"Have Gun - Will Travel" Show of Force (1957)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers:

Ken Kolb (written by) and
Lee Erwin (written by) ...

TV Series:

"Have Gun - Will Travel" (1957)

Original Air Date:

9 November 1957 (Season 1, Episode 9)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

An all-night poker match's deceptive pot gives Paladin strategic inspiration for ending a range war. |

Plot Keywords:

Gunfighter | Cult Western | Cult Favorite | Cult TV

Cast

Richard Boone	...	Paladin
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Pedro Valdez
Russ Conway	...	Jared Martin
Peter Coe	...	Carlos Valdez
Joe Bassett	...	Matt Garson
Vic Perrin	...	Arnold Haskins
Ned Glass	...	Bernard
Kam Tong	...	Hey Boy
Andy Brennan	...	Cowboy (as Walter Brennan Jr.)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Have Rifles, Will Sell

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There's actually not a lot of poker playing in this episode. The poker game is just a device in the first scene for Paladin to win a crate full of old, useless rifles. He takes them to where he's hearing about a possible range war between Valdez (Rodolpho Acosta) and Matt Garson (Joe Bassett) and his men over disputed territory. Paladin plays it smart, and uses the rifles in an unexpected way to stop what looks to be a violent clash.

Cleverly written script and a strong performance from Boone make this a pretty strong episode. Ned Glass plays the role of Bernard, the guy who thinks he's pulling one over on Paladin by betting him the old rifles. Boone has a nice scene where instead of being amused, he laughs to see how he's been conned and later shows Bernard how he managed to turn the junk into gold.