An unexpectedly good episode, in a number of ways.
There are strong reminiscences of the social content of Grapes of wrath, with Chinese coolies exploited by railroad companies and their henchmen in place of Okies toiling for miserly wages in fruit plantations. Paladin is the one who first stirs them out of submission, but then he dissuades them of fulfilling mob retribution revenge and convinces them instead to trust the law. Actually they might be rather skeptical, as they have had few reasons so far to trust a law embodied by a cautiously passive sheriff. If Paladin had not brought to bear all his considerable skills, there is all certainty that the murder of Hey Boy's brother would have remained forever unpunished, and that crass exploitation of the coolies by the criminal foreman would have continued unabated - but still, in the specific case at least, he is right.
Not everything is quite as easy to believe in the story : the sudden revolt of ultra-cautious coolies is rather unlikely. Even more so is the immediate desertion of Travis by his men, supposedly fearful of coolies who are only armed with sticks, it may however be accounted for by the fact he has not been a nice boss to them.
On the plus side there are quite good dialogues, especially the ones between Paladin and the not brave but unexpectedly bright sheriff, who exposes his cautious approach to lawmaking - he does not like at all the way the railroad company handles its business, but he knows they'll pass through his city while he will remains afterwards. And when he has the means to do the right thing, arrest Travis for murder on the testimony of two Chinese coolies, he does not hesitate for a second (in real life, in those times, it might not have been that straightforward...).
A new light is shed upon the personal morals of Paladin. He has no scruples to ask Travis to pay him for his protection - at best a half-truth, as while saving him from being lynched he steadfastly pursues the objective of getting his paymaster to hang. Which in a way is of course quite right, as the protection money surrendered by Travis will be but a small compensation for the loss of Hey Boy's brother.
While the coolies remain an abstract collectivity, three Chinese characters are put into highlight : Hey Boy who appears very different from his usual smiling and submissive appearance, the scholar with whom Paladin demonstrates his knowledge of Chinese language and sayings, and the charming sister of Hey Boy, saved from a loveless wedding by the ever chivalrous Paladin, who is clearly not insensitive to the bright eyes with which she fixedly, admiringly and not so shyly stares at him - his regrets that she could not be for him are all too visible. The smooth charm of the San Francisco opening and closing scenes offers a soothing contrast with the rough, degrading world of the railroads works.
There are strong reminiscences of the social content of Grapes of wrath, with Chinese coolies exploited by railroad companies and their henchmen in place of Okies toiling for miserly wages in fruit plantations. Paladin is the one who first stirs them out of submission, but then he dissuades them of fulfilling mob retribution revenge and convinces them instead to trust the law. Actually they might be rather skeptical, as they have had few reasons so far to trust a law embodied by a cautiously passive sheriff. If Paladin had not brought to bear all his considerable skills, there is all certainty that the murder of Hey Boy's brother would have remained forever unpunished, and that crass exploitation of the coolies by the criminal foreman would have continued unabated - but still, in the specific case at least, he is right.
Not everything is quite as easy to believe in the story : the sudden revolt of ultra-cautious coolies is rather unlikely. Even more so is the immediate desertion of Travis by his men, supposedly fearful of coolies who are only armed with sticks, it may however be accounted for by the fact he has not been a nice boss to them.
On the plus side there are quite good dialogues, especially the ones between Paladin and the not brave but unexpectedly bright sheriff, who exposes his cautious approach to lawmaking - he does not like at all the way the railroad company handles its business, but he knows they'll pass through his city while he will remains afterwards. And when he has the means to do the right thing, arrest Travis for murder on the testimony of two Chinese coolies, he does not hesitate for a second (in real life, in those times, it might not have been that straightforward...).
A new light is shed upon the personal morals of Paladin. He has no scruples to ask Travis to pay him for his protection - at best a half-truth, as while saving him from being lynched he steadfastly pursues the objective of getting his paymaster to hang. Which in a way is of course quite right, as the protection money surrendered by Travis will be but a small compensation for the loss of Hey Boy's brother.
While the coolies remain an abstract collectivity, three Chinese characters are put into highlight : Hey Boy who appears very different from his usual smiling and submissive appearance, the scholar with whom Paladin demonstrates his knowledge of Chinese language and sayings, and the charming sister of Hey Boy, saved from a loveless wedding by the ever chivalrous Paladin, who is clearly not insensitive to the bright eyes with which she fixedly, admiringly and not so shyly stares at him - his regrets that she could not be for him are all too visible. The smooth charm of the San Francisco opening and closing scenes offers a soothing contrast with the rough, degrading world of the railroads works.
