Sorry, this movie sucks

Fantastic!

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The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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.

Alias Smith and Jones was a breath of fresh air in 1971. It made most of the westerns my dad watched seem dull and old fashioned. Hollywood was still making western movies starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda who usually played geriatric gunfighters. The rival spaghetti westerns seemed tacky and often ridiculous. I have fond memories of Smith & Jones.The series was loosely based on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It was light-hearted and humorous. Pete Duel and Ben Murphy played Hannibal Heyes (aka, Smith) and Kid Curry (aka, Jones). Heyes provided the brains and was an excellent card player, while Curry was the fastest gun in the West. The stories were well written, uncomplicated and enjoyable. The lead characters were youngish and likable.I was at school in England and it was shown on Monday nights on BBC2 sandwiched between the science series Horizon and Call My Bluff. It was a show I looked forward to. Watching it again it's not as good as I remembered it, but it is still enjoyable.

Created by Glen A. Larson and produced by Douglas Heyes and Roy Huggins (who was also served as executive producer)along with Jo Swerling,Jr. "Alias Smith and Jones",was ABC's last attempt at saving the television western during the early 1970's. Out of 50 episodes that this series produced by Roy Huggins,under his production company Public Arts/Roy Huggins Productions and Universal Television,the series ran for two seasons on ABC-TV from January 21,1971 until the final episode of the series on January 13,1973. Hannibal Heyes(Pete Duel),and Kid Curry(Ben Murphy)who were outlaws trying to go straight had the chemistry that made it a very good "buddy" show. The story lines along with the fresh and jokey episodes became very popular,especially with its young audience,since the show was not only a sleek update of Huggins' classic 1950's western series "Maverick",but also undoubtedly an attempt by Universal to cash-in on the success of the 1969 motion picture "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid",which was a megahit at the box office and raked in on the stylings of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The series debuted in January of 1971,a little more than a year after the release of that film,and more than a year after the original TV-Movie "The Young Country",premiered as part of the ABC Movie of the Week on March 12,1970.This was a grand series that was well-written and had a first-rate cast. There was solid chemistry between Pete Duel and Ben Murphy which by the way work on all levels,which made this show a surprise hit. The reason? "Alias Smith and Jones" was made in the same spirit as many other TV shows that used the same formula from "Maverick",to "The Fugitive","Run For Your Life",and "Renegade",about men that are convicted of crimes they did not do or were facing a sudden crisis,and were on the run going crisscrossing throughout America,going from town to town where they get involved with the people they meet. Somewhere along the way,they always found themselves in some predicament and would always had a solution to finding their way out. Heyes had the brains while Curry had the quickeness and the fast draw with a gun,but they used their brains instead of their guns,which was at a last resort. Many of the episodes were having some kind of scheme or set-up. It worked. Pete Duel was tragically killed on December 31,1971,and was headlines across the country was something viewers couldn't even imagine. As production was set to start the show on its second season,the producers replace Pete Duel with Roger Davis(who was in the original TV-Movie)and from there the chemistry that was magic,went downhill quick. The second season,didn't last very long. The final two episodes of the series "Witness To A Lynching"(the final episode to be filmed in production that was telecast on 12-16-72),and the last "Only Three To A Bed",(telecast:1-13-73),was the last episode in the series.

i'm sitting at home in London, 3.00 in the afternoon watching an old episode of the first Star Trek series when i should be working.the episode featured Sharon Acker as "Odona" and she was so striking i looked her up on IMDb and found that she was a regular in all those truly fantastic 60s and 70s shows - her career touched my formative years intimately: Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Wild Wild West, Love Boat, Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, Rockford Files and of course, Alias Smith and Jones.I hate to get sentimental, but suddenly the 60s and 70s seems like such a great time to have been growing up - particularly for me in San Francisco, just a little too young to be a hippy but old enough to find the whole thing hilarious.I would be glued to every episode of Smith and Jones - why was it so good? Pete Duel's laconic, knowing character, Ben Murphy's more macho delivery. what a great piece of casting - there seemed to be a genuine bond between them that created a "buddiness" rarely seen on the screen. And there was a sensitivity and vulnerability to Pete Duel that seems even clearer given his suicide. Too far to call him a poor man's Steve McQueen? No, he was a rich man's Peter Deuel.Then I see that Douglas Heyes, the writer, also wrote a load of episodes for Twilight Zone, Naked City and 77 Sunset Strip (now there was a series). There has to be a PhD thesis here - why were so many of the low-budget TV series of the 50s and 60s so cool, so well-written, so effective and compelling with no money, no special effects, no computer animation, no mega-stars. Oh, yeah, I see...Pete, Ben, Sharon, Douglas - thankyou so very much.