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DVD Have Gun Will Travel - The Complete Second Season
Episode for episode, the second season of Have Gun, Will Travel (1958-59) is even better than the first. With a bona fide hit on their hands, CBS didn't mess with success, and these 39 episodes pushed ratings even higher with sharp direction (mostly by first-season veteran Andrew V. McLaglen), a wide variety of attention-grabbing plots, and intelligent, sensible dialogue. All of the first season's strengths are carried over, and while 41-year-old star Richard Boone (as the refined gunslinger-for-hire Paladin) is rarely given a serious test of his talents, he commands his role with depth, humor, and impressive displays of physical agility. (By comparison, series regular Kam Tong had almost nothing to do this season; he's relegated to routine duty as Paladin's Chinese hotel valet "Hey Boy.") Future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry hit his stride this season, writing nearly a dozen episodes including the playfully spooky "The Monster of Moon Ridge," and other contributors included novelist Irving Wallace and Bruce Geller, who would later create Mission: Impossible! And while McLaglen helmed the vast majority of episodes, Have Gun set a TV milestone when Ida Lupino (with "The Man Who Lost," featuring Jack Elam) became the first woman to direct for a TV Western series.
The "Wire Paladin" production notes provided with each episode are thoroughly researched, providing extensive guest-star credits and making wide-ranging connections between Have Gun and many other TV series, films, and serials of the '40s, '50s, and '60s, especially Roddenberry's Star Trek. Among the noteworthy guest stars are Lon Chaney Jr., Charles Bronson, Harry Morgan, Joseph Calleia, Harry Carey Jr., Suzanne Pleshette, Morey Amsterdam, Vincent Price, Edward Platt, and many stalwart character players from TV's golden age. The season starts well with "The Manhunter" (in which Paladin is forced to kill a young gunman and faces the wrath of his vengeful family), and Paladin's unique brand of frontier justice is memorably dispensed (along with generous quotes from Shakespeare, Milton, etc.) in such highlights as "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk" (with Bronson), "The Ballad of Oscar Wilde," "The Moor's Revenge" (with Price), "The Scorched Feather" (with Chaney) and several others. The opening credits are slightly modified as the season progresses, and Paladin's travels take him into the mountains (for some outdoor adventures late in the season) and even to Alaska, the series' most distant destination. Image quality suffers in later episodes (some mastered from vintage kinescopes or murky syndication prints), but the fact that all 39 episodes are fully intact is a blessing to anyone with fond recollections of this superior TV Western. --Jeff Shannon
Review(s): DVD Have Gun Will Travel - The Complete Second Season
"A soldier of fortune..."
"...is the man called Paladin."
Many times one has fond memories of the older TV programs. When they are finally distributed and bought, it is a shocker to find that they are sophomoric or just long cigarette commercials. Well this time you will not be disappointed.
Each episode must find a conflict and solve it in an extraordinarily short time. Each with a moral and still maintain the entertainment value. One of the ways this is accomplished is the use of a wide spectrum of writers; many of the stories are adoptions of classics or became classics of other programs and/or movies.
Is it possible for a series to get better instead of fading to the mundane? Yes the second season has dropped the extras, with the exception of a quick synopsis of plot and actors, in place of packing in the stories at six or seven a disk. I press the play all button. I will not go through the list of actors as it is fun to be surprised.
One of the finer points of this series is that there usually is no clear cut hero or villain as the characters and themes of the stories are as complete as many ancient myths. We can see virtues and faults in everyone and many times there is no such thing as a clear-cut winner or loser.
Paladin (Richard Boone), a well chosen name as on a chess board there are many moves available, lives in San Francisco and most people assumes he has investments all over the west as he is taking frequent trips to protect them. We know different as "Have Gun Will Travel" he makes his fortune on his many skills. Every once in a while we get a gimps of his past as we know he went to West Point and can quote many ancient writings and wars. He has an uncanny way of knowing what the meanings of names are. Yet who ever he really is many people are better off for knowing him. And so are we.
A side benefit is recognizing the list of star (actors) and stars in the making.
Review of "Have Gun, Wil Tavel."
I am quite pleased with the purchase. The only additional thought about this purchase is that maybe some of the commercials of the time could have been included. I realize that screening commercials would be quite touchy.
Have Gun Will Travle
I love this show,I began buying the tapes from Columbia house years ago but at $24 per tape and only 4 episodes It didnt last, so when season one on DVD came out I got it, Season 2 is this one ,Even more of the same great Tv show.Richard Boone was the best TV cowboy ever, this show the best western ever, One epidode Paladin is tasteing whiskeys and mentions "This one is from kentucky, Louisville Limestone, from the disterillery at the corner of Breckinridge and 26th" well folks Being from here I looked it up. There really was a disteillery there in the 1800's the show was chcked full of history ,he even tasted one and said"Thats not Kentucky, Tennesee perhaphs Linchburg" Well jack we know what he was talking about anyway great deal $26.00 got it in three days..
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The first season of Have Gun--Will Travel makes it easy to see why this Western series was an overnight success. Making its debut on September 14, 1957, the half-hour show ranked no. 4 in the ratings for its entire first season, which ran almost completely uninterrupted (minus a one-week preemption) until June of 1958--a punishing schedule unheard of in present-day television. (It ranked even higher in subsequent seasons, holding the no. 3 spot, behind Gunsmoke and Wagon Train.) Richard Boone was perfectly cast in the lead role of Paladin, a cultured gunslinger whose West Point education, impeccable style, literate sophistication, and distinguished Civil War service made him unique among Western heroes, and the prototype for many dashing figures to follow. Based in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Boone DVD Release Date: Released the 11 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Judging by the quality of the first two boxed sets for "Have Gun Will Travel", I have little doubt that this release will be every bit as satisfying in terms of packaging, content and film transfer quality. It would be nice to see some added extras with this set, though.
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It's more of the same as other reviewers. Just terrific, absorbing and great theartre. Enjoy it. Going to watch and episode now. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vic Morrow DVD Release Date: Released the 29 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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