Alias Smith and Jones

TV Series
1971–1973
TV-PG
1h

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

2.5K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer3:05

Classical Western Western

Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks".Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks".Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks".

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

2.5K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,956

327

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

Episodes50

Browse episodes

TopTop-rated3 seasons3 years

More like this

7.6

The High Chaparral

7.6

The Virginian

7.7

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

6.8

6.9

7.0

7.3

7.4

7.5

7.2

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

7.1

Love on a Rooftop

7.1

Medical Center

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
The tragic death of Pete Duel on December 31, 1971, was not acknowledged by ABC when the next episode aired as scheduled on Thursday, January 6, 1972.

Goofs
During the entire show, Heyes and Curry have either one pair of saddlebags each, or nothing at all, yet they continually appear in different recurring outfits, including heavy coats, suits (with matching hats), and different vest/jacket combinations.

Quotes
[first lines for first season's episodes]
[narrator speaks over scenes of Heyes and Curry committing various robberies]
Narrator: Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry - the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West. And in all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone. This made our two latter-day Robin Hoods very popular - with everyone but the railroads and the banks.
[cut to scene of posse in hot pursuit of Heyes and Curry]
Jed 'Kid' Curry: There's one we thing we gotta get, Heyes.
Hannibal Heyes: What's that?
Jed 'Kid' Curry: Out of this business!
[cut to meeting between Heyes, Curry and Sheriff Trevors]
Sheriff Lom Trevors: The governor can't come flat out and give you amnesty now. First you have to prove you deserve it.
Hannibal Heyes: Ah. So all we have to do is just stay out of trouble till the governor figures we deserve amnesty.
Jed 'Kid' Curry: But in the mean time, we'll still be wanted.
Sheriff Lom Trevors: Well, that's true. Till then only you, me and the Governor will know about it. It'll be our little secret.
Hannibal Heyes: That's a good deal?
[cut to scene where another posse is in hot pursuit of Heyes and Curry]
Jed 'Kid' Curry: I sure wish the governor'd let a few more people in on our secret!

Connections
Follows Alias Smith and Jones: Alias Smith and Jones (1971)

User reviews23

Review

Featured review

8/10

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 . . . .