Westerns so dominated the small screen in the 1950s that Jonathan Winters was once compelled to joke, "I like Westerns, I just don't like 15 of them in a row." But Have Gun Will Travel was not your average horse opera. Richard Boone's iconic Paladin, "a knight without armor in a savage land," was a dapper gun for hire who, from his home base in San Francisco's ritzy Hotel Carlton, perused the nation's newspapers (brought to him by his politically incorrect Chinese coolie, Hey Boy) seeking wrongs he could right with the handcrafted gun that he rarely drew, "unless I mean to use it." This series boasted impressive talent behind the camera as well: McLintock! director Andrew McLaglen helmed the episodes; Bernard Herrmann, composer for such films as The Day the Earth Stood Still, North By Northwest, and Psycho, scored the music; and Gene Roddenberry (scripter of the award-winning episode, "Helen of Abajnian") and Sam Peckinpah ("The Singer") were among the writers. Guest stars included old hands such as John Carradine and greenhorns such as Angie Dickinson, Warren Oates, and Charles Bronson, who is featured in one of the first season's finest hours, "The Outlaw." In this episode, Paladin's compassion is stirred when he allows an outlaw to visit his wife and son en route to being hanged for murder ("The way a man dies is less important than the way he lives," Paladin tells him). The classic theme song ("Paladin, Paladin/Where do you roam?") is heard only once in this inaugural season set featuring all 39 episodes, during the end credits of the opener. TV buffs and Western aficionados will be eager to, as his card instructs, "wire Paladin" for this handsomely packaged box set boasting sharp transfers and informative production notes. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (D. Liebenson)
Have Gun Will Travel
Paramount, 6 discs, 975 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99 August 9, 2004
Have Gun Will Travel
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