Alias Smith and Jones
| Alias Smith and Jones | |
|---|---|
Alias Smith and Jones title card
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| Genre | Western |
| Created by | Glen A. Larson |
| Starring |
Pete Duel Ben Murphy Roger Davis |
| Narrated by | Roger Davis Ralph Story |
| Theme music composer | Billy Goldenberg |
| Composer(s) | Billy Goldenberg Robert Prince Pete Rugolo John Andrew Tartaglia |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 50 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Roy Huggins |
| Producer(s) |
Glen A. Larson Jo Swerling, Jr. |
| Cinematography |
William Cronjager Gene Polito John M. Stephens |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Universal TV Universal/Public Arts Production |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | January 5, 1971 – January 13, 1973 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Young Country |
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty, aiming to keep the pact a secret. The "condition" is that they will still be wanted until it becomes politically advantageous for the governor to pardon them.
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 West. It was produced, written, and directed by Roy Huggins, who served as executive producer of the show, and under the pseudonym 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. Joan Hackett played a character called Clementine Hale; a character with the same name appeared in two Alias Smith and Jones episodes, played by Sally Field. This pilot was rejected, but Huggins was given a second chance and, with Glen A. Larson, developed Alias Smith and Jones. Both The Young Country and the series pilot movie each originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week.
Alias Smith and Jones was made in the same spirit as many other American TV series of the time, from Huggins' own The Fugitive to Renegade, about fugitives on the run across America who get involved in the personal lives of the people they meet. The major difference was that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry were guilty of the crimes for which they were accused, but were trying to begin a noncriminal life.
The series was modeled on the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. (Universal contract player Ben Murphy was offered to the producers because he was considered a Paul Newman lookalike.) A number of similarities are seen between the film and the TV series: One of the lead characters in the film was called Harvey Logan (played by Ted Cassidy). In real life, Harvey Logan, also known by the nickname of "Kid Curry", was an associate of the real Butch Cassidy, and unlike the TV version, was a cold-blooded killer.
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