Have Gun, Will Travel: Season 01  (1957)

Theatrical Release Information:
Have Gun, Will Travel: Season 01

The first season of the "thinking man's Western," Have Gun, Will Travel begins as erudite gun-for-hire Paladin (Richard Boone) accepts 1,000 dollars to rescue a rancher's daughter from her outlaw lover (played by Jack Lord) in "Three Bells to Perdido." Charles Bronson guest stars as the title character in the next episode "The Outlaw," which, like several first season installments, was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the son of veteran character actor Victor McLaglen -- who himself shows up in a later episode, "The O'Hare Story." Also contributing to the series' overall excellence this season is future Star Trek maven Gene Roddenberry, who penned such Have Gun, Will Travels as "The Great Mojave Chase," "The Yuma Treasure" and "The Hanging Cross." Other noteworthy season one episodes include "A Matter of Ethics," in which Paladin is hired to protect a condemned murderer from being lynched before he can be legally hanged; "Helen of Abajinian," which brings Paladin to an Armenian wine-making community in Southern California; "The Teacher," wherein Paladin strikes a blow for academic freedom in a backwater village; and "Hey Boy's Revenge," in which we see the Hotel Carlton's best bellboy in an entirely new light. Finally, attention must be paid to a couple of remarkably prescient episodes: "High Wire," which features a supporting appearance by John Dehner, who'd later play Paladin in the radio version of Have Gun, Will Travel; and "The Return of Dr. Thackeray," featuring Johnny Western, one year away from his weekly Have Gun gig as the singer of the closing credits "The Ballad of Paladin"," as a quick-tempered young gunslinger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide