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by Sandra K. Sagala (Author), Joanne M. Bagwell (Author)
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western television series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. It starred Pete Duel and Ben Murphy as outlaw cousins who are trying to reform. The series evolved from a made-for-TV movie of the previous year called The Young Country, about con artists in the Old West. It was produced, written, and directed by Roy Huggins and starred Roger Davis and Sally Field, but the series origins can be tracked back to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford and a comment in the film when, prior to one of their final hold-ups, the characters are outside a bank in Bolivia and Sundance turns to Butch and says: "I'm Smith and you're Jones." The television series that premiered in January 1971 had a short run of only three seasons. Guest stars included Judy Carne, Tom Ewell, Lee Majors, and Sally Field. The series' popularity is in inverse proportion to its time on the air; the fifty episodes were enough to garner fans that have remained loyal to the show for thirty years.
Alias Smith and Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men showcases the episodes and provides a behind-the-scenes look at one of the last of television's popular Westerns and includes many rare photos, interviews with cast members, detailed history of the shows.
Classic Images called it "The Best TV book of the year."
