Have Gun-- Will Travel

**FIRST SEASON (1957-58)**
09/14/57	Three Bells to Perdido	Paladin is hired by rancher to bring back his daughter and son-in-law from Mexican hole-in-the wall	Interesting series opener is a notch above ordinary 50's western fare
09/21/57	The Outlaw	Paladin lets a convicted killer on way to gallows take detour to see wife and newborn son	A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
09/28/57	The Great Mojave Chase	Paladin bends rules, uses a camel in desert race	Unusual change of pace
10/05/57	Winchester Quarantine	Peaceful Cherokee couple is harassed by whites, and Paladin seems to be on the Indian-haters' side	Solid episode about the stupidity of prejudice
10/12/57	A Matter of Ethics	Paladin guarantees accused murderer that he won't be lynched, despite the best efforts of the victim's sister	Uneven story about mob psychology and vengeance
10/19/57	The Bride	Paladin sticks with mail-order bride after stagecoach drops her off in middle of nowhere	Well-plotted, with a snake of a villain
10/26/57	Strange Vendetta	A Mexican nobleman, dying from an assassin's bullet, asks Paladin to deliver his body back to hacienda in Mexico	Convincing tale includes nice surprise
11/02/57	High Wire	Paladin bets $3000 that a diminutive, downtrodden acrobat can walk across canyon on wire	Case study of despair, self-respect and salvation
11/09/57	Show of Force	Paladin wins obsolete rifles in poker game, finds use for them in range war	You don't bluff just at the card table
11/16/57	The Long Night	Wealthy rancher rounds up Paladin and two others, will hang all three unless one admits to murder of his wife	Superb story and payoff
11/23/57	The Colonel and The Lady	Retired, rich, aristocratic and curious colonel hires Paladin to discover fate of saloon girl at now mined-out Nevada town	Answer to mystery is right under nose
11/30/57	No Visitors	Religious fanatic whips townsfolk into frenzy, tries to keep out Paladin, female doctor, and typhoid patients	Paladin stands up to entire town -- twice!
12/07/57	The Englishman	Paladin serves as guide to a (very) British heir, introduces him to his female cousin, her ranch, and the ways of the West	Rather boring, actually; at least it has Indians
12/14/57	The Yuma Treasure	Paladin accompanies cavalry major to find and negotiate a treaty with hard-to-find Indian chief	Parable of human greed features wonderfully inscrutable Indians
12/21/57	The Hanging Cross	Xmas episode finds Paladin in center of battle over embittered rancher's son stolen by Indians	Episode's unusual opening "teaser" must be seen to be believed; story itself is a bit sweet
12/28/57	Helen of Abajinian	Armenian winemaker hires Paladin to retrieve lovestruck daughter, who has run away chasing a callow, ambivalent young man	Award-winning teleplay has high aspirations, but proves only mildly interesting
01/04/58	Ella West	Wild-west show promoter seeks Paladin's aid in making a lady out of famous female hellcat	Pygmalion goes west, where it doesn't belong
01/11/58	The Reasonable Men	Young man suffering growing pains challenges rancher who raised him (for control of cattle acreage); Paladin is hired by latter to keep them both alive	Only good part is Paladin's comment after "easy kill"
01/18/58	The High Graders	Paladin investigates after his tailor is killed in a mining accident at his supposedly worthless gold mine	Includes great shootout followed by Paladin's analysis of outcome
01/25/58	The Last Laugh	Troublemaker goads huge retarded man to put burr under saddle, then blames Paladin for "joke" which crippled rancher's wife	Paladin is forced to defy town in order to expose the truth
02/01/58	The Bostonian	Paladin protects Easterner and wife who bought prime land from under nose of dangerous Nevada rancher	And he does it with hardly any violence
02/08/58	The Singer	Paladin is hired to provide jilted man with ten minutes of time to speak to former fianceé, now married to wealthy rancher	Varied action successfully moves from "wild west" outdoor setting to San Francisco
02/15/58	Bitter Wine	Italian winemaker hires Paladin to stop Irish oil-driller and his waste products from polluting his vinyard	Features the most idiotic gun battle in TV history
02/22/58	The Girl From Piccadilly	A wealthy old man, having learned of his son's death, hires Paladin to find and bring back the daughter-in-law he's never even met	Pleasant episode works well
03/01/58	The O'Hare Story	While protecting a town's water supply, Paladin takes a liking to the leader of "the enemy" -- a feisty, middle-aged engineer	Interesting switcheroo
03/08/58	Birds of a Feather	Paladin tries to settle a right-of-way dispute between two railroads, save dying town from gunfighters	Credible parable of ruling and working classes
03/15/58	The Teacher	Paladin protects schoolmarm from former Civil War raiders who don't like what she's been teaching about them	The price of freedom has always been high
03/22/58	Killer's Widow	Paladin must both find $30,000 in missing loot and salve his conscience -- for having created a new widow the last time he was in town	Despite the obviousness of the "surprise," still a well-crafted tale.
03/29/58	Gun Shy	On the trail of Hey Boy's uncle's stolen chess set, Paladin finds himself at an isolated Montana inn, third-wheel in a struggling romance	The activity at a Holiday Inn would be more interesting
04/05/58	The Prize-Fight Story	Paladin accompanies boxing-promoter buddy and his charge to small town, steps into ring with British heavyweight	Too much silliness TKO's this one
04/12/58	Hey Boy's Revenge	When a Chinese acquaintance of Hey Boy's is murdered, he enlists Paladin's aid to bring the Caucasian killer to justice	Merely okay change of pace; cited by TV Guide as one of 100 Greatest
04/19/58	Pre-empted
04/26/58	The Five Books of Owen Deaver	Young, idealistic sheriff's regime is too strict; Paladin's an old family friend who tries to help him loosen up	A boy with a badge can be so annoying
05/03/58	The Silver Queen	Lonely old man meets dreamgirl, wills her half-ownership in mine, drops dead; his venal partner wants all the silver for himself	Script attempts far too much for a mere half-hour
05/10/58	Three Sons	Paladin lets newlyweds use his hotel suite, then defends groom's quirky father from charges of senility	Even last-minute gunfight can't save this one from Alzheimer's
05/17/58	The Return of Dr. Thackeray	Paladin helps female physician friend from No Visitors deal with unruly cowhands at ranch under smallpox quarantine	Situation too confining
05/24/58	Twenty-Four Hours at North Fork	Paladin aids peaceful Mennonites, about to be driven out of town by venal merchant and henchman	Despite its flaws, quite powerful
05/31/58	Silver Convoy	A prosperous Mexican gentleman uses convicted criminals for slave-labor in his silver mine -- who always disappear before release; Paladin decides to end it	Good tale with class-war undertones
06/07/58	Deliver the Body	Paladin goes after the alleged killer of a town's sheriff, then sticks around to get him a lawyer and ensure a fair trial	Satisfying standard story
06/14/58	The Statue of San Sebastian	Paladin tries to retrieve a church's holy relic from a penurious rancher	Uninspired first season finale