Back again sports fans and welcome to
Day 4 of Random TV Week 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.
Yikes that was a rough range. |
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. 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.
So you like dangerous men, eh? |
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!
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.
Cripes another white Native American escaped from F Troop again. |
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