"Alias Smith and Jones" (1971) TV series 1971-1973

Creator:

Glen A. Larson
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

21 January 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Plot:

Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular...

Plot Keywords:

Wild West | Star Died During Filming | Satire | Character Name In Title

Cast

Ben Murphy	...	Jed 'Kid' Curry (Thaddeus Jones) (50 episodes, 1971-1973)
Roger Davis	...	Narrator / ... (49 episodes, 1971-1973)
Pete Duel	...	Hannibal Heyes / ... (33 episodes, 1971-1972)

Series Directed by
Jeffrey Hayden		(8 episodes, 1971-1973)
Alexander Singer		(8 episodes, 1971-1972)
Jack Arnold		(5 episodes, 1971-1972)
Barry Shear		(4 episodes, 1971)
Richard Benedict		(3 episodes, 1971-1972)
Fernando Lamas		(2 episodes, 1971)
Gene Levitt		(2 episodes, 1971)
Richard C. Bennett		(2 episodes, 1972)
Jeff Corey		(2 episodes, 1972)
Bruce Wilson		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Glen A. Larson		(50 episodes, 1971-1973)
Roy Huggins		(39 episodes, 1971-1973)
Dick Nelson		(8 episodes, 1971-1972)
Nicholas E. Baehr		(6 episodes, 1971-1972)
Robert Hamner		(3 episodes, 1971)
William D. Gordon		(2 episodes, 1971-1972)
Howard Browne		(2 episodes, 1971)
Gloryette Clark		(2 episodes, 1972)
Jo Swerling Jr.		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Roy Huggins	....	executive producer (50 episodes, 1971-1973)
Jo Swerling Jr.	....	associate executive producer / producer (42 episodes, 1971-1973)
Glen A. Larson	....	producer (38 episodes, 1971-1972)
Steve Heilpern	....	associate producer / producer (32 episodes, 1971-1973)
Nicholas E. Baehr	....	associate producer (13 episodes, 1971-1972)

Series Original Music by
John Andrew Tartaglia		(30 episodes, 1971-1973)
Billy Goldenberg		(11 episodes, 1971)
Pete Rugolo		(6 episodes, 1971-1972)
Robert Prince		(3 episodes, 1971)

Series Cinematography by
Gene Polito		(24 episodes, 1971-1973)
William Cronjager		(17 episodes, 1971-1972)
John M. Stephens		(7 episodes, 1971)

Series Film Editing by
Albert J.J. Zúñiga		(12 episodes, 1971-1972)
John J. Dumas		(11 episodes, 1971-1973)
Richard Bracken		(9 episodes, 1971-1972)
Gloryette Clark		(8 episodes, 1971-1972)
Thomas McMullen		(3 episodes, 1972)

Series Art Direction by
Phillip Bennett		(34 episodes, 1971-1973)
Robert Emmet Smith		(12 episodes, 1971)

Series Set Decoration by
Bert F. Allen		(35 episodes, 1971-1973)
Joseph J. Stone		(12 episodes, 1971)

Series Production Management
Carl Beringer	....	unit manager (21 episodes, 1972-1973)
Ben Bishop	....	unit manager / unit production manager (14 episodes, 1971)
Bud Brill	....	unit manager (9 episodes, 1971)
Burt Astor	....	unit manager (4 episodes, 1971)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Gaudioso	....	assistant director (17 episodes, 1971-1972)
G. Warren Smith	....	assistant director (11 episodes, 1971-1972)
Richard C. Bennett	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1971-1973)
Jack Doran	....	assistant director (6 episodes, 1971)
Lou Watt	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Robert R. Bertrand	....	sound (21 episodes, 1971-1973)
Earl Crain Jr.	....	sound (21 episodes, 1971-1972)
David H. Moriarty	....	sound (3 episodes, 1971)
Edwin S. Hall	....	sound (2 episodes, 1971)

Series Stunts
Diamond Farnsworth	....	stunts (4 episodes, 1972-1973)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
William H. Burton	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Harold 'Hal' Frizzell	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Monty Laird	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Jimmy Nickerson	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Bill Raymond	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vincent Dee	....	costume supervisor (14 episodes, 1971)

Series Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervisor / editorial supervision (49 episodes, 1971-1973)
Ron Meredith	....	assistant film editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Billy Goldenberg	....	composer: theme music (39 episodes, 1971-1973)
Hal Mooney	....	music supervisor (12 episodes, 1972-1973)
Mike Deasy	....	musician (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Nicholas E. Baehr	....	executive story consultant (12 episodes, 1972-1973)
Arthur E. McLaird	....	assistant to producer (3 episodes, 1972)

Production Companies

• Universal TV
• Universal/Public Arts Production

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1971-1973) (USA) (TV)
• Studios USA Television
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (season 1)

Runtime:

60 min (50 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

George Peppard was also in the running to replace actor Pete Duel before Roger Davis was chosen. Davis was already acting as the narrator of the opening credits. When he was added to the cast, a different narrator, Ralph Storey, was brought in to do the opening credits.

Quotes:

Hannibal Heyes: What are you sweatin' for, Kid? I've handled nitroglycerin before.
Jed 'Kid' Curry: I know, Heyes, but there's always a last time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Girl in Gold Boots (#11.2)" (1999)

Could Pete Duel Have Saved the TV Western?

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 . . . .