry (Ben Murphy)... and you ended up with small-screen magic.

Heyes followed the silver-tongued, 'I can talk us out of this calamity' approach, with endless undinted confidence and zest, but varying success; Curry, meanwhile, was content to watch him 'wing-it', then stepped in when catastrophe threatened - as it often did.

It was the 'little things' that made this series soar, the consistency of character, the fallibility, the kicks of fate that tweaked Heyes and Curry into two magnetically likable 'pretty good bad men'. The delicate interplays between two men who would 'do to ride the river'.

It was often the smallest stories that were the most successful, the ones where technically 'not a lot was happening'. For example, in one episode they got snowed-in, for the whole winter, in a remote mountain cabin... all very static? nope, just the opposite... what you got, was a heck of a lot of Heyes and Curry getting on with the business of making the best of a bad deal. Fantastic.

This is the 'less is more' approach; so often lauded - but oh so rarely allowed onto the screen. The actors gelled with their characters; the characters enthralled; the writing created an environment within which the ensemble could thrive.

So okay... some episodes were better than others, a couple were great, and a couple were not-so great; but through it all Smith & Jones bantered and bickered, won, lost, and kept on trying. It was joyous entertainment. Joyous.

What's that, you said? Naw... can't be... d'you mean, you really don't know the 'five pat-hand' poker trick?!

Watch and Enjoy!

The cable channel, WESTERN, is re-broadcasting all the episodes of this series. My husband, a Jones, and myself, formerly a Smith(!), have been enjoying watching these shows again. We saw them when they originally aired when we were kids. We think they have aged well and are still fun. We like seeing Smith & Jones getting into trouble and always finding a way out. And spotting guest actors who have gone on to become famous is a fun game to play. We had guessed that Roger Davis was the narrator for the first two seasons but weren't sure until we saw the credit listed on this site. We also like the fact it's a show we can watch with our 9 year old who has become a fan too!

I'll always wonder: had he lived, could Pete Duel have rescued the TV Western from oblivion? Gunsmoke and Bonanza, the hoary old legends of the genre, already were teetering on their ancient last legs, with but a few more seasons to be squeezed out of them, when, out of the blue, as I remember it, came Alias Smith and Jones, whose fresh and jokey episodes became pretty wildly popular, especially with young people (that would be the likes of *me*, as I was 16 at the time). Alas, as others have already noted, Pete Duel committed suicide just as the series was hitting its stride. (The story of Duel's death made headlines across the country in a way contemporary viewers of TV dramas cannot imagine.) Roger Davis came in as a replacement and the series slid right downhill immediately thereafter--although I did like the episodes with Michele Lee. At any rate, about the only TV Western afterward to generate anything similar to Alias Smith and Jones' excitement was Kung Fu. Sidenote: James Garner's marvelous, and utterly forgotten series, Nichols, should have been the next great Western after Alias . . .

What made Alias Smith and Jones tick? I always thought it was a sleek updating of what had already been a semi-comic TV Western success a few years earlier, Maverick. In fact, you can spot touches of the Bret Maverick characterization in both Heyes and Curry, along with some similar story lines and plot developments. Not to mention the lifting of the "five pat hands" trick, which Bret Maverick employed more than once. All of which should not be too much of a surprise, however, as Roy Huggins was instrumental to both series.

Otherwise, watch out for the handful of episodes with Slim Pickens. "Exit from Wickenburg", the one where Slim works as the crooked bartender of a saloon/casino, is a masterpiece. It just wouldn't be a proper 1960s Western without Slim popping up every now and then.

What a pity that Pete Duel succumbed to his demons. What a loss for network TV, the Western, and the many fans of Alias Smith and Jones. Who knows what could have been . . . .

This is the first time I've written a review, and it's for a show 40+ years old - talk about 'timely'! I was 11 when Pete Duel killed himself and cried myself to sleep for a week at least. I have such a clear memory of coming downstairs and seeing the paper that my father read each morning with a picture of Pete and the horrible news. This show is obviously nostalgic and sentimental for me - a comfort food if you will - however, after repeated viewings of every episode of the Pete Duel version I think it is amazing that the chemistry of the two leads shines through regardless of whether the episode is one of the great ones, or one of the silly - Ben & Pete rose above their material week after week. What an amazing legacy to leave behind - along with countless others I marvel at how much Pete Duel is still missed and thought of by his fans. I am thrilled to have the series available on DVD anytime I need it to brighten my life. My other 'go to' series from the 70s whose leads also had a chemistry that defies explanation - especially since neither of the 2 pairs of actors in either show were close friends or socialized in real life - is the UK series The Professionals. I highly recommend that series to anyone not already familiar with it!