Alias Smith & Jones Online

In the world of "Smith and Jones" nothing and no one can be trusted. Heyes and the Kid are wanted outlaws, but compared to the respectable citizens - lawyer, sheriff, banker, nun - who swindle, lie, betray and try to kill them, they are new-born innocents. No matter how brilliant Heyes' latest scheme, it's bound to end in disaster, and even if they DO make a little money, someone will steal it. Not that WE are any better at knowing what will happen next:

"Everything's under CONTROL!" cries the harassed deputy, and the Bank explodes.

Heyes and the Kid are not great romantic rebels like Butch Cassidy and Sundance; they are just, like the rest of us, trying to earn an honest living in a treacherous world. But they ARE inspiring nonetheless in the depth of their friendship - at a crisis, they never have to confer -and in their empathy with other outcasts:

"We like to think there's a little bad in everyone," says Heyes, enjoying the joke.

While earlier Western series may have tended to sermonize, "Smith and Jones" never takes itself too seriously, but charms us with its modesty into acceptance of the values it recommends.

I was 11 when I found out Pete Duel had shot himself and I was heartbroken like so many others. I watched the show from the pilot on and looked forward to Alias Smith and Jones every week. I really loved the show. Pete Duel and Ben Murphy just went so well together. I find it interesting that Pete has been gone for 36 years at this time and so many people still miss him. Little did he know that past the days of black and white TV there would be an internet someday and people commenting about him. I thought I was the only one devastated by his death. I am almost 48 now and have a 6 year old son who has watched the Alias Smith and Jones DVD with me. I was so happy to see it was released. When I watched it fond memories came back to me. I realized that ASAJ was as good as I remembered it. It was timeless. Even though ASAJ was not on very long, it had made a big impression on people. I still feel bad about Pete's death and believe that he was a great actor and had so much to offer. I don't think he had a clue how many people would be affected by his death. I hope he is resting in peace.

The cable channel, WESTERN, is re-broadcasting all the episodes of this series. My husband, a Jones, and myself, formerly a Smith(!), have been enjoying watching these shows again. We saw them when they originally aired when we were kids. We think they have aged well and are still fun. We like seeing Smith & Jones getting into trouble and always finding a way out. And spotting guest actors who have gone on to become famous is a fun game to play. We had guessed that Roger Davis was the narrator for the first two seasons but weren't sure until we saw the credit listed on this site. We also like the fact it's a show we can watch with our 9 year old who has become a fan too!

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 . . . .

In the UK this gentle, unassuming western series stormed straight into viewers' hearts; garnered enormous audiences, and generated many fond memories... how many among us still recall the 'five pat-hand' poker trick? Lots and lots, I'd wager.

What made it so successful, in retrospect, was the thoroughness of the script preparation and the subsequent chemistry between the two leads. Roy Huggins' (aka John Thomas James) thoughtful and professional approach was everywhere. Many of the most memorable moments within the series were based upon fact and/or documented historical incidents e.g. soap selling dodges, poker escapades, safe-cracking attempts, and - although I was unaware of this as a child - it explains why so much of the series' background 'hung true'. Toss in the amiable, laconic tit-tat verbal interplay between Hannibal Heyes (Pete Duel) and Kid Curry (Ben Murphy)... and you ended up with small-screen magic.

Heyes followed the silver-tongued, 'I can talk us out of this calamity' approach, with endless undinted confidence and zest, but varying success; Curry, meanwhile, was content to watch him 'wing-it', then stepped in when catastrophe threatened - as it often did.

It was the 'little things' that made this series soar, the consistency of character, the fallibility, the kicks of fate that tweaked Heyes and Curry into two magnetically likable 'pretty good bad men'. The delicate interplays between two men who would 'do to ride the river'.

It was often the smallest stories that were the most successful, the ones where technically 'not a lot was happening'. For example, in one episode they got snowed-in, for the whole winter, in a remote mountain cabin... all very static? nope, just the opposite... what you got, was a heck of a lot of Heyes and Curry getting on with the business of making the best of a bad deal. Fantastic.

This is the 'less is more' approach; so often lauded - but oh so rarely allowed onto the screen. The actors gelled with their characters; the characters enthralled; the writing created an environment within which the ensemble could thrive.

So okay... some episodes were better than others, a couple were great, and a couple were not-so great; but through it all Smith & Jones bantered and bickered, won, lost, and kept on trying. It was joyous entertainment. Joyous.

What's that, you said? Naw... can't be... d'you mean, you really don't know the 'five pat-hand' poker trick?!

Watch and Enjoy!

I saw every episode of this show until the tragic suicide of Pete Duel. Pete Duel and Ben Murphy had the chemistry that makes a very good "buddy" show. They were Hannibal Heyes (Pete Duel) and Kid Curry (Ben Murphy), outlaws trying to go straight under the aliases Smith and Jones. Heyes had the brains and Curry had the fast draw, but they used brains more than guns. Many of the shows were elaborate scams the boys set up to get friends of theirs out of trouble - while trying to keep out of trouble themselves. It was funny and charming and it was one of the most enjoyable shows I ever saw on television. After the death of Pete Duel, they replaced him with Roger Davis playing Hannibal Heyes. I watched a few, but it was never the same.

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.

What can I say about this show its just great. I was a little grasshopper in the early 70's but could watch it with my Big Sister in high school. She had a crush on both of them but Pete was her sweety. She also had the hots for Jim West of Wild Wild West oh so funny now. Mom and Dad had Gunsmoke we had Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes our heroes. The show was just kick butt with action, humor, plots, and quality stars. You wanted these two to come in your house every week. They were great role models for young boys. How to treat girls, help old folks, and save a ranch or town from villains. I like how they could fall into a trap now and then great humor. I just wanted to ride with them away on an adventure. Cowboy days are long gone now but they had a long run with all good shows from beginning to end. The best family show probably Bonanza, another kid's favorite Branded, and adult theme Cimarron second to my Smith and Jones. Heyes and Curry ended the western motif but at on a high note for quality. The western shows never seem to get rusty or dry. Briscoe County Jr was really good more like a Wild Wild West but more humor towards a Smith and Jones. And now another cult classic Firefly is my favorite over the boys. From the beginning of Firefly it isn't a scifi but a western. It has the same feel that Alias Smith and Jones had. Both of course cut short in TV history. I also felt the success of Battlestar Galactic 1978 was due in part to Apollo and Starbuck's chemistry that Curry and Heyes had in the best American Cowboy series. A gem in TV history.

I'm watching reruns on the Western E&W digital channels. The story lines were very good and interesting, as well as the great color and scenery. It seemed that the popularity began to fade when Pete Duel died (I heard it was suicide around the Christmas Holidays). Roger Davis was not as well accepted as the replacement of Hayes, but I think it was only because he had appeared in the series a few times before as a baddie. I just saw one this evening "The smiling man with a gun". Since they are not shown in any sequence each evening, you never know which will be Hannibal Hayes. Since the show first aired, I have retired and visited different areas of the west each summer for the past six years. I've tried to figure where that beautiful scenery was. My guess would have to be Moab UT and the Arches NP. That is how the rock formations looked out there, and also Sedona, AZ. No tall cactus so it was not in southern Arizona. Thanks.

I can remember in 1972 , crying when the telly went on the blink at 8.20 on Monday night , BBC 2 .Why ???? Cause asaj was on .Black and white at the time (or at least it was in our house ) - I was shattered .I blamed my Dad , I blamed my Mum - but nothing would make it come back on .How could I miss an episode ? I did that night but saw the repeats and saw the repeats ! What a brilliant series - I can't even remember after Pete died - I only remember him .That must be powerful - he must have had something special .I now have the boxset and am reliving 1971 - what a brilliant time .This is what TV series are all about .The USA have realised after 30 years how to command a TV show .Prisoner Break , Lost , Heroes, Journey Man - you all owe to ASAJ - they taught us about the people - not the setting .

I agree with the other review. I was devastated when Peter Duel died. I did not like the replacement, Roger Davis in 1971. I watched it recently and boy was I wrong. I miss Peter Duel, and wish he had not committed suicide, but the show with Roger Davis was as good as with Peter. I wonder why they did not use Roger Davis in the first place. I will watch the series again and again, all 50 episodes, wishing they tried a fourth season. This could have been the longest running show on TV had it not been for the damage of the stars death. A transition of stars is what killed the show at the time. But both stars were as good as the other, even though at the time I was devastated by Peter Duel's death. I will always wonder why a 31 year old, rising star, on his third series, with all his success would kill himself.

This is the first time I've written a review, and it's for a show 40+ years old - talk about 'timely'! I was 11 when Pete Duel killed himself and cried myself to sleep for a week at least. I have such a clear memory of coming downstairs and seeing the paper that my father read each morning with a picture of Pete and the horrible news. This show is obviously nostalgic and sentimental for me - a comfort food if you will - however, after repeated viewings of every episode of the Pete Duel version I think it is amazing that the chemistry of the two leads shines through regardless of whether the episode is one of the great ones, or one of the silly - Ben & Pete rose above their material week after week. What an amazing legacy to leave behind - along with countless others I marvel at how much Pete Duel is still missed and thought of by his fans. I am thrilled to have the series available on DVD anytime I need it to brighten my life. My other 'go to' series from the 70s whose leads also had a chemistry that defies explanation - especially since neither of the 2 pairs of actors in either show were close friends or socialized in real life - is the UK series The Professionals. I highly recommend that series to anyone not already familiar with it!

"Alias Smith and Jones" debuted on ABC in January 1971, little more than a year after the release of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and that's hardly coincidental. The series was undoubtedly an attempt by Universal to cash-in on the success of the Paul Newman-Robert Redford megahit. The resemblance series co-star Ben Murphy had to the man with the blue eyes wasn't coincidental either. But "Alias Smith and Jones" was created by Roy Huggins, the man who gave us "Maverick," which one could say inspired "Butch..." so if anyone had the right to pattern a series on that movie, it was Huggins. Besides, this series achieved what the overrated "Butch" only aspired to. It had wit and style, was well-written, and had a first-rate cast. There was a solid chemisty between Pete Duel and Murphy, and the guest stars were also well chosen. I have fond memories of this show, although its quality deteriorated somewhat in February 1972 when Roger Davis took over for Duel (who died on New Year's Eve 1971 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound). It would be nice to see it released on video or at least added to the lineup on TV Land.

As sad as this may sound ,at present they are doing a rerun of Alias Smith and Jones and I have been watching every episode,I still get a buzz watching the show and the boys getting up to their antics, what I found very surprising was the amount of great guest stars they had in the show , I watched an episode last night where Roger Davies was a guest star and he double crossed they boys until Kid Curry had no option but to take him out , I find the show as one of the best entertainment shows of the 70s and the pace and scripts were always written with great endings , What I also loved was the boys always got the worst deal and always came out with nothing to gain, I would recommend Universal look at this and maybe turn it to a Movie and give the leads to Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp and a masterpiece that would be , I gave the idea remember that !!! a def for a hit movie and great for Alias Smith and Jones Fans ..

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.

My wife and I loved this series when we were teenagers. It came out on DVD and we just bought it. It's even better than I remember. One thing that stuns me, is the caliber of the guest stars! - for a show that was a mid-season starter, and only went another year and a half after that, there were top-shelf actors and actresses in this show. Strother Martin, James Drury, Patrick MacNee, Juliet Mills, JD Cannon, just to name a few.

I've watched eight episodes of the first half-season, as well as the pilot, and thanks to DVD can re-play scenes as much as I wish. Given my semi-invalid state the past year, I spend a lot of time watching old shows and on the computer so this is just plain GREAT entertainment.

We're gonna turn our grandkids onto AS&J before we are through!

I just finished viewing all 11 DVD's of the "Alias Smith & Jones" Complete series set and ...wow! What a great show.

I was only 4 & 1/2 when the series ended and even though it was still in reruns in the early 80s,I had no interest then. (Typical teen). My local library got in 2 copies of this set and I just had to watch it.

Some Westerns take liberty & license with how things were and looked back then but the detail given to the 1ook of the 1880s period in the west is great! Right down to the money they used,the clothes, the music,as well as factual details about events that happened.

The pilot show is great,setting off the story of Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry and how they decide to try and go straight and "get out of this business" of train robbing.

The shows are engaging,funny,clever and at times even dramatic & serious. You gotta love Kid Curry's unbelievable "fast draw".

Season 2 (aside from Pete Duel's untimely end) is just about as good. Loved the episode "The Bounty Hunter" with Louis Gosset Jr.

However a few shows get a little silly in some parts though. (Like that "boing!" sound effect used twice in 2 shows.)

The remaining shows after Duel's parting are a bit shaky. Ben still looks lost kind of lost without Pete but according to the interview on the special features disc. Not even 2 or 3 days after Pete's suicide did they recast his role!

Season 3? Awesome! The opener "The Long Chase" almost feels like a movie in a theater. Roger Davis does his best acting in that one too. Just wish there'd been more shows and a finale.

(Either "The Day The Amnesty Came Through" or "The Strange Fate of Conrad Meyer Zulick" would have made great endings to the series.

The only other thing I can say is (like others) I wish they could restore these shows somehow. 3 of the shows looked even older than they are.

Despite these little nagging things,I loved it. 9 Stars. (END)

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.

After the hit. Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. this show came and followed the formula used in the butch and Cassidy movie. Pete Duel and Ben Murphy had lots of chemistry on screen . so did Roger Davis who replaces Duel its unfair to judge the Duel episodes to the Davis actors as Davis had so little time to prepare. I imagine the cast were relived the show was canceled since there was no time to mourn Pete Duel. It would of been better for Fans .If Duel simply had quit then Duel could return as a guest star. westerns during this era were dying and if Duel had waited he get his wish to be out of the show and be free to pursue other roles.