Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963)

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  • Ever since I saw a marathon on the Western Channel of HGWT a few months ago, I plan my day for it coming on at 5:35 every M-F! Since I was only born in '61, I didn't have the priviledge of seeing this show in it's "hey-day," but I try never to miss an episode. My wife, who is 19 years my junior, is nearly as much a JW fan as I am, loves to watch the show, too!


    I posted this on another thread, but Andrew McLaglen holds the distinction of directing the most episodes of HGWT (101), and Gunsmoke (96). That's VERY impressive! I always tell my wife that you can see right away whether it's an episode directed by Andy or not, as he was far superior to everyone else in every aspect of directing - from lighting, to getting the best out of his actors.


    As for the "PC" experiences some are speaking about with in-laws and such: I too have dealt with this, and I was a teacher for many years. These folks that play these games about "everyone's a winner, and don't dare flunk my child because they cheated" really used to burn all of us up. They did these things because THEY grew up maladjusted and unable to deal with normal, everyday life, and they want everyone else to cave in to them. I grew up with a dad the gave us boys guns when we were very young (I was 10 when I received my 1st shotgun), and took us target shooting all the time, but we we NEVER allowed to touch those guns without his, or an older brother's (8 & 7 years older) supervision, and that was to clean them, and get them ready for transport. Dad wasn't a big fan of hunting as he got past 50, but my brothers still are, as are THEIR sons (I don't have the time), but ALWAYS responsibly.


    I had toy pistols and rifles and hats and vests, and we played "Cowboys & Indians," "Cops & Robbers, and I had camaflauge outfit fatigue hat and poncho and a toy M-16, but I didn't grow up to be a psycho mass murderer, and no one else who played with toys did either, or you'd see millions of us baby boomers on the news!

  • Have gun Will Travel movie due out this year.
    But don't expect much.....Paladin will be played by a Rapper named Eminem. Richard Boone would roll over in his grave.


  • I had that gun set also when I was a youngster. What a thrill it was! I handed out the cards that came with it but, of course, asked for them back. Wish I still had it. Boone was magnificent in HGWT; hell, he's always magnificent; Big Jake, Tall T, Rio Conchos, etc.


    Little boys like to play with guns, big deal. A shame your sister in law doesn't understand that. My son, Ethan, played with toy guns all throughout his younger years (17 now) and he's a well-adjusted, loving kid.

  • Have gun Will Travel movie due out this year.
    But don't expect much.....Paladin will be played by a Rapper named Eminem. Richard Boone would roll over in his grave.


    That is horrifying information. Why must Hwood continue remaking great shows with awful results; anybody see the Wild Wild West movie? terrible.

  • There aren't any REAL original ideas In Hollywood anymore, that's why! Another way to look at it (I suppose), is that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...;)


    I recall a few years ago there's was talk going around about a Sci Fi remake of The Searchers with Bruce Willis...urgh!


  • Absolutely correct. Boys need an outlet for their aggression and energy (it's ingrained) and playing Cowboy or Soldier is a good outlet for that. I grew up in Wisc, and there were always guns around, but the operative word is responsibility, as you said.

  • I missed pretty much all HGWT on it's original run, and have been having a great time catching up on it on TWC. Hal Needham musta gotten rich off this show alone, considering he's doubling Boone, plus playing a part in almost every episode. Nice to see all the Duke regulars like Ed Faulkner, Victor McLaughlin, Ken Curtis, Roberson, Hayward, etc popping up from time to time.

  • Does anyone recall the remake of "Wanted Dead or Alive" in 1987 starring Rootbeer Hauger? Hopefully, not many had their retinas burned out by that travesty.
    M&M is a vile individual and I doubt that his name over the title would bring in many viewers.
    Hollywood is indeed bereft of ideas and grave robs old venerable titles like this one.
    I'm sticking with the dvds.


    We deal in lead, friend.

  • The movie had nothing to do with Steve McQueen's series save that Rutger Hauer's character was supposed to be a descendant of the series character. The movie was pure escapism and nothing much more.

    Cheers - Jay:beer:
    "Not hardly!!!"

  • You are absolutely correct Jay. I'm not familiar with the upcoming Eminem movie and assumed that it would be a modern interpretation of a modern bounty hunter. If he shows up in a black stetson with chess knights on his holster, though, I still won't see it.




    We deal in lead, friend.

  • Last nites HGWT episode on WC with Gene Lyons as a gunfighter was sure reminiscent of The Shootist.

  • More buzz on the HGWT film has John Revolta (Trevolta) starring as Paladin. IMO he's too short and too heavy to carry off the character, not to mention he's balding these days. We need a solid strongly trained actor of much greater stature and talent to carry off the role of Paladin. Revolta had options for ten years and did nothing to move the project forward. There's no news on the Revolta side of the HGWT front. Perhaps his option's expired.


    Nathan Fillion could carry off the role. He's physically fit and has the size and presence to be Paladin, not to mention he has the acting chops. In addition, he can ride well. Adam Baldwin could be Paladin as well. At 6'4" he also has the physical presence, not to mention he has the acting talent. Baldwin also happens to have a scar on his face. This could come in handy for a man who portrays Paladin, who is a world-weary type IMO. Richard Boone had a 'rode hard and put up wet' look and Baldwin has a similar look.


    What keeps me up at night: a fear that some 'brilliant' Hollywood type will decide the original HGWT concept was a winner and they'll do it that way for some bizarre reason: Paladin as a modern detective. Without all the period detail it won't be a Western at all. *shudder*

    We're burning moonlight.

  • Last nites HGWT episode on WC with Gene Lyons as a gunfighter was sure reminiscent of The Shootist.


    IMO Episode in Laredo is superior to The Shootist (don't shoot! don't shoot!) only because the characters and their motivations were better thought out. The flaws in the film came from the script (IMHO).


    In The Shootist the three bad guys at the end were cyphers, generic targets. IMO it's more interesting when there is some understanding of the reasons for the conflict. Richard Boone thought so, too. His line, 'That was for Albert,' was his own idea. (I'm paraphrasing the line, I don't have the DVD/BluRay as yet, but it's on my Xmas list.)

    We're burning moonlight.

  • I read on Wikipedia just now that Leonard Nimoy was supposed to have made an appearance on HGWT. He's not listed with a speaking part to his credit in IMDB. Does anyone out there know if he played an Indian, excuse me, Native American in any episode? I've gone through all the ones I have on DVD and I can't ID him.


    Is it true? Have you spotted him hiding behind a rock or on a horse? Do tell, please. I'm a big fan and would love to see him.

    We're burning moonlight.

  • At long last I've discovered the names of Paladin's horses! These are the horses Richard Boone rode in the 6 years he was Paladin, according to the book, Silent Hoofbeats, by Bobby J Copeland: Curley, Frisco, Rudy, Mexico and Rafter. Yeehaa!

    We're burning moonlight.

  • Yesterday was the 31st anniversary of the loss of Richard Allen Boone. From Claire Boone's description of his final illness, it was a release from intolerable pain.

    Thankfully we have 3 television series by which to remember him: Medic, Have Gun - Will Travel and Hec Ramsey. He left us many great film performances, too: Vicki, The Raid, The Tall T, I Bury the Living, The Alamo, Rio Conchos, The War Lord, Hombre, The Roarer, The Kremlin Letter, Big Jake, In Broad Daylight, Goodnight, My Love, Against A Crooked Sky, Winter Kills and his final film, The Bloody Bushido Blade. These are his best performances. Give yourself a treat and hunt up some of these films. Some of them are available on DVD, some are on Netflix. Some are impossible to find via legal and conventional methods.


    When Richard Boone is onscreen John Wayne has someone to match him. There's no actor of his stature today. Mr Boone, we hardly knew ye. :broken_heart: RIP, Paladin.





    This was meant to be posted yesterday but my son was ill and we spent the entire day at the hospital.

    We're burning moonlight.

  • Hi Peridot, Thanks muchly for the extra info on Dick Boone. Didn't know that Ben helped him, etc. That will go into the book and you will be noted as the provider! Never liked Dick until I saw him in HGWT, then it took a bit until the character caught on. I watched every single episode that Netflix had, and most a lot more than once. One of my favorites was a dark one that had Paladin taking a sheep herder in by RR, and they stopped in the little town of JODY?...was that it? It was a two parter and Paladin got stomped into the dirt, including crushing his gun hand, (loved when he told the sheriff, this was his profession and he could use his left hand as well as his right)....great episodes. Loved when he got Malaria also and met up with the gypsies, (remember us women just LOVE to look after our heroes when they are hurt). Although, as many times as he was hit on the head, I don't know how he didn't have permanent brain damage!
    Another favorite was when Ken Curtis came to town with a half ownership of a swanky "saloon". He was in "Festus" mode. The LOOKS on their faces when he took up the autoharp and played and sang! That was priceless.......the fights were pretty good also. I will look for the Ben Johnson episodes.
    By the way, somewhere, someone said they didn't have cable. I got rid of mine when I cut back....too expensive, and I can't get TV reception out here. So, I joined Netflix. You can do a 30 day trial. It is great. A lot can be streamed in or you can pay a little more and have DVDs sent to your house. I keep them for sometimes a month going over and over them. Also,you can buy a box for your TV so you can get the streamed ones there instead of on your computer.
    No, didn't know he was on that list but am not surprised AT ALL. You know, he had kind of a Ward Bond type appeal, if you leave off the high falutin' part. He was rough, gravely voice, yet could show great tenderness and compassion. Both laughed very heartily and easily. My, I never thought of that...comparing the two. Amazing what conversation can bring out. What do you think? KP KEITH



    The only sequential two-parter they did on HGWT is called A Quiet Night in Town. Yes, the town was called Jody. Very good of you to recall. I'm afraid I'm not as familiar with Ward Bond as you. All I know is what I read in Dobe Carey's autobiography about him, really not a lot of information other than he was much loved by John Wayne and others with whom he worked. He must have been a wonderful man.
    Here's some additional information on that episode: Sidney Pollack, a close friend of Boone, was the actor who slammed down the rubber rifle to injure Paladin. Because Pollack wasn't allowed to wear his glasses while filming, he smashed Boone's hand with the prop rather than miss him as he was supposed to do. Boone had to have his hand and wrist x-rayed to determine whether it was broken from the blow. The pain we saw onscreen may have been real rather than acting. I've been unable to determine whether the x-ray was taken immediately or delayed until shooting was finished. From what I've read about Boone, it's likely he finished working before having medical care and it's now too late to inquire of Mr Pollack.


    Pollack was still apologetic after all those years. They remained close friends after the accident. He did wonder whether the reason he was never asked back for another appearance on the series might have been connected with Boone's smashed wrist.


    I do have the (snail mail) address of David Rothel, who wrote the bio of Richard Boone. He may know the answer to this question, or not. If we can contact one another off list I'd be glad to share it with you and you might ask it of him, if he's still living. It's a question that I didn't think to ask when I wrote him before. He was kind enough to answer a question I had...but then again, I have another idea. I'll have to get back to you about this one.


    A while back I began a count of Paladin's kills and concussions. My autistic son has been seriously ill nearly a year and that's interfered with my research ability. One day I hope to return to my counting coup again soon.


    However, I was successful in searching out the names of the horses used in HGWT. I posted them on the FAQ page of the IMDB HGWT page. That search took over six months but I learned a lot of interesting things along the way. The screen name for Paladin's horse was Rafter, BTW, and he never referred to his horse by name in any episode I have screened. There is a single one I haven't seen, so unless Paladin says Rafter in that one, he's unlike any other screen cowboy. Paladin broke the mould with his dark blue (in the first season), later black trail clothes, villain's mustache and no-name horse. Isn't it time for a remake?

    We're burning moonlight.

  • Its too bad somone doesn't pick up more of these old shows, ( like AMC, or the Western channel ). I haven't seen this one in years. Bonanza is on every day, and you can find Gunsmoke too. AMC has the Rifleman, but that's about it here in the Colonies! Might see more across the pond!