Have Gun - Will Travel (1957–1963)

Professional gunfighter Paladin was a West Point graduate who, after the Civil War, settled into San Francisco's Hotel Carlton were he awaited responses to his business card: over the ... See full summary »

Creators:

Herb Meadow, Sam Rolfe

Stars:

Richard Boone, Kam Tong, Hal Needham

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Richard Boone	...	Paladin (226 episodes, 1957-1963)
Kam Tong	...	Hey Boy (107 episodes, 1957-1963)

Storyline

Professional gunfighter Paladin was a West Point graduate who, after the Civil War, settled into San Francisco's Hotel Carlton were he awaited responses to his business card: over the picture of a chess knight "Have Gun, Will Travel ... Wire Paladin, San Francisco."

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Plot Keywords:

gunfighter | san francisco california | cult tv | cult tv | cult tv

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Revólver a la orden

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Filmaster Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min (226 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Parts of the first season episode "The Colonel and the Lady" were filmed on sets used for the television show Gun Law. The Long Branch Saloon is very minimally redecorated to stand in for a saloon Paladin visits in a Nevada mining town. Shots of people walking the streets of the town were also taken from Gunsmoke.

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Quotes

Paladin: I don't think you got a very good look at this gun while you had it. The balance is perfect. This trigger responds to a pressure of one ounce. If you look carefully in the barrel you'll see the lines of the rifling. It's a rarity in a hand weapon. This gun was handcrafted to my specifications and I rarely draw it unless I mean to use it. Would you care for a demonstration?

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Connections

Version of Have Gun - Will Travel

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Soundtracks

"Ballad of Paladin"
By Johnny Western, Richard Boone, and Sam Rolfe
Sung by Johnny Western
Recorded by Johnny Western

User Reviews

A head of its time...

While most westerns in the late 50's and early 60's were simple good guy wears the white hat and the bad guy wears the black hat and them injuns were all ruthless savages "Have Gun Will Travel" was well ahead of the times. You had several episodes featuring people of: "Color" in key roles. One of the finest examples of this was the episode: "Hey Boys Revenge".

When Paladin learned that Hey Boy was dismissed he was furious by the lack of concern from the hotel management. When Paladin told that "these people can easily be replaced" angered Paladin enough to threaten to take his business unless he was given his address so he could find out what had happened to his friend.

Each episode was a half hour of adventure and sometimes the tables would be turned. It is hard to make them like that any more. As for John Dehner playing the role on television, It would have been like James Caan playing Michael Corlioni in "The Godfather."