The Young Country (1970) (TV)

Director:

Roy Huggins

Writer:

Roy Huggins (written by)

Release Date:

17 March 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

An adventurous young gambler searches for the owner of a mysterious fortune. |

Plot Keywords:

Gambler | Gunman | ABC Movie Of The Week | Inheritance | Unsold TV Series Pilot

Cast

Walter Brennan	...	Sheriff Matt Fenley
Joan Hackett	...	Clementine Hale
Wally Cox	...	Aaron Grimes / Ira Greebe
Pete Duel	...	Honest John Smith
Roger Davis	...	Stephen Foster Moody
Skip Young	...	Desk clerk
Steve Sandor	...	Parker
Robert Miller Driscoll	...	Harvey 'Fat' Chance
Richard Van Vleet	...	Randy Willis
Elliott Street	...	R.R. ticket clerk
Barbara Gates	...	Woman
Luis Delgado	...	Billings
Thomas Bellin	...	Dr. Mudd
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Terrence Evans	...	Postmaster
Robert Gooden	...	1st player
James Jeter	...	Stagecoach driver (as James E. Jeter)
Gregg Martell	...	Blacksmith
Jordan Rhodes	...	Train brakeman

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company:

Public Art Films

Quotes:

Honest John Smith: Go ahead. Lie to me.

The Young Country:The Pilot Episode of Alias Smith and Jones

The two hour made for television movie "The Young Country" premiered on March 12,1970 as part of a special presentation for the ABC Movie of the Week. This was also the pilot episode for the television series "Alias Smith and Jones". However,the movie version was produced by Roy Huggins,the man who brought us "Maverick",and "The Fugitive",who also directed the original pilot movie. What made this TV-movie so very successful? Well,during the early part of the 1970's the only two westerns that were still on the air at the time,"Bonanza"(which was at its 11th season),and "Gunsmoke"(coming on its 16th season),the legends of the genre,were teering on their ancient last legs,but with a few more seasons to be squeezed out of them. Also to point out at the height of the show's popularity,"Alias Smith and Jones" was TV's desperate attempt to save the television western,which was at the age of the dinosaur at the time. At the time the TV-movie came out in 1970,a little more than a year after the release of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid",and that's hardly coincidental.

The TV-Movie and the series was undoubtedly an attempt by network executives at ABC and studio executives at Universal to cash in on the success of the Paul Newman-Robert Redford megahit,which was a huge box office success in 1969. The other part that made this so successful was that the series "Alias Smith and Jones" was made in the same spirit as with many other TV shows with the same premise,like "Maverick", "The Fugitive", "Run For Your Life",and "Renegade"(which were produced by Roy Huggins)where the stories focus on men on the run who went crisscrossing America from one place to another while getting involved with the people they meet. The TV-Movie,produced and directed by Huggins,had the same premise.....two men who were on the run and were gulity for the crimes they committed,and were given pardon for all the wrong they done. The TV-Movie version starred Pete Duel as Smith and Roger Davis(who would eventually come back to AS&J in the show's second season after the sudden death of actor Pete Duel,who in turn was the show's narrator at the beginning of the series during Season 1)as Foster Moody. Also starring here are actress Joan Hackett as Clementine Hale(who was in the pilot episode,but during Season 1 was played by Sally Field in a two-part episode of the series) and Oscar winning actor Walter Brennan as Sheriff Fenley. The TV-Movie was a surprise hit in the Nielsen ratings and on the strength of the pilot,was made into a weekly which premiered on ABC as "Alias Smith and Jones" on January 21,1971 as a midseason replacement.