Western TV Week: Have Gun, Will Travel

Bueno dias campers and welcome to Day 2 of Western TV Week so let’s saunter on through.  This time we move towards San Francisco to a professional gunfighter, a trouble shooter if you will.  The Enigmatic Paladin has his own calling card.  So saddle up, have an ace in the hole and have your wits about you.  This is Have Gun Will Travel.

hmm methinks this young lady is from the F-Troop tribe.

Paladin: I don’t think you got a good look at this spoiler while you had it. The balance is perfect.  This trigger responds to a pressure of one ounce.

Former West Point graduate and Civil War Veteran Paladin (Richard Boone of Halls of Montezuma, Call Me Mister, Return of the Texan, Pony Soldier, Medic, Hombre and Big Jake) has emerged from the war in favor of the finer things in life with his care free hotel room in the Carlton.  When he wasn’t enjoying a series of poker or a bottle of Dom Perignon and seats at the opera; a professional gunslinger with his business card over a picture of a chess knight piece that reads: Have Gun, Will Travel…Wire Paladin, San Francisco.   

Brisco's got nothing on Paladin!

This man was characterized as an anti-hero. I assume this is due to the fact he is constituted as a bounty hunter, gunfighter and everyman’s hero.  Traveling from town to town on horseback or by train he found his mission objectives and earned his money.  To me, he came across as a necessary evil. The final justice in a land that had no real law was at the barrel of his balanced and weighed .45 revolver, his derringer and a lever-action Marlin rifle. His marksmanship was second to none.  His training, intelligence and tactical analysis gave him a massive edge.

The only other reoccurring character is handy boy and bellhop Hey Boy (Kam Tong of The Hunters, Who Was That Lady, Walk Like a Dragon, The Virginian, Women of the Prehistoric Planet and Dimension 5) who Paladin harassed but it was good natured ribbing.

Now we discuss a few interesting notions of the show. Most of the character Paladin is shrouded in mystery.  You get the concept that he is not proud of being a soldier in the Civil War and his personal honor is greatly tarnished from this. 

 So many TV actors cut their teeth under this show and many other have furthered their existing careers such as: Ken Curtis of Gunsmoke, Charles Bronson of The Dirty Dozen and the Mechanic, Jacqueline Scott of Gunsmoke and Ironside, character actor George Kennedy of Gunsmoke, Dr. Kildare and the Naked Gun trilogy and Norma Crane of Fiddler on the Roof and They Call Me Mister Tibbs! 

Ow landed on my keys!

Once again Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, Iverson Ranch and Bronson Canyon Griffith Park were being used as background trails from horse thieves and bushwhackers.   The series was filmed in 35mm Spherical and recorded in mono for audio. Paramount once again is the production for the CBS entertainment as it was with Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Program and The Red Skelton Show.  A darker storyline but justice always prevailed in one form or another.