Paladin (Richard Boone) often gets written off as a mercenary since he did advertise his services with the catchy motto “Have Gun – Will Travel.” He might have offered a price for his services, but he wasn’t going to follow the client’s exact orders. He’s not a conventional gun goon. The guy graduated from West Point. He had brains. He wasn’t going to let them get blown out without questioning the man providing the paycheck. He considered part of his job is coming up with solutions that don’t involve suicide missions. Have Gun – Will Travel: The Fourth Season, Volume Two provides another 19 times Paladin did more than a quick gun and run.
“Shadow of a Man” seems like a normal range war situation. Paladin gets hired by a cotton farmer’s wife to calm down the next door cattle rancher. Turns out the issue isn’t cattle versus cotton. The farmer might have been involved in the assassination of Lincoln. Paladin has to get to the truth to calm down the area. “Long Way Home” lets Ivan Dixon (Hogan’s Heroes) play an outlaw that’s a former slave. Paladin captures him for the $5,000 reward. Another group of bounty hunters want to poach Dixon to collect the money. “The Taxgatherer” gives Paladin the job of collecting the taxes from the citizens of Bad Dog, Oregon. He gets a cut of the take, but can he break into the wallets of the largest debtors?
“The Last Judgement” puts Paladin at the defense table of a man charged with murder. Is there nothing he can’t do? “The Gold Bar” puts a bank in jeopardy when a teller (John Fiedler) walks off with a gold bar. “Everyman” foretells the death of Paladin when his date gives him a bad Tarot card reading. Turns out his next gig involves a man who promises to shoot any gunfighters. Not to spoil the ending, but there are more episodes. “The Siege” introduces us to the Water Bugs. They’re a trio of brothers poisoning the scarce water in a region of Arizona. It’s up to Paladin to clean up their act. “El Paso Stage” warns people about paying for cheap hired guns. Turns out their lesser Paladin is a nutjob that’s worse than the bad guys. They have to pay an additional fee to bring in the original Paladin to clean up the mess.
“Broken Image” forces a wife to hire Paladin to take on a gang. Her husband dealt with the last one, but he can’t do it again. What’s the problem? “Brother’s Keeper” lets a mountain lion attack Paladin. Afterward, he gets robbed by two creeps. Even messed up royally, Paladin hunts down the two bad Samaritans. “The Cure” turns Paladin into the original Dr. Drew with a Celebrity Rehab episode. He must help Calamity Jane overcome booze to regain her shot. Unlike the VH1 show, the loser from Crazy Town doesn’t appear looking for help. “The Road” once more has Paladin get robbed while on the road. He ought to think about hiring a hired gun to protect him on these trips. Another Hogan’s Heroes icon arrives in “The Uneasy Grave.” Werner Klemperer (Col. Klink) has a woman’s husband killed. The lady wants revenge courtesy of Paladin’s bullets, but the hired gun wants to unload justice. “Soledad Crossing” gives us Ken Curtis while he was still working on Gunsmoke as Festus.
Have Gun – Will Travel: The Fourth Season, Volume Two still had quite a bit of creativity with this non-traditional Western format. There were new situations eager to hire Paladin. While he does get attacked on the trail twice during this season, it does seem to be a risk of the “Will Travel” part of the motto. Paladin’s approach to each case keeps things interesting since he’s not showing up in a new town to gun a stranger down. There’s only 2 more seasons to go before he gets his last paycheck.
The Episodes
“Shadow of a Man,” “Long Way Home,” “The Taxgatherer,” “Fatal Flaw,” “Fandango,” “The Last Judgement,” “The Gold Bar,” “Everyman,” “The Siege,” “The Long Weekend,” “El Paso Stage,” “Duke of Texas,” “Broken Image,” “Brother’s Keeper,” “Bearbait,” “The Cure,” “The Road,” “The Uneasy Grave” and “Soledad Crossing”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The black and white transfers bring out the details in the various backlot locations. It’s gets rather easy to spot how they redecorated the Western streets to make different towns. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The levels are fine for an old TV show.
None.
Have Gun – Will Travel: The Fourth Season, Volume Two keeps the focus on the fact that Paladin was a gun and brain for hire. He wasn’t going to just shoot away to collect a quick paycheck. This is an extremely entertaining 30 minute Western that isn’t the normal oater.
Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD present Have Gun – Will Travel: The Fourth Season, Volume Two. Starring: Richard Boone. Boxset Contents: 19 episodes on 3 DVDs. Released on DVD: July 6, 2010.
