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Series: Alias Smith and Jones

"And of all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone..."

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.

Not to be confused with Alas Smith And Jones, a British sketch show named in parody of it.

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.
  • Bullying a Dragon: The saloon toughs in the pilot. Free tip: calling out a legendarily fast draw just for the pleasure of starting a fight is hardly ever going to work out for you.
  • Click Hello: Any time you're pointing a gun at Heyes and Curry isn't in your line of sight, you can expect to hear this behind you.
  • 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 Hadleyburg 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.
  • Last Name Basis: With the exception of one guest star, no one calls Heyes "Hannibal".
  • Legendary Impostor: In "The Day They Hung Kid Curry", a man who fits the Kid's general description has been impersonating him to get respect. It backfires on our heroes when he's convicted of an unrelated murder and claims Heyes was involved.
  • Lie Detector: Heyes comes up with a primitive version in "Night of the Red Dog": ask someone questions while listening to their heart with a stethoscope.
  • Perpetual Poverty: Obviously it's difficult for two wanted men on the run to find good-paying jobs, but some days you do wonder what they did with the money from all the trains and banks they robbed...
  • Quick Draw: The Kid.
  • Retired Outlaw: Heyes and Curry are trying very hard to be this; their sheriff friend Lom Trevors actually is.
  • Self Restraint: In "Jailbreak in Junction City", an imprisoned Heyes and Curry arrange a jailbreak for several other prisoners, but don't take advantage of it themselves. Heyes gambles that this—along with the larger scheme he has going that leads to the prisoners' recapture and the return of the money they stole—will sufficiently impress the local judge that he'll quietly let them go without endangering the amnesty. It works.
  • Serial Killings Specific Target: In "The Fifth Victim", the killer tries to disguise the murder of his ex-lover's husband by killing men who were all in a particular poker game, after first faking evidence that someone in the game had been cheating. The issue gets confused when he does try to kill the husband; the man kills him instead but then keeps quiet, afraid he'll be accused of the other killings.
  • Snowed In: In "Night of the Red Dog," snow hits earlier than expected while Heyes and Curry are working on a prospector's site, and they and several other men are all stranded in his cabin for the winter.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Georgette "George" Sinclair for Clementine "Clem" Hale.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: The unusually grim "The Bounty Hunter" has a surprisingly sympathetic example in the title character, a hardened former slave who continues his efforts to bring in Heyes and Curry even after they save him from a lynch mob.
    Joe Sims: I don't feel I owe [white folks] any harm. I don't feel I owe 'em anything else, either. I guess that's why I don't know nothin' about gratitude. It been taken outta me a long time ago.
  • 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.

"I sure wish the Governor'd let a few more people in on our secret!"

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.Western SeriesBearcats!
Alfred Hitchcock PresentsCreator/UniversalAmazing Stories
AliasCreator/ABCAll My Children
AliasAmerican SeriesAlien Dawn

alternative title(s): Alias Smith And Jones
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