Alias Smith & Jones

by Sandra K. Sagala

  The poker game is still going on. Marshal Earp observes for a while, unhappy that Heyes has bankrupted Doc Holliday.

  In their hotel room, the boys compare notes. They’re interrupted by a knock on the door. Heyes opens it and George once again flings herself into his arms.

  The trio pays another visit to the marshal and this time George reports that she’s been robbed — her entire wardrobe is gone. Still suspicious of her story, Earp nevertheless sets out to investigate the crime.

  George throws open the armoire doors to show its emptiness. But it’s not empty. All her clothes are hanging neatly in their place. Earp is more convinced than ever that her claims are nothing more than an attempt to garner publicity. He promises to throw all of them in jail the next time she pulls such a stunt.

  The next morning Curry stops Deputy Bart Russel in the street. He goes for his gun, but Curry outdraws him. Bart insists that George is a liar just out for publicity, like the marshal said. Curry defends George, saying he’s known her for a long time. The deputy jumps on his mistake, wondering why he lied to the marshal about meeting her on the stagecoach.

  George prepares for her next performance, leery about going along with Heyes and Curry’s latest plan to get Sam Bacon to Texas. Curry insists that if she wants them to help her, she has to help them in return.

  George begins to sing, then moves off the stage and into the audience. She drifts around until she comes to Sam, then sings only to him. Sam is astonished, but he likes it.

  After the show, he accompanies George to her room, where she confesses that she’s fallen for him, but sadly nothing can come of it because she’ll be leaving Tombstone soon. Sam wonders which way she’ll be heading when she leaves. North to Denver, George says. Sam bids her goodnight in the hallway.

  As George lights the lamp in her room, she comes face to face with Bart Russel who demands that this time she take him seriously.

  In their own room, Heyes and Curry celebrate Heyes’s success at poker. With $15,000 they can live high and lay low for a long time. There’s a knock on the door. Heyes opens it and for the third time George throws herself into his arms. George announces this time she really believes Bart will kill her and she’s leaving town. The boys urge her to stay until they can get Sam on the stage with her, but George is adamant.

  Curry follows Bart to Will and Emma McIntyre’s ranch. When Bart returned, he deposited $1,000 in the bank. It seems significant, but George has never heard of the McIntyres.

  George and the boys call on the couple. Will denies having any dealings with the deputy in response to Heyes’s accusation, but as George steps up, she recognizes them as Mr. and Mrs. Cummings, allegedly taken hostage and killed when the express company they worked for was robbed.

  That night, Sam comes by George’s room. She’s leaving in the morning and she’ll miss him very much. Sam is torn. He asks if the stage goes through Texas and is pleased to learn it doesn’t. “Georgette, I’m going to go with you!”

  George reports her success to the boys. A knock on the door surprises them. It can’t be George, because she’s already with them. This time the visitors are deputies who invite the boys to the marshal’s office.

  Earp thanks them for their role in arresting three criminals. Then he explains that Doc Holliday is dying and Earp wants to make his remaining days as pleasant as possible. Doc enjoyed a reputation as the best poker player in the territory, but Smith has made him look like an amateur. And Jones outdrew his deputy. That combination should mean something to him, he tells them, pointedly gazing at their Wanted posters. Earp orders Smith to play one more poker game with Doc where he will lose the whole $20,000 he won from him, right where everyone can see, after which they will leave town. “And you’ll still be able to say, with some satisfaction, that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry came up against Marshal Earp and somehow managed to come out ahead.”

  A hushed crowd watches the poker game. Heyes, mindful of the marshal’s ultimatum, bets the full $20,000. Doc reveals an ace-high diamond flush. Heyes gazes sorrowfully at his hand — a full house — before throwing it face down on the table, letting Doc win.

  George and Sam ride the stage northward. It stops in the middle of nowhere and a sheriff serves Sam with another subpoena. This one is good because they are, for the moment, in the northwest corner of Texas. The stage dispatcher identifies Sam as the man who had the fancy rifle and the sheriff escorts him back to Red Rock. Heyes and Curry join George in the stage and go to Denver.

  GUEST CAST

  NEVILLE BRAND — SAM BACON

  JOHN RUSSELL — BART RUSSEL

  CAMERON MITCHELL — WYATT EARP

  BURL IVES — PATRICK J. “BIG MAC” MCCREEDY

  MICHELE LEE — GEORGETTE SINCLAIR

  WILLIAM MIMS — WILL MCINTYRE

  JACKIE COOGAN — HARVEY CLIFFORD

  BILL FLETCHER — DOC HOLLIDAY

  VIRGINIA GREGG — EMMA MCINTYRE

  BILL QUINN — DISPATCHER (JAKE HAWKINS)

  WALT DAVIS — DEPUTY JAKE

  TOM WATERS — SHERIFF

  ROBERT KNOX — DEPUTY

  RED CURRIE — DEPUTY JOE

  MAURICE HILL — CHEROKEE

  BILL BAKEWELL — BAKER

  GARY PUCKETT — SALOON COWBOY

  JIM DRUM — POKER PLAYER #1

  MIKE MAHONEY — POKER PLAYER #2

  JOHN LEUGER — POKER PLAYER #3

  JIMMIE BOOTH — 2ND STAGE DRIVER

  JOHN RIVERA — ALBERTO DIEGO

  This episode was originally conceived as the second story to feature Heyes and Curry’s old friend Clementine Hale. Both Roy Huggins and Jo Swerling preferred to maintain consistency with recurring characters, making every effort to cast the same actor whenever the character appeared. If the actor wasn’t available, Huggins would change the character. Thus Clementine Hale became Georgette Sinclair, following in the tradition of Soapy Saunders and his alter ego Silky O’Sullivan. An exception to this policy was Sheriff Lom Trevors who, because of his special relationship with Heyes and Curry, could not be changed into someone else and was ultimately played by three different actors over the course of the series. [6] The dedication they showed to this policy is demonstrated by the brief appearance of Burl Ives, an actor of enough stature to refuse a walk-on part if he wished, reprising his role as Big Mac McCreedy in the opening scene.

  Because Sally Field was not available to reprise the role of Clem, the character in the story was changed into Georgette Sinclair. Little was changed besides the name, so George, like Clem, hails from Denver and has a father with a shady past. In early drafts of the script, Clem uses her photo of Heyes and Curry to encourage them to visit the marshal with her. It wouldn’t work for George to be in possession of a similar photograph, so the scene was changed so that George threatened to reveal their true identities if they didn’t accompany her. Unfortunately this threat was cut from the final shooting script, leaving the audience to wonder just what the boys are referring to when they accuse George of blackmail and extortion.

  Huggins felt that a really interesting woman was a good addition to a series and he had several stories planned for Clementine, although they eventually became stories for George. The change from Clem to George was literally accomplished by crossing off CLEM and substituting GEORGE in the dialogue cues in the script. That George seems to be a considerably different character from Clem is strictly the result of differences of interpretation by Michele Lee and Sally Field. Huggins had learned from Maverick that using different actors was enough to create a unique character for the audience when, to his amusement, magazine articles appeared praising the conscientious way in which the writers differentiated the characters of Bret and Bart Maverick. “The scripts never used Bret or Bart. The scripts just said Maverick. They were absolutely the same and it was a flip of the coin whether it was played by Jim [Garner] or Jack [Kelly].” [7] That this technique still works is proved by the audience reaction to George. Viewers who are put off by Clem, mostly
because of her blackmailing of Heyes and Curry in “Dreadful Sorry, Clementine,” have no such reservations about George. As the two characters are absolutely the same, their dislike for Clem and their fondness for George shows they do perceive them to be two different people.

  While Heyes and Curry feared Wyatt Earp, portrayed here as the marshal of Tombstone, in reality it was Virgil Earp who was the law in that town. Wyatt Earp had made a name for himself in law enforcement in Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas, but he arrived in Tombstone in 1879 with the intention of starting up a stage line with his brothers. Discovering Tombstone already had two stage lines, Wyatt took a job as a shotgun guard for Wells Fargo. In addition, his interest in gambling led him to partner in the gambling concession at the Oriental Saloon. In 1880 he was appointed deputy sheriff of neighboring Pima County, but still had no official authority in Tombstone. The infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral took place on October 26, 1881, just days after Virgil deputized him in anticipation of trouble with the Clantons and McLaurys. That legendary gunfight and the notoriety Wyatt Earp gained from it ultimately destroyed his political and business opportunities in Tombstone, and within a year Wyatt and his family moved on. [8]

  Doc Holliday was a dentist who preferred gambling for a living. He met Wyatt Earp while traveling on the gambling circuit between Texas and South Dakota and the two became loyal friends. Holliday was a violent man, not hesitating to use the guns and knife he carried, but the number of gunfights he actually engaged in was most likely exaggerated. Doc joined the Earps in Tombstone because of the money he could make at the card table. He was completely uninterested in the power plays made by the various factions in the town, yet when the Clantons and McLaurys announced their intention to kill the Earps, Doc’s loyalty to Wyatt led him to join in the famous gun battle. He also left Tombstone soon afterwards. [9]

  Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp are probably the most well known historical figures that Huggins used in Alias Smith and Jones, although they are by no means the only real people to show up over the course of the series. When asked if using such characters was an attempt to add realism to the show, with a twinkle in his eye, Huggins confessed, “Yeah. I found all those characters very interesting.” Huggins always felt the amnesty deal was a bit unrealistic, but he had to work with the premise Glen Larson had established. A touch of history in the form of real life characters from the Old West gave an added dimension to the show as well as providing numerous story ideas.

  Don’t Get Mad, Get Even

  “You are broke? The man who can’t lose at poker is broke? The man who quits when other players know what they’re doing is broke?”

  Kid Curry

  STORY: JOHN THOMAS JAMES

  TELEPLAY: JOHN THOMAS JAMES

  DIRECTOR: BRUCE BILSON

  SHOOTING DATES: JANUARY 26, 27, 28, 31, FEBRUARY 1, 2, 1972

  ORIGINAL US AIR DATE: FEBRUARY 17, 1972

  ORIGINAL UK AIR DATE: NOVEMBER 5, 1973

  Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, scruffy and bearded, ride into town leading two pack mules. Just back from the mines, they hope their sacks of gold are worth at least $15,000. Unfortunately, their scale was off by half. To make their plan to go to Bolivia work, they have to double the money.

  While washing off months of accumulated filth at a public bathhouse, Heyes comes up with an idea. Men play terrible poker at Wheelwright’s Palace in Centralia and there’s only a $1,000 buy-in. He is so good he can spot any cheating and take advantage of it. Curry agrees it sounds good; he’ll stay behind and sell their horses, burros, saddles and equipment.

  At Verle Wheelwright’s saloon, after long hours of play, Heyes is dealt four kings. He opens with $100. Wheelwright, who also has a good hand, raises to $1,000. The other players pass and the action is between Heyes and Wheelwright. The pot grows. When Heyes finally shows his four kings, the casino owner tops them with four aces.

  Heyes stands to leave, angry that Wheelwright passed the opening bid even though he had a pair of aces for starters. Wheelwright, raking in the pot, hopes he’s not going away angry. Heyes quotes his grandfather’s maxim “Don’t get mad, get even” as Wheelwright laughs uproariously.

  Heyes finds Curry stretched out on his bed in the hotel room. At Curry’s query as to how he’s doing, Heyes admits he’s broke. Curry is aghast; he thought Heyes knew what he was doing. Heyes says he was ahead $4,000, then Wheelwright brought in a mechanic who must have “palmed the entire deck after the cut and dealt from the one he’d stashed.” They set Heyes up for just the one hand. Curry falls back onto the bed and quotes their Grandpa Curry, “You show me a poor man and I’ll show you a man who ain’t got any money.”

  Heyes promises to get their whole $12,000 back and thinks of a plan. Curry needs to go to Denver and bring back Georgette, while he heads to San Francisco to see Silky.

  A few days later, Curry signs himself and Georgette into the hotel as Chauncey Gaylord Brandon and his sister Charlotte, upper–class folks from Atlanta who may be moving permanently to Centralia.

  As Georgette unpacks, there’s a banging on her door. Unshaven and dirty from sleeping in the livery, Heyes strides in, upset they are two days late. A kiss from her improves his mood.

  From one pocket, Heyes whips out a pearl necklace. From his other pocket, he proffers an identical, but fake, necklace. She demands to know what she has to do to earn her $3,000. Surprised by news of this added expense, Heyes says they now have to take Wheelwright for $15,000. Patiently he explains the plan…

  At dinner, Wheelwright approaches the Brandons’ table and joins them for a drink. Chauncey tells him their father left them money to invest. The area seemed like a good place to do that. Tugging at her necklace as she laughs at a comment by Wheelwright, Charlotte breaks it and the pearls scatter. Because she was laughing at his joke, Wheelwright offers to have them re-strung.

  The jeweler estimates the necklace to be worth $50,000.

  Curry and George kill time playing cards in her hotel room. At a knock, Curry leaves through an adjoining door. When Wheelwright enters with her necklace, Georgette acts tearful. Since she’s packing to leave, she puts the pearls into her suitcase and explains that she and her brother have to return to Atlanta because a Yankee nephew of her father is challenging the estate. Having switched the real and fake necklaces, Georgette, as if inspired, asks Wheelwright to take her necklace as collateral on a loan of $15,000 to fight the nephew.

  Wheelwright agrees and they draw up the papers immediately. He’ll hold her necklace in a safe behind the bar. The casino never closes, so it’s never been robbed. Since they are now business partners, Verle Wheelwright asks Miss Brandon if he may call her by her first name. As he escorts them to the stagecoach, Wheelwright asks if he may also call Mr. Brandon by his first name. Curry acquiesces and introduces himself as Chauncey Beauregard Brandon. In the stage, they realize that he signed the hotel register as Chauncey Gaylord Brandon. Hopefully no one, especially Wheelwright, will notice.

  Heyes greets their coach in Westfield. They’ll wire the $15,000 to San Francisco and Curry will guard the real necklace with his life until they get it back to Silky.

  Meanwhile, Wheelwright drapes the pearls on a lady friend and takes her to dinner. The jeweler, who is dining nearby, notices and comes to their table. Something is wrong. He examines the necklace and proclaims it to be a worthless paste duplicate!

  On the stagecoach to San Francisco, Curry and Georgette play blackjack. The coach slows and stops at the cries of four men. It’s a hold-up. Heyes hastily wraps the necklace in the coach’s window shade. One robber frisks the passengers while another locates the hidden necklace.

  Continuing on, the depressed Heyes and Curry figure “Wheel-wrong” must have discovered the necklace that George gave him was fake. When they reach Silky’s mansion in San Francisco, he is killing angry that his pearls are gone. Heyes promises to get them back, but first they need to borrow $15,000.

  Back in Centralia, Charlotte admits to Wheelwright that
she tried to swindle him, but her evil brother Chauncey forced her into it. To undo what she did, she offers Wheelwright $15,000. Wheelwright laughs in her face and refuses, but he will return the fake necklace that she gave him. Charlotte pretends to cry as Wheelwright laughs again and walks away.

  At the hotel, Heyes figures it’s time for Plan B, a frontal assault. George wants to be counted out; she couldn’t stand to hear Wheelwright laugh again.

  The casino owner is surprised to see Mr. Smith and Chauncey Brandon, realizing he should have put them together before this. Curry informs Wheelwright that he can’t sell the necklace, it’s too well-known and he’ll be in trouble for not taking the money back from the lady and returning her pearls. Heyes repeats Charlotte’s offer to buy the real necklace for $15,000. Wheelwright again refuses and calls over his hired guns to throw the boys out. Heyes and Curry won’t be thrown out and Curry draws on the men. Wheelwright orders his gunmen to back off, but the answer is still no.

  They put Plan C into effect. Charlotte approaches Wheelwright, this time offering $30,000. With that amount, he is interested. A short time later, Heyes, Curry, and George meet him at his table. Heyes hands over the $30,000 in an envelope and Wheelwright proceeds to count it. He’s satisfied that it’s all there and licks the flap to seal it.

  Charlotte would like to see her necklace and when she does, protests that it’s the fake one. Wheelwright stands and pulls the fake pearls from his other pocket and hands them over. While he’s distracted, Heyes switches envelopes. Mollified, Charlotte apologizes, she’s learned that you can’t cheat an honest man. The trio turns to leave as Wheelwright throws Heyes’s words back at him — “Don’t get mad, get even.”

  Wheelwright is about to put the money into his safe when he reconsiders and opens the envelope. He finds it full of pieces of cut newspaper!