"Have Gun - Will Travel"
Tiger (1959)

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Herb Meadow (creator)
Gene Roddenberry (writer)

TV Series:

"Have Gun - Will Travel" (1957)

Original Air Date:

28 November 1959 (Season 3, Episode 11)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Gunfighter | Cult TV | Cult Favorite | Cult Western

Cast

Richard Boone	...	Paladin
Kam Tong	...	Hey Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Parley Baer	...	Ellsworth
Elsa Cárdenas	...	Lahri
Paul Clarke	...	Pahndu
Terence de Marney	...	Hawkins (as Terence DeMarney)
Mickey Finn	...	Loafer
Clegg Hoyt	...	Trainer
Dennis Moore	...	Rancher
Ralph Neff	...	Laborer
Max Slaten	...	Helper

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

CBS Television

Have Tiger, Will Die

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Paladin is summoned to Texas by a rancher named Ellsworth (Parley Baer) who is terrified he's going to be killed and eaten by a tiger. Since there aren't any tigers in Texas, Paladin figures the guy is worrying about nothing--but wants to know why.

This is one of those Gene Roddenberry scripts he'd later refine on "Star Trek" that shows "how powerful and scary the mind can be" by showing if Ellsworth is that convinced he's going to be killed by a tiger, somehow he's going to be. I found it unsatisfying at best.

There are some good moments as we learn about Paladin's trip to India where he once killed a tiger (the reason he is summoned by Ellsworth's Indian servant Pahndu--played by Paul Clarke). Mickey Finn also has a good comedy moment in town when a poster is put up about a circus coming to town. Baer himself is too comic of a figure to convince us about the tiger in his mind. A different actor might have made the difference, but somehow I doubt it. The story is just too much of a stretch.