Alias Smith & Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men
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DIRECTOR: Gene Levitt, Jeannot Swarc, Jeffrey Hayden, Leslie H. Martinson, Richard Benedict, Bruce Kessler, Barry Shear, Fernando Lamas, Douglas Heyes
CASTING: Ralph Winters, Burt Metcalfe
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Dick Birnie
UNIT MANAGER: Joseph E. Kenny, Ben Bishop
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Ralph Ferrin, Jack Doran, Richard Bennett, Dennis Donnelly
2ND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Warren Smith, David Hamberger (Trainee), Don White, Tom Blank
ART DIRECTOR: George Webb, Robert E. Smith, William Tuntke, Alex Mayer
SET DECORATOR: Mickey S. Michaels, Joseph Stone, Perry Murdock, Hal Gausman
PROPS: Dean O’Connor, Matt Mccullen, Phil Haley
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR: Sandy Nelson, Al Pagonis, Hope Mclaughlin
CAMERA: John M. Stephens, Gene Polito
SOUND: Melvin M. Metcalfe, Sr., Edwin S. Hall, Robert Bertrand, David H. Moriarty
COSTUMES: Grady Hunt
COSTUMES SUPERVISION: Vincent Dee
WARDROBE — MEN: Harry Pasen, Hugh Mcfarland, Jack Takeuchi, Pete Saldutti, Lorry Richter
WARDROBE — WOMEN: Pamela Wise, Helen Kolvig, Betty Griffin, Louise Clark, Grace Kuhn
MAKEUP: Bud Westmore
HAIR STYLIST: Larry Germain
PUBLICITY: Roy Guiver, Allan Cahan
EDITORIAL SUPERVISION: Richard Belding
EDITOR: Bob Kagey, Richard Bracken, John Dumas, Gloryette Clark, Albert Zuniga
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Joe Divitale, Richard Dodge, Dave Schoenleber, Jerry Ludwig
Alias Smith And Jones Pilot
“Please, please don’t tell me anything about what happened here tonight.”
Sheriff Lom Trevors
STORY: Glen A. Larson
TELEPLAY: Glen A. Larson and Matthew Howard
DIRECTOR: Gene Levitt
SHOOTING DATES: October 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 1970
ORIGINAL US AIR DATE: January 5, 1971
ORIGINAL UK AIR DATE: April 19, 1971
Into the West came many men. Some were good men and some were bad men. Some were good men with some bad in them. And some were bad men with some good in them. This is the story of two pretty good bad men: Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry.
Together these gentlemen substantially altered the course of America’s frontier. They did a lot to change railroad schedules, too. 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. Because, unlike Robin Hood, Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry robbed from the rich and kept the money for themselves. It was a good life.
But times were changing. Safes were getting better, posses were getting bigger, sheriffs were getting smarter. And modern communications made it only a matter of time until they would be captured and maybe even killed.
So begins the adventure. It is 1880 and the West is still wild. The Devil’s Hole Gang, led by Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, are at the top of their game and considered to be the most successful outlaws in the history of the West. On this particular day they stop a train carrying a safe containing $50,000. The gang hustles the passengers out of harm’s way as Kyle Murtry sets dynamite to blow up the safe. Everyone hunkers down under cover, tensely waiting for the explosion. They wait. And wait. Finally a little old lady from Boston, Miss Birdie Pickett, questions the delay. Ever polite, Heyes answers, “I’m sure I don’t know, ma’am.” He orders Kyle to check his fuse and is taken aback when Kyle refuses and lays the responsibility back on him. “What makes you such a great leader, Heyes, is that you never tell no man to do a thing you wouldn’t do yourself,” Kyle points out. Stuck by this logic, Heyes goes to check the dynamite himself.
He gingerly approaches the train, peeks cautiously into the car, and finds the fuse has sputtered out. Kid Curry and Wheat Carlson join him at the safe, where Heyes tells them Kyle got the fuse wet. Wheat immediately points out it’s Heyes’s fault for fording a river he warned him not to, and the situation is not improved when Kyle reports the passengers are questioning their reputation.
Heyes turns to Plan B — cracking the safe by manipulating the tumblers. As he starts to work, Miss Birdie investigates. When Curry asks her to be quiet so Heyes can hear, Miss Birdie offers her opinion that they don’t seem to be cut out for this line of work and hands him a pamphlet, urging him to read it.
Heyes gives up in frustration as he realizes there isn’t enough time for him to get the Brooker 202 safe open before the law arrives. He moves on to Plan C — taking the safe with them. The gang rides off, dragging the safe, leaving a trail even the blindest posse can follow. As Kyle and Wheat gaze at the deep ruts, Wheat comments dryly, “When I said ‘let’s make tracks,’ that ain’t exactly what I had in mind.” Kyle wants to know how Wheat would have handled the situation, but Wheat refuses to give details, just saying he would do it smarter.
The gang drags the safe to the edge of a cliff and pushes it off. At the bottom, they have trouble finding it, beating through the brush while Heyes calls out encouragement. Finally Kyle spots it buried in the mud. The gang has tired of Heyes’s plans and turns to Wheat, who, put on the spot, orders them to dig it up. They return to the cliff where Wheat also plans to push off the safe, but this time on to “mean, hard, pointed rocks.” Wheat brushes off Heyes’s attempts to point out a problem, and once again the gang watches as the safe bounces down. This time it lands in a lake with a resounding splash. Heyes sighs and says it could have been worse. It could have been his idea.
The posse is on the way, wondering why the Devil’s Hole Gang left such an obvious trail.
With time running out, Wheat dives for the safe, surfacing with a thumbs up. The gang hauls on the rope only to find out that what Wheat has found is an old stove. Heyes decides the time has come to give up all together. Wheat tells them if they leave now, they won’t get any part of the loot, but Heyes and Curry would rather give up the money than face the posse, so they wish the boys luck and leave. For the first time Curry looks at the paper Miss Birdie gave him. It’s an amnesty offer from the governor but Curry is unfamiliar with the word. Heyes explains, “Well, what it means is there’s more chicken thieves, land-grabbers and rag-picking penny stealers around than there is lawmen, so if a man wants to turn hisself in, the governor might see fit to wipe his slate clean.” Curry is a bit disappointed, figuring such a deal would never apply to them. With a final goodbye to the gang, Heyes and Curry ride off. In seconds they gallop past in the opposite direction, racing to outrun the posse chasing them with guns blazing. It’s time to get out of the outlaw business.
Heyes and Curry ride to Porterville to have a chat with their old friend Sheriff Lom Trevors. He’s surprised to see them and suspicious of their motives, especially after Miss Porter, who’s running the local bank, stops to talk about extra security for a big payroll shipment the bank will soon be receiving. Lom is stunned when they explain they want him to be their spokesman with the governor in an attempt to gain amnesty. He can’t believe they think the governor would give amnesty to the two biggest outlaws in the West. But Heyes points out that Lom, as a former outlaw himself, is the perfect one to plead their case. After some persuasion, Lom agrees to help them. The next morning he heads off to visit the governor while Heyes and Curry, having been introduced to Miss Porter as Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones, banking and security experts, help test the security of her brand new Brooker 404 safe. Heyes can’t crack it, but points out a good dynamiter could blow it. As they leave the bank, Deputy Harker Wilkins stops them, escorts them into the sheriff’s office and relieves them of their guns per Lom’s orders. Harker explains Lom’s new rule regarding transients, a rule made especially for them. Outside the sheriff’s office, Miss Porter approaches and offers them jobs in her bank. Curry would accept immediately, but Heyes wants to discuss it first.
They retire to the saloon and debate the wisdom of taking bank jobs. Two drovers, Kane and Shields, are seat
ed at a table watching them. Kane recognizes Curry and, noticing he’s not wearing a gun, challenges him. Curry responds with a calculated insult, calling him a “walk-off.” Kane doesn’t know what that means, so Curry kindly explains. “You see, when the good Lord was making men, he got a whole bunch of them all whomped up together and then He decided to knock off for the rest of the day, thinking He’d put the brains in later. Guess what happened? A whole bunch of them critters just up and walked off before He ever got back. And that’s what we’ve got here. Walk-off.”
Heyes tries to defuse the tension, apologizing for Curry and pointing out he’s not wearing a gun. Kane slides a gun down the bar toward Curry. He is about to pick it up, but Heyes pleads with him to back down and not ruin their chance for amnesty. Curry accedes to Heyes’s wishes and apologizes. Kane and Shields swagger off.
The bartender pours Heyes and Curry a drink and assures them that if they keep out of sight the next morning, Kane and Shields will be gone with their herd, and nobody will get hurt. Heyes is pleased everything has worked out, but Curry is adamant. “It’s decided. We’re taking those bank jobs, because I’m not going naked one more day.”
They start working at the bank, Heyes as teller, Curry as guard. The first day goes well, although Heyes suffers vertigo, surrounded by all the money he can’t steal. That evening Curry, in possession of his gun once again, visits Kane and his buddy. With a demonstration of keen marksmanship, he convinces them it’s their faces that shouldn’t be seen in town in the morning. His honor and pride satisfied, Curry returns to Porterville and informs Heyes all their troubles are over.
In the morning it becomes apparent their troubles are not all over as Wheat, Kyle and the rest of the Devil’s Hole Gang have come to town to rob the bank. Wheat slips a note to the teller, demanding cash, his eyes widening as he recognizes Heyes. Heyes tells him about the amnesty plan and Wheat seems to approve, but when he rejoins the gang outside, he says Heyes and Curry are planning to rob the bank without them. The gang rides out of town, but soon returns.
That night Harker drags Heyes to the saloon and Heyes and Curry with Miss Porter, played by Susan St. James demands to know why this new group of transients has been hanging out there for fourteen hours playing nickel and dime poker. Curry, having just finished dinner with Miss Porter, leaves her flat to go to Heyes’s aid. Harker confronts the gang, demanding their guns. After the deputy leaves, Wheat tells Heyes a sob story about the gang’s lack of funds, saying the saloon offers them the only hope of having a roof over their heads. Heyes encourages them to stick it out until Lom returns. The gang agrees, but after Heyes and Curry leave, returns to their nefarious activity — digging a tunnel from the saloon to the bank.
Harker remains uncertain of the gang as they continue to play an unending game of poker with never more than $12 in the pot, but they seem to be staying out of trouble, so he leaves them alone. Heyes and Curry wait for Lom’s return and are surprised when the gang suddenly visits the sheriff’s office. They retrieve their guns, telling Harker they’ll be leaving after just one more hand of poker. Heyes wants to know just what they have in mind. Wheat points out things could get nasty if Lom returns without the amnesty. Harker receives a telegram and, as if to prove Wheat’s point, promptly arrests Heyes and Curry on Lom’s orders. They don’t stay in jail long, though, since Curry has lifted the keys to the cell from Harker’s pocket. To get even with Lom for what they perceive as his treachery, they decide to rob the bank.
Heyes and Curry steal some dynamite and attack the bank from the roof. Unbeknownst to them, the gang has reached the safe from below. Each of them sets a generous amount of dynamite around the safe, because it is, after all, a Brooker 404. Harker meets Lom’s train, assuring him everything is under control. At that instant, a tremendous explosion disintegrates the bank and money flies through the air. Heyes and Curry pick themselves up, wondering what happened. When Wheat and the boys stumble out of the saloon, all becomes clear. Angry at the gang’s interference, Heyes and Curry order them to put down the money they’re eagerly grabbing and get out of town. Miss Porter sees this and misunderstands, thinking Heyes and Curry are saving the money from the bandits. Lom and Harker race to the scene, where Miss Porter happily relates how the bank’s money was saved by Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones. Lom isn’t fooled, but doesn’t press the issue. He takes the boys into his office and gives them the news from the governor. They have been granted a provisional amnesty, but they have to prove they deserve it by staying out of trouble for a year. In the meantime, the deal will remain a secret between them, Lom and the governor.
So for the following year the West’s two most wanted men would lead model lives. Lives of temperance, moderation, tranquility. Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry would cease to exist. In their places would ride two men of peace…alias Smith and Jones.
CAST
PETE DUEL — HANNIBAL HEYES
BEN MURPHY — KID CURRY
FORREST TUCKER — DEPUTY HARKER WILKINS
SUSAN ST. JAMES — MISS CAROLINE PORTER
JAMES DRURY — SHERIFF LOM TREVORS
JEANNETTE NOLAN — MISS BIRDIE PICKETT
EARL HOLLIMAN — WHEAT CARLSON
DENNIS FIMPLE — KYLE MURTRY
BILL FLETCHER — KANE
JOHN RUSSELL — MARSHALL
CHARLES DIERKOP — SHIELDS
BILL MCKINNEY — LOBO
SID HAIG — OUTLAW
JOHN HARPER — OUTLAW
JON SHANK — OUTLAW
PETER BROCCO — PINCUS
HARRY HICKOX — BARTENDER
OWEN BUSH — ENGINEER
JULIE COBB — YOUNG GIRL
“If you’re going to steal, and nothing comes from nothing, only steal from masters…” advises William Goldman in his book Adventures in the Screen Trade. [1] This is a tenet that Glen Larson has always embraced wholeheartedly. Alias Smith and Jones is the first series he created by “stealing from masters,” in this case from Goldman himself and the highly successful film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Hollywood is a place where imitation runs rampant, because it’s much easier to sell an idea that is similar to one already proven successful than it is to sell something completely original. No studio executive ever lost his job going for the tried and true. Westerns had been a staple on television since its infancy, so a new series inspired by an Academy Award-winning film, taking full advantage of the lightheartedness that captivated movie audiences, was an easy sell.
The most obvious similarity between Alias Smith and Jones and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is the introduction of two good-natured outlaws who realize times are changing and they need to change with them. In Butch and Sundance’s case this means fleeing to Bolivia; in Heyes and Curry’s case it means going straight, a tactic more in keeping with the sensibilities of network television. Glen Larson hung his plot carefully on some of Goldman’s most memorable moments — the amiable outlaws frustrated by a train robbery gone wrong, being chased by a determined posse, facing dissension within the gang, and blowing a safe to smithereens with too much dynamite — changing the details enough to ultimately have Twentieth Century Fox’s lawsuit against Universal thrown out of court for a lack of distinct instances of plagiarism. But for all the creativity Larson showed in avoiding a lawsuit, he still didn’t manage to create a good story.
The purpose of a pilot film is to introduce the characters and to set up the premise for what everyone involved hopes will be a long and successful run. In the case of Alias Smith and Jones, while the pilot is a fun, 75-minute romp through the Old West, it fails in certain critical ways. The characters of Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry are introduced as successful outlaws through a montage of still photographs with a voice-over which does give the audience some necessary background, but is instantly contradicted by the train robbery where everything goes wrong. Kid Curry admits, “This ain’t been our best day.” However, to an audience who is just being introduced to the two characters, it appears that our amiable
outlaws are suffering more from incompetence than from just a bad day. Nothing is offered to the audience to show that these men are indeed at the top of their profession and not the dolts they appear to be.
One of the major flaws in the pilot is the lack of explanation for the boys’ change of heart regarding trying for the amnesty. In one scene they reluctantly decide such a deal would never be offered to them and in the next they’re approaching Lom to ask for his help in obtaining it. Obviously something important happened between these two scenes, but what it was will forever remain a mystery to the audience. Numerous scenes present in the shooting script were edited out of the final film, including an entire Miss Birdie subplot. Miss Birdie’s loss makes the story weaker, but does not do irreparable harm to it. The same cannot be said for the lack of a scene wherein Heyes and Curry make the momentous decision to try for an amnesty despite the odds against them. This is a pivotal point in the set-up of both the film and the series to follow. Its absence is inexplicable.
Heyes and Curry are introduced as the most successful outlaws in the history of the West, but in the pilot, Wheat is a worthy contender for the title. His plan to tunnel to the bank shows great style (not to mention top surveying and engineering skills), while Heyes’s plan to come at the safe from above, with his unnecessarily complicated method of hauling dynamite across the street, roof to roof by pulley, seems overdone. The question that comes to mind is why didn’t they just hoist it up from the back side of the bank, out of sight of any passerby who just might take it into his head to look up? Wheat is also the one who thinks ahead to what might happen if Lom returns without the amnesty, and shows himself to be a quick thinker and skilled liar when the gang retrieves their guns from Deputy Harker. Compared to Wheat, Heyes seems naive and one could be forgiven for wondering just how he became the leader of the Devil’s Hole Gang.