Have Gun - Will Travel

[BULL'S-EYE]

Just finished watching the entire series, which ran from 1957-63...WOW!
Not every episode was exceptional. But, they sure could pack an intricate and intriguing plot into a 30 minute program back in those days!

 

[s4s4u]

That was before my time, and I don't have enough time to go back in time ;)

 

[MaxMan]

When you have to come up with so many episodes. They all can't be exceptional. But that was a great series.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

That was before my time, and I don't have enough time to go back in time ;)

Me too. It was on and gone a couple of years before I joined this party.
But, there's just not much on TV that I care to watch anymore.

 

[Fox Mike]

Boone was not the first choice for Paladin. He was actually a stage performer and was 'difficult' to work with. I read, just yesterday, some interesting things about him and the show

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I thought he was well cast. He could portray the skilled gunfighter as well as the California wealthy socialite.

Actually, his gunfighter character was an early version of the later "Equalizer" series starring Edward Woodward. Very similar plot lines. His business card: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer".

Also liked him later as Hec Ramsey. ;)

 

[M118LR]

Entertainment used to be there just to entertain you. 2ay back then folks really didn't spend more than half an hour indoors unless there was inclement weather or they just couldn't get outside. I still think Boones best role was in Big Jake. JMHO YMMV.

 

[redhawker]

It was a good show. It had 225 episodes over 6 seasons. Quite different for todays shows where a "season" is like 10 episodes. Some even shorter now. Case in point was the new show "The Madison". It was 6 shows over two consecutive Sundays, 3 episodes a Sunday, then done. It was a good show but 6 episodes is a "season"? BTW - an interesting note on "Have Gun - Will Travel", a radio series starring John Dehner debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart, making it one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version.

 

[blume357]

Yep, I listen to the radio show often on xm and get a kick out of how politically incorrect it was with the young Chinese man who worked at the hotel Paladin lived in... 'Poe-Boy'......

 

[xTopGun]

we could us a few of him today . . . . .

 

[contender]

While I was too young to actually watch the show I have seen many re-runs of it. Fun show.

But I'll never forget a comment that Bob Munden made during a few of his demo's on "fast draw" and TV actors.
He said; "Paladin,, Have Gun Will Travel had better travel. he was SLOW compared to many others." Then Bob would talk about other actors & their fast draw abilities. He said 2 of the fastest of actors were Jerry Lewis & Sammy Davis jr.

 

[redhawker]

While I was too young to actually watch the show I have seen many re-runs of it. Fun show.

But I'll never forget a comment that Bob Munden made during a few of his demo's on "fast draw" and TV actors.
He said; "Paladin,, Have Gun Will Travel had better travel. he was SLOW compared to many others." Then Bob would talk about other actors & their fast draw abilities. He said 2 of the fastest of actors were Jerry Lewis & Sammy Davis jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. was very good with a gun. He was in an episode of "The Rifleman" and was showing off his skills to the Rifleman's son, Mark... Sammy Davis Jr on The Rifleman

 

[Sacramento Johnson]

I went through the HGWT series complete last fall and agree, it was overall very well done; much better writing (no 'filler' when you have less than 30 minutes!) and acting, especially by Richard Boone, than most of today's offerings! I also noticed how similar it was to the original Equalizer series, which I went through shortly afterwards, and which also had very good writing and an excellent lead actor in Edward Woodward.

As for the speed of Boone's draw, yes, he wasn't very fast, but I think he was portrayed as more deliberate and accurate than most that he came up against.

 

[sceva]

Glenn Ford was another very fast actor.

 

[Yaworski]

Yep, I listen to the radio show often on xm and get a kick out of how politically incorrect it was with the young Chinese man who worked at the hotel Paladin lived in... 'Poe-Boy'......

Hey-boy, maybe?

 

[Jeepnik]

Of all the TV "cowboys". Paladin had more style. More than Maverick and Yancy combined.

 

[protoolman]

I was thinking... Which is not sometimes good... That since the Equalizer started out with a white guy , Edward Woodward ( good series) then black man ,Denzel Washington (equally good) then a black woman ( queen latifah) ridiculous, unwatchable- Maybe if they brought back Paladin today he'd have to be a big fat person of color who identified as a them wearing a dress and a goatee. Completely non-violent of course. Something along the lines of Paladin- sensitivity training queen -have allies, will Insta?

 

[Slidboot]

I thought Paladin was great. Distinctly different from other westerns of its time. But Paladin's gun handling skills were horrible.
I also thought he was great in Big Jake. HIs best line was near the end of the movie. ... "I don't care if it's your fault, my fault, nobody's fault at all, the boy dies."

 

[steveodtw]

I went through the HGWT series complete last fall and agree, it was overall very well done; much better writing (no 'filler' when you have less than 30 minutes!) and acting, especially by Richard Boone, than most of today's offerings! I also noticed how similar it was to the original Equalizer series, which I went through shortly afterwards, and which also had very good writing and an excellent lead actor in Edward Woodward.

As for the speed of Boone's draw, yes, he wasn't very fast, but I think he was portrayed as more deliberate and accurate than most that he came up against.

Kinda like Marshall Dillon.

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

Randolph Scott was the first choice to play Paladin, but was unavailable due to film contracts.
Richard Boone was a heavy drinker and smoker, and that explains why he was 40 when the series began, but looked 60...And died of throat cancer in 1981 at 63 years of age.
I personally didn't view Paladin as a fast draw gunfighter type character, but more a problem solver, who used intellect and reasoning as his primary method of attaining a desired outcome, only resorting to violence when absolutely necessary, and as a last resort.

 

[Xrayist]

It was a good show. It had 225 episodes over 6 seasons. Quite different for todays shows where a "season" is like 10 episodes. Some even shorter now. Case in point was the new show "The Madison". It was 6 shows over two consecutive Sundays, 3 episodes a Sunday, then done. It was a good show but 6 episodes is a "season"? BTW - an interesting note on "Have Gun - Will Travel", a radio series starring John Dehner debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart, making it one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version.

I agree. Have been watching Sea Hunt on Prime and the first season had 35 or 36 episodes.

 

[Jeepnik]

I agree. Have been watching Sea Hunt on Prime and the first season had 35 or 36 episodes.

I, too, am rewatching Sea Hunt. A lot of it was filmed off the coast here. Marineland was only five or six miles from my home. It's the reason I started diving.

Sadly I never found hidden treasure or missing satellites. But I did have a run in with a Tiger shark and a few Hammerheads.

 

[Armybrat]

It was a good show. It had 225 episodes over 6 seasons. Quite different for todays shows where a "season" is like 10 episodes. Some even shorter now. Case in point was the new show "The Madison". It was 6 shows over two consecutive Sundays, 3 episodes a Sunday, then done. It was a good show but 6 episodes is a "season"? BTW - an interesting note on "Have Gun - Will Travel", a radio series starring John Dehner debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart, making it one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version.

When my family was stationed in Taiwan 1957-59, there was no TV on the Island.
For media entertainment we listened to AFRT (Armed Forces Radio Taiwan) - run by the US military.
My Dad’s favorite program was Gunsmoke - the voice of Matt Dillon was done by William Conrad (later starred in the TV series Jake and the Fat Man).
The radio program preceded James Arness’s TV series by 3 years.

 

[s4s4u]

It was a good show. It had 225 episodes over 6 seasons. Quite different for todays shows where a "season" is like 10 episodes. Some even shorter now. Case in point was the new show "The Madison". It was 6 shows over two consecutive Sundays, 3 episodes a Sunday, then done. It was a good show but 6 episodes is a "season"? BTW - an interesting note on "Have Gun - Will Travel", a radio series starring John Dehner debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart, making it one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version.

Damn, 30+ episodes every year?!? These days they find it difficult to come up with the 13 or so that are considered a "season" :rolleyes:

 

[GSP7]

Been watching Roy Rogers on Roku..... That dude got in Fist fights at least once in every episode. Roy even knocked out a young Charles Bronson in a episode :ROFLMAO: :eek:

 

[Yaworski]

a black woman ( queen latifah) ridiculous, unwatchable-

I tried watching that and it was horrible. Everyone has a posse today. Equalizer, Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl. Can't have a hero just going out and heroing by himself. Gotta have the nerds, the hot lesbians, and the gender fluid helpers.

 

[Yaworski]

the voice of Matt Dillon was done by William Conrad (later starred in the TV series Jake and the Fat Man).

He did have a great voice. I remember him as "Cannon" and "Nero Wolfe." Never watched "Jake and the Fat Man."

 

[Watertender]

Hey-boy, maybe?

Wouldn't that get libs panties in a wad now!! It's like the John Steinbeck novel East of Eden where the Chinese houseman is well educated but speaks in pidgin English because that's what people expect.

 

[Donnieweps]

While I was too young to actually watch the show I have seen many re-runs of it. Fun show.

But I'll never forget a comment that Bob Munden made during a few of his demo's on "fast draw" and TV actors.
He said; "Paladin,, Have Gun Will Travel had better travel. he was SLOW compared to many others." Then Bob would talk about other actors & their fast draw abilities. He said 2 of the fastest of actors were Jerry Lewis & Sammy Davis jr.

I religiously watched that show when it first ran.

 

[Yaworski]

Wouldn't that get libs panties in a wad now!! It's like the John Steinbeck novel East of Eden where the Chinese houseman is well educated but speaks in pidgin English because that's what people expect.

That describes my judo instructor. Big Korean guy who spoke broken Engrish, come to find out that he spoke English very well with very little accent. It was all about the image.