Have Gun Will Travel - 3x01 & 3x02

HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL

The Man in Black


On September 14th, 1957, a new western debuted on the CBS television network. Richard Boone played the man called

"Paladin" in Have Gun -- Will Travel. The unique title survives today, in countless incarnations in

advertising and other media -- or have you never heard the phrase "Have ______, Will Travel"? Well, now you

know whence it came. The half-hour show aired Saturday, at 9:30 p.m., just before another popular western, Gunsmoke, and

ran for six successful seasons. (It opened as the #4 rated show for the year, then followed up with three years ranked

#3.) Its dramatic opening had Paladin aiming his gun and his words directly at the audience, and the series always

featured a no-nonsense approach and intelligence rarely evident on the small screen. HGWT has seldom been seen in

syndication over the last 25 years, apparently because it was filmed in black-and-white, and because it's

"tainted" by violent content. The latter rationale seems especially ludicrous, considering the graphic mayhem

depicted in today's programming. Paladin killed many men, true enough -- but his victims were always deserving -- and

almost none of the violence in the show was gratuitous. The best epsiodes put today's television drama to shame.




Have Gun Will Travel - 3x01 First Catch a Tiger





One of several hostile patrons at an inn has been hired to assassinate Paladin, but which one?





Have Gun Will Travel - 3x02 Episode in Laredo





Paladin and a famous, unbeatable gunfighter manage to like each other


-- but will circumstances force a deadly showdown anyway?