Alias Smith and Jones
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"And of all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone..." |
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Alias Smith and Jones is a 1971-73 TV western starring Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of bank and train robbers who never hurt anyone during any of their robberies.
Eventually they tire of the outlaw life and petition for a pardon. The governor agrees to clear the charges against them--after an unspecified period of time--as long as they can keep their noses clean. They change their names to Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones and begin Walking the Earth.
Naturally, Hilarity Ensues.
Tropes:
- Bounty Hunter: Curry and Heyes encountered them from time to time.
- Boxed Crook: Heyes and Curry's deal states that technically, they're still wanted until they prove to the governor that they've really reformed.
- Delayed Wire: Heyes and Soapy and pull this con on a (not so innocent) widow, using a horse racing scam, in “The Great Shell Game”.
- Executive Meddling: Executive producer Jo Swerling, Jr. says that as soon as she learned of Pete Duel's death, she tried to end the show, but ABC wouldn't let her. The series was back in production 12 hours later.
- Fictional Counterpart: The Bannerman Detective Agency is this to the Pinkerton Detectives.
- Follow the Leader: The show was inspired by Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
- The Gunslinger: Kid Curry was THE fast gun.
- Heel Face Turn: The show's premise.
- Historical Domain Characters: Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in "Which Way to the OK Corral?"
- Jail Bake: In "The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg", the family that turned Heyes and Curry in for the reward ended up helping to break our boys of the Handleyburg jail with a gun baked into a pie. The two even joke about how hilarious it would be if they ended up finding a file in the pie.
- In another episode, a gang arranges a jailbreak by having a gun smuggled to them in a bowl of soup.
- The Other Darrin: Pete Duel comitted suicide and was replaced by Roger Davis for the final season.
- The Opening Narration went back and forth between two actors. Ralph Story was The Narrator in the Pilot Movie. When the series began, Roger Davis took over from Story. When Davis replaced Duel as Hannibal Hayes, Story was brought back.
- Also, Sheriff Trevors was played by three different actors during the series' run.
- The Opening Narration went back and forth between two actors. Ralph Story was The Narrator in the Pilot Movie. When the series began, Roger Davis took over from Story. When Davis replaced Duel as Hannibal Hayes, Story was brought back.
- Retired Outlaw
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Georgette "George" Sinclair for Clementine "Clem" Hale.
- Talking Your Way Out: Heyes’ silver tongue can talk himself out of, and into, just about anything and everything.
- Walking the Earth: They tended to travel to avoid complications.
- The Wild West: Obviously.
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"I sure wish the Governor'd let a few more people in on our secret!" |
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