Alias Smith and Jones 

A pair of outlaws seeking amnesty from the Governor must stay incognito and out of trouble in a town while a friend pleads their case. The wait is complicated by a lovely bank manager and the arrival of members of their former gang.

Director:

Gene Levitt

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (teleplay), Douglas Heyes (teleplay) (as Matthew Howard)

Stars:

Pete Duel, Ben Murphy, Forrest Tucker

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Pete Duel	...	Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith)
Ben Murphy	...	Jed 'Kid' Curry (alias Thaddeus Jones)
Forrest Tucker	...	Deputy Harker Wilkins
Susan Saint James	...	Miss Porter
James Drury	...	Sheriff Lom Trevors
Jeanette Nolan	...	Miss Birdie Pickett
Earl Holliman	...	Wheat
Dennis Fimple	...	Kyle
Bill Fletcher	...	Kane
John Russell	...	Marshall
Charles Dierkop	...	Shields
Bill McKinney	...	Lobo
Sid Haig	...	Outlaw
Jerry Harper	...	Outlaw
Jon Shank	...	Outlaw

Storyline

A pair of outlaws seeking amnesty from the Governor must stay incognito and out of trouble in a town while a friend pleads their case. The wait is complicated by a lovely bank manager and the arrival of members of their former gang.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | amnesty | gunfight | shootout | opening action scene | 

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

An almost carbon copy of The Virginian, Season 1, Episode 29 "Run Away Home," with Ben Murphy playing James Drury's role (who plays Lom Trevor here), and Susan St James playing Jeannine Riley's part. The original story was written by Gene Roddenberry.

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Goofs

Wheat calls the Devil's Hole gang "Seven sorry lives of crime," yet there are only six outlaws.

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Quotes

Narrator: Nobody can really pinpoint just when that period called the West ended. Maybe it was when the last outlaws were captured or put out of business. If so, this story is about the end of the West. This was American's frontier at the turn of the century... indoor plumbing and telephones, automobiles and nickelodeons. The West was getting to be downright comfortable for everyone. Well, everyone but the outlaws.

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Connections

Edited from The Wild Wild West (1965)

User Reviews

A fascinating history

"Alias Smith And Jones" is actually a reworking of an earlier pilot/movie, called "The Young Country," about con artists in the Old West. It starred Roger Davis AND Pete Duel and was quite good. If it has ever been shown anywhere since its original ABC network airings (I assume they reran it once) it got by me. Apparently an ABC executive said "Not bad, but make it more like 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid'" and a Universal studio exec added, "Here's a sort of Paul Newman look-a-like we've got under contract you can use, so lose one of those guys." So Ben Murphy replaced Davis in the second pilot and the rest is history. If you doubt me, note that in "Country" Joan Hackett plays a character called Clementine Hale, the same name given to Sally Field's two-time guest role in the "AS&J" series. It is a shame that Roger Davis is thought of as the guy that flopped as Duel's replacement, because he was very effective in the original.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Jahr Galgenfrist

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1