The Young Country

Following service in the US Civil War, tightly-attired Roger Davis (as Stephen Foster Moody) arrives in a small western town. After playing cards with poker-faced winner Wally Cox (as Ira Greebe), Mr. Davis hits the trail. He happens upon $38,040 in saddlebags and decides to return it to Mr. Cox in Kingsberg, Colorado. But nobody in town remembers Cox. Likewise handsome Pete Duel (as Honest John Smith) rode into town with Davis, after the wheel on his coach broke; he becomes involved with the mystery. Pretty girlfriend Joan Hackett (as Clementine Hale) hooks up with Mr. Duel, then Davis; she is looking for a man with money. Local lawman Walter Brennan (as Matt Fenley) isn't sure who to trust...

This ABC Tuesday "Movie of the Week" was a hit with viewers. It was re-vamped to more closely resemble the popular film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) and became the series "Alias Smith and Jones" (1971-1973). That starred Duel and Ben Murphy. Two aliases in this story are "Aaron Grimes" and "John Closkey". The "Doctor Mudd" character played by Thomas Bellin is likely intended to be the physician associated with John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln...

"The Young Country" also served to "introduce" Davis to the public, after resurgence in popularity as a regular on ABC's daytime serial "Dark Shadows" (where he appeared 1968-1970). In fact, Davis was already a veteran of two nighttime series. It is interesting to see Davis is the leading man, with Duel clearly secondary. Probably, Davis did not want to commit to the series spin-off, initially, due to his feature film career prospects. He joined "Alias" after Duel's sad suicide. Writer/director Roy Huggins does well with early scenes, featuring Davis on a train and good western sets. The ending could have been improved with a re-appearance from Mr. Brennan. He is owed some money for listening to Davis' jail cell singing.

***** The Young Country (3/17/70) Roy Huggins ~ Roger Davis, Pete Duel, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan

I remember seeing this TV movie as a child and really enjoying it. I wish it would show up again so I could compare it to the series it fostered.

This is the pilot that ABC passed on. Apparently, they thought the movie to be a little too Maverick-like (a reviewer at the time actually described Davis's lazy student turned drifter to be a cross between Maverick and another Warner Brothers cowboy, Sugarfoot) and wanted a little more action/brawn and a buddy relationship.

Exit Roger Davis, for the time being. Enter Ben Murphy and the second successful pilot, now called "Alias Smith and Jones".

This was made before the hit and by the same people who made the hit show Alias Smith and Jones which starred Peter Duel and Roger Davis. It has the same kind of writing, directing, themes and even the same actors, props and scenes. Why this wasn't picked up as a series is another TV mystery because it is as good as Smith and Jones. It is different as Duel plays a con man after some stolen money and Davis is a semi-honest nice guy who finds the money and intends to return it but gets mixed up with Duel and the talented funny gorgeous Joan Hackett. For any fan of Smith and Jones this is a must see. I have been a Smith and Jones fan since I was 9 and watched it in it's original run and reruns and now on DVD. I was reading about the show when I came across this movie and watched in online. It is really good and would like on DVD but it's never been released as I can find. But again if you are a fan of Smith and Jones or Peter Duel and Roger Davis see this.

The two hour made for television movie "The Young Country" premiered on March 17,1970 as part of a special presentation for the Tuesday ABC Movie of the Week. This was also the pilot episode for the television series "Alias Smith and Jones". However,the TV-movie version was produced by Roy Huggins,the man who brought us "Maverick",and "The Fugitive",who also directed the original pilot movie. What made this TV-movie so very successful? Well,during the early part of the 1970's the only two westerns that were still on the air at the time,"Bonanza"(which was at its 11th season),and "Gunsmoke"(coming on its 16th season),the legends of the genre,were teering on their ancient last legs,but with a few more seasons to be squeezed out of them. Also to point out at the height of the show's popularity,"Alias Smith and Jones" was TV's desperate attempt to save the television western,which was at the age of the dinosaur at the time. At the time the TV-movie came out in 1970,a little more than a year after the release of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid",and that's hardly coincidental.

The TV-Movie and the series was undoubtedly an attempt by network executives at ABC and studio executives at Universal to cash in on the success of the Paul Newman-Robert Redford megahit,which was a huge box office success in 1969. The other part that made this so successful was that the series "Alias Smith and Jones" was made in the same spirit as with many other TV shows with the same premise,like "Maverick", "The Fugitive", "Run For Your Life",and "Renegade"(which were produced by Roy Huggins)where the stories focus on men on the run who went crisscrossing America from one place to another while getting involved with the people they meet. The TV-Movie,produced and directed by Huggins,had the same premise.....two men who were on the run and were guilty for the crimes they committed,and were given pardon for all the wrong they done. The TV-Movie version starred Pete Duel as Smith and Roger Davis(who would eventually come back to Alias Smith & Jones in the show's second season) after the sudden death of actor Pete Duel,who in turn was the show's narrator at the beginning of the series during Season 1)as Foster Moody. Also starring here are actress Joan Hackett as Clementine Hale(who was in the pilot episode,but during Season 1 was played by Sally Field in a two-part episode of the series) and Oscar winning actor Walter Brennan as Sheriff Fenley. The TV-Movie was a surprise hit in the Nielsen ratings and on the strength of the pilot,was made into a weekly which premiered on ABC as "Alias Smith and Jones" on January 21,1971 as a midseason replacement series which produced 50 episodes and was placed on ABC's Thursday night schedule until January 13,1973.

For billing purposes Walter Brennan is the star of The Young Country, a made for TV western. But the actual stars are Peter Deuel, Roger Davis, and Joan Hackett a trio of confidence workers operating in the old west.

The amusement value of this film is of the chuckle rather than the belly laugh kind of humor. The two men get a hold of a lot of money Wally Cox embezzled from the bank he worked at. They're working at cross purposes and then discover that seemingly goody two shoes Joan Hackett has been conning them both.

The film served as the pilot for the Alia Smith And Jones western series where Ben Murphy replaced Roger Davis. And then ironically when Peter Deuel committed suicide Davis replaced Deuel.

The western holds up well after 50 years, western fans will enjoy.