Customer Reviews

Have Gun Will Travel - The Complete Third Season

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased the entire Columbia House HGWT series, and still bought the first two seasons on DVD. Season three will be no exception.

Everything I wrote about HGWT in my seasons 1 and 2 reviews still holds. The best TV writers were still generating excellent scripts, and the marvelous Richard Boone carried everything they wrote and more. It is not possible to heap enough accolades on everyone involved in these productions.

Again, the pristine quality of the B&W cinematography is often breathtaking on locations. It is like Ansel Adams selected the sites and handled the photography.

Amazing series, not to be missed.

CBS and Paramount Home Video present "HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (1959-1960), featuring Richard Boone as Paladin in his clad black wearing a pistol and holster custom made stamped with a silver chess-set knight which was his trademark...as was his theme song "reads the card of a man, a knight without armor in a Savage Land"...a graduate of West Point and a veteran of The Civil War, who makes his headquarters at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco...fighting for the underdog at a price of $1000, sometimes giving his fee away whenever the situation comanded it so for the needy...this role for Mr. Boone catapulted him to stardom and made the series a cult favorite.

First time on DVD with all 39 Original Episodes of Season Three...with guest stars noted:
Disc One (Episodes 79 - 84)
79. FIRST, CATCH A TIGER (guest stars: John Anderson, King Calder, Don Megowan & Pamela Lincoln)
(Directed by Ida Lupino & Written by Harry Julian Fink)
80. EPISODE IN LAREDO (guest star: Gene Lyons, Norma Crane, J. Pat O'Malley )
(Directed by Buzz Kulik & written by Gene Roddenberry)
81. LES GIRLS (guest stars: Bo Hopkins, Mabel Albertson, Lane Chandler)
(Directed By Andrew V. McLaglen & written by Gene Roddenberry)
82. THE POSSE (guest stars: Perry Cook, Harry Carey Jr., Ken Curtis, Denver Plyle )
83. SHOT BY REQUEST (guest star: John Abbott,Robert Gist, Sue Randall, Malcolm Atterbury, Sam Edwards)
(Directed by Buzz Kulik & Story by Howard Seay)
84. PANCHO (guest star: Rafael Campos, Luis Montell ., Edward Colmans, Rico Alaniz)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & screenplay by Shimon Wincelberg)

Disc Two (Episodes 85 - 88 )
85. FRAGILE (guest: Werner Klemperer, Jacqueline Scott , Alan Caillou , William Boyett, Gregg Palmer, George Douglas)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Shimon Wincelberg)
86. THE UNFORGIVEN (guest: David White, Hank Patterson , Hampton Fancher , Joel Ashley , John O'Malley)
(Directed by Andrew McLaglen & written by Jay Simms)
87. THE BLACK HANDKERCHIEF (guest: Ed Nelson, Joseph Perry , Terence DeMarney , Gordon Polk)
(Directed By Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Jay Simms)
88. THE GOLDEN TOAD (guest stars: David White, Lorna Thayer , Kevin Hagen, Bill Wellman, Jr., Stewart East )
(Directed By Andrew V. McLaglen & screenplay by Gene Roddenberry)

Disc Three (Episodes 89 - 94)
89. TIGER (guest stars: Parley Baer, Paul Clark, Elsa Cardenas, Clegg Hoyt, Dennis Moore, Terence DeMarney)
( Directed by Don Taylor & Written by Gene Roddenberry)
90. CHAMPAGNE SAFARI (guest: Valerie French, Patric Knowles, Lou Krugman, Bill Mims, Gil Rankin)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Story by Whitfield Cook)
91. CHARLEY RED DOG (guest: Scott Marlowe, Raymond Bailey, Cyril Delevanti , K.L. Smith, Kelton Garwood)
(Directed by Ida Lupino & Written by Gene Roddenberry)
92. THE NAKED GUN (guest: Ken Curtis, Robert Wilke, Lane Chandler, Hal Needham, Dallas Mitchell)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Jay Simms)
93. ONE CAME BACK (guest: George Mathews, Strother Martin, James Coburn, Tommy Cook, Robert Dorough)
(Directed by Don Taylor & Written by Bruce Geller)
94. THE PROPHET (guest: Shepperd Strudwick, Lorna Thayer, Eddie Little Sky, Brad Von Beltz, Barney Phillips)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Shimon Wincelberg)

Disc Four (Episodes 95 - 100)
95. DAY OF THE BADMAN (guest: William Joyce, Sue Randall, Hal Needham, Norman Shelly, Eleanor Audley, Harry Fleer)
(Directed by Ida Lupino & written by Robert E. Thompson)
96. THE PLEDGE (guest: Robert Gist, Brad Weston, Charles Gray, Joseph Hamilton, Susan Davis, Cyril Delevanti)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Shimon Wincelberg)
97. JENNY (guest: Trevor Bardette, Ellen Clark, Bud Osborne, Hal Needham, Peter Leeds)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Jack Jacobs)
98. RETURN TO FORT BENJAMIN (guest: Anthony Caruso, Charles Aidman, Herbert Patterson, Robert Wilke, Harold Needham)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Robert E. Thompson)
99. NIGHT THE TOWN DIED (guest: Barry Cahill, Mary Gregory, Robert J. Stevenson, Arthur Space)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Story by Calvin Clements)
100. THE LEDGE (guest: John Hoyt, Richard Shannon, Don Beddoe, Richard Rust)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Story by Jole Kane & Robert Gottlieb)

Disc Five (Episodes 101 - 106)
101. THE LADY ON THE WALL (guest: Lillian Bronson, Howard Petrie, Ralph Moody, Hank Patterson)
(Directed by Ida Lupino & Written by Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson)
102. THE MISGUIDED FATHER (guest: Harry Carey, Jr., Douglas Kennedy, Hampton Fancher , Lee Sands)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Donn Mullally)
103. THE HATCHET MAN (guest: Benson Fong, Lisa Lu, Philip Ahn, Nolan Leary, Kam Tong)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Shimon Wincelberg)
104. FIGHT AT ADOBE WELLS (guest: Ken Lynch, Brad Weston, Miranda Jones, Gregg Palmer)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Story by Samuel A. Peeples)
105. THE GLADIATORS (guest: Paul Cavanagh, James Coburn , Dolores Donlon, George Neise)
(Directed by Alvin Ganzer & Written by Robert C. Dennis)
106. LOVE OF A BAD WOMAN (guest: Geraldine Brooks, Lawrence Dobkin, Ed Faulkner, Harry Landers)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Robert Dozier)

Disc Six (Episodes 107 - 112)
107. AN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR (guest: Ziva Rodann, Henry Corden, Oscar Beregi, Harold Innocent)
(Directed by James Neilson & Written by Shimon and Anita Wincelberg)
108. LADY WITH A GUN (guest: Paula Raymond, Jack Weston, Ron Soble, Moira Turner)
( Directed by Ida Lupino & Written by Archie L. Tegland)
109. NEVER HELP THE DEVIL (guest: Jack Lambert, Jack Lambert, Lewis Martin, Dick Rich, Bill Wellman, Jr)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Archie L. Tegland)
110. AMBUSH (guest: George Macready, Dan Barton, Alan Dexter, Natalie Norwick, Hal Needham, Ed Nelson)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Written by Robert E. Thompson)
111. BLACK SHEEP (guest: Pat Wayne, Stacy Harris, Suzanne Lloyd, June Vincent, Ed Faulkner, Henry Wills)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Written by Shimon Wincelberg)
112. FULL CIRCLE (guest: Raymond Hatton, Barbara Baxley, Adam Williams, Stewart Bradley, Harold (Hal) Needham)
( Directed by Fred Hartsook & Written by David Lang)

Disc Seven (Episodes 113 - 117)
113. THE TWINS (guest: Brian Hutton, Jennifer Lea, Lane Chandler, Sonia Warren, Tony Reagan)
(Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen & Written by Robert James)
114. THE CAMPAIGN OF BILLY BANJO (guest: Jacques Aubuchon, Rita Lynn, Vic Perrin, Charles Davis, Harold (Hal) Needham)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Written by Frank R. Pierson and Richard Baer)
115. RANSOM (guest: Denver Plye, Valerie French, Robert H. Harris, Alex Davion, Tom Palmer, Gene Roth, Athalee Daniell)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Written by Robert E. Thompson)
116. THE TRIAL (guest: Raymond Hatton, Robert F. Simon, James Bell, Bud Slater, Hal Smith, Bill Hunt, Harry Antrim, Rick Silver)
(Directed by Ida Lupino & Written by Robert E. Thompson)
117. THE SEARCH (guest: Earle Hodgins, Charles Aidman, Wright King, Perry Cook, Peggy Rea, Ted Markland, Lillian Bronson)
(Directed by Richard Boone & Story by Sloan Nibley)

Special footnote, the song "THE BALLAD OF PALADIN", by Johnny Western was the end credit theme and the top selling single in 1962 as recorded by guitarist Duane Eddy...background music provided by Bernard Herrmann, Wilbur Hatch, Nathan Scott, Jerry Goldsmith, Fred Steiner and Jerome Moross...writers included Herb Meadow, Sam Rolfe, Gene Roddenberry, Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Charles Beaumont, Robert E. Thompson, Ken Kolb and Albert Aley...the stunts provided by Hall Needham (in various recurring guest cast roles), Rocky Shahan, Tom Steele, Carl Saxe, Fred Carson, Charles Horvath, Chuck Couch, Bob Woodward, Chuck Hayward, Boyd "Red" Morgan, Alex Sharp, Chuck Roberson and Jerry Summers. . . . . .Season Three contains...Special Features of Production Notes, Cast Biographies and Behind-The-Scenes Episodic Information which will quench the thirst of any fan who needed and wanted to know more about Paladin and his travels.

Want to thank Paramount Home Video and CBS for taking us back to those thrilling '50s TV Westerns...watching this legendary actor and his professional team of directors, writers and music with creators Herb Meadow & Sam Rolfe, produced by Ben Brady, Julian Clamen, Robert Sparks and Frank R. Pierson served up the best of the best during that decade of television...great character actors of B-Westerns in each storyline with Paladin (Richard Boone)...every episode brings back so many wonderful memories of the times when television cared about you the viewer...gotta love it!

Total Time: 7-DVD-Set ~ Paramount Home Video 88858 ~ (1/03/2006)

The 3rd season release for "Have Gun Will Travel" includes all 39 episodes aired during the 1959-1960 TV season. I personally would rate it as another 5-star "must-have" for fans of the series such as myself. Be forewarned, though, that it's a slightly flawed gem. I have so far been able to view about a dozen of the episodes on most of the seven discs and would offer the following observations:

1. The advance release from Paramount Home Video said that the total running time for the set was 848 minutes (which would average out to just a little over 21.7 minutes per episode). This was evidently a mistake. The episodes all seem to include all available film footage and are about as "uncut" as possible. All of the episodes I've viewed or timed run between 25:30 and 25:50.

2. Audio and video quality are satisfactory, but the film restoration work for this particular set is a little more uneven than on the first two. The quality of the work varies from "acceptable" to "really excellent". For some of the episodes, the opening and closing credits have not been restored and these segments are noticeably rougher than the rest of the film. Some of the episodes (notably "Charley Red Dog" and "Love of a Bad Woman") have a somewhat "murkier" look than the others. Some of the episodes include the four-second "CBS Television Network" tag at the end and some don't. I strongly suspect that different people worked on the films and that some did a more conscientious job than others.

3. Not all of the episodes have the "Wire Paladin" extra feature with information about the writers or performers. This didn't bother me, because I'm not really big on DVD extras, but I know that some buyers take their DVD extras much more seriously than I do.

4. The bottom of the box includes a small-print disclaimer "Some music has been replaced for this home entertainment version". Paramount was evidently unable to license a small portion of the "interior" music for video release. (Different composers apparently did the interior music for the third sesaon.) This seems to me to be a very minor issue, because I really haven't yet noticed any instance of obvious "replacement". Rest assured, the opening and the closing theme song by Johnny Western are intact and are just as we remember them!

Overall, though, the set's flaws are very minor ones. Knowing what I know now, I would still be quick to purchase this set and would recommend it most enthusiastically to any fan of the series! I look forward to Season 4!

Better known as the Barrymore on horseback, Richard Boone didn't play the role of Paladin - he was Paladin. If anyone other than Boone played the role, the series probably wouldn't have become a landmark. I have purchased the first two seaons and the quality was magnificent. Unlike a lot of people who post reviews on Amazon to gripe about picture and sound quality BEFORE they even buy the set, I am not like that.

Two things of interest you should keep in mind when you do buy this set. One, Boone wanted to do "The Rivalry" with Martin Gabel in NY on stage so the production for this season was speedy - they filmed the season's episodes in a much quicker rate than the former two.

Two, among the season's best episodes wrth watching first (in case you don't have time to watch them all): "First Catch a Tiger" with Harry Bartell and directed by Ida Lupino, which was heavily praised by TV GUIDE and reviewed by VARIETY "Have Gun Will Travel started the new season with a twist in which Paladin, as the hunted, was hunting his hunter."

"Episode in Laredo" with Gene Lyons proving that a man who has to prove himself doesn't have to stand up to a small boy.

"Les Girls" written by Gene Roddenberry has an inside joke. All of the character's names, Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, etc. were the names of his family relatives!

"Shot by Request" was actually filmed at the Melody Ranch and Howard Seay, the script writer, was in debt at the time so he used his connections to sell the producers a script.

"Fragile" starred Werner Klemperer and directed by Andrew McLaglen and the two went to school together! So this episode made a reteaming - not to mention the classic Hal Needham scene where he falls through the glass.

"The Golden Toad" starred Lorna Thayer, who griped about never being allowed to be on GUNSMOKE because she was told she looked too much like Kitty, so she got a part in this episode.

"Tiger" proved to be the first episode of the series for Richard Boone to begin taking control of the series by telling Don Taylor, the director, what he was and what he was NOT going to do for the scenes.

"Charlie Red Dog" is a great episode. That's all that needs to be said.

"The Naked Gun" has Ken Curtis is what would be two episodes of him playing the character of Monk, years before he played Festus on GUNSMOKE. Curtis would return as Monk in season four.

"Love of a Bad Woman" stars Larry Dobkin who recalled how much fun he had sharing beers after filming, and how he and Boone became good friends afterwards.

"International Affair" was the only episode in which Paladin never left the Hotel Carlton.

"The Search" has a blooper in the episode. Watch as the numbers on the hotel door keep switching!

How do I know all this trivia? Actually, I know TONS of trivia but you can get it all by purchasing the HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL COMPANION by Martin Grams and Les Rayburn, which is also available on Amazon.com. Treat yourself by purchasing both season three and the book. You won't be disappointed.

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.

Among the best episodes in the set are "First, Catch a Tiger", "Episode in Laredo" (first two of the season), "The Unforgiven" and "Return to Fort Benjamin". The season wallows a bit in the middle but picks up steam once more with some finely crafted stories in the final 7-8 installments. Many fans feel that the show more or less peaked with this season and began to wane in quality thereafter. That's to be expected when you consider that 117 episodes were made over the first three years(!) I'm very pleased that sales for the first two seasons were strong enough to warrant another release for this excellent western series. Hopefully, the trend will continue for the remaining three seasons!

The third season of HAVE GUN was undoubtedly the worst of the series, though argued by hard-core fans as being the second worst season of the series behind the sixth season. The production was hurried on account of Boone's insistence that he star in the stage production of Norman Corwin's "The Rivalry" with Martin Gable.

Since most people buy a season but don't make it through all of the discs, here are the best of the season:

FIRST, CATCH A TIGER (September 12, 1959) Season opener directed by Ida Lupino.

EPISODE IN LAREDO (September 19, 1959) Great character study of a hired gun, and Paladin's job to take care of him within the sights of his own son.

LES GIRLS (September 26, 1959) Silly premise written by Gene Roddenberry (yes, Roddenberry of Star Trek fame) but the names of al the fictional characters in this episode are named after Roddenberry's family members and sisters.

SHOT BY REQUEST (October 10, 1959) Based on a story by Howard Seay who was desperate for money and sold the story idea to the producers. John Abbott's best performance.

FRAGILE (October 31, 1959) Avoid thsi episode - it's the worst.

THE UNFORGIVEN (November 7, 1959) David White gets a bed role, which is sad for a man of his talents but the script it top notch. One of the best of the season.

THE NAKED GUN (December 19, 1959) Ken Curtis plays the role of Monk, a character that will make a return in a fourth-season episode. This was the same professional singer Curtis who would later play Festus on GUNSMOKE.

CHARLEY RED DOG (December 12, 1959) Great story and Scott Marlowe helps make this one of the best of the season.

THE LEDGE (February 13, 1960) One of the most macabre and satisfying episodes of the series.

LOVE OF A BAD WOMAN (March 26, 1960) A great story with Larry Dobkin returning for a role. Dobkin and Boone were good friends and the story is great.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR (April 2, 1960) The ONLY episode to NEVER take place outside of the Hotel Carlton. The whole story was filmed on sets so obviously Hey Boy gets to do some true comic efforts.

NEVER HELP THE DEVIL (April 16, 1960) Superb episode opener in the Cresecnt City General Store, rest of the episode isn't worth watching.

THE TWINS (May 21, 1960) Worth watching just to see a twist on the Cain and Abel story.

The behind-the-scenes trivia that is included with the episodes on the DVDs isn't worth a darn. Very little trivia at all. Telling me that Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek isn't trivia to me. I do recommend when you buy this set or future HGWT sets, you buy the HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL COMPANION book by Martin Grams and Les Rayburn. That book tells you who got shot accidentally on the set, who got drunk, which episodes were filmed in 1 day instead of 3, how to spot Hal Needham as a stuntman, where the episodes were filmed, which episodes have Richard Boone's son in the cast, lots of background material that is worth reading before or after each episode. The book is available on Amazon.com so I believe buying both would entitle you to free postage. Recommended. Season Four is an improvement, do grab that when it comes out.

Have Gun Will Travel is a great show which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in TV Westerns, but be aware that customers are having serious problems with one particular batch of sets of Have Gun Will Travel: The Complete Third Season being offered by Amazon at an extremely attractive price which seems too good to be true (with the Amazon Standard Identification Number of ASIN: B000BJS4GW). I want to emphasize that it seems to be just this one particular batch of Season 3 sets which are exhibiting these problems (there is another batch of Season 3 sets offered at a higher price on Amazon, which have had no problems reported).

Six of the seven discs in these sets are apparently experiencing some type of DVD rot (discs are cloudy, dulled, and mottled) from contact with the defective slimcases in which they were housed.

Apparently what has happened is that there has been a chemical reaction to the shiny surface of the six DVDs from contact with the oily plastic in these three slimcases and this has caused the problem.

As a result some of the discs will not load at all (problems with Discs 1, 2, and 6 have been reported) and the DVD player will show "No Disc" or lock up. There have also been problems reported with one episode on Disc 7, "The Trial."

In my case, Amazon quickly sent out a replacement set to replace the defective one I had received, but it was unfortunately also defective.

When I contacted Amazon's customer service, they indicated that they were aware that there were "widespread" problems with these sets and so could not send an additional replacement but would offer a refund: "I'm sorry to hear that you experienced the same problem with your replacement shipment. As it seems that the problem with this item "Have Gun - Will Travel - The Complete Third Season" is more widespread than we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement. We will gladly refund you in full for the return of this item."

Other Amazon customers are having similar problems with the sets they are receiving and with the replacements.

For further information, please check the Customer Discussion Board/Product Forum entitled "DEFECTIVE SETS OF SEASON THREE" which is located on this page directly below the Customer Reviews of Season Three.

P.S. The one-star rating is for the defective sets; the show itself rates five-stars!

Although I was only a few months old when this series went off the air, when I was introduced to it a couple of years ago I was so hooked I subscribed to a service that sent me the first three seasons on DVD, one disc after the other, at prices far higher than these boxed sets. Paladin's combination of erudition, suave but not oily charm, morality, and no-nonsense problem solving is unlikely to be matched by any character on any TV series now or in the future (they don't make 'em like that any more). The only reason this item receives only 4 stars instead of 5 is that the first two seasons are even better. If you've never heard of Paladin or Have Gun Will Travel, start with the first season and work your way through to this one.

Nowadays I'm just waiting impatiently for seasons 4-6 to be released on DVD!

Have Gun Will Travel was the best western in the history of TV and one of the best shows in all TV history. The writing is crisp and insightful with outstanding acting and directing. Writers like Gene Coon and Gene Roddenberry and directors like Ida Lupino and Andrew McLaughlin made this a standout of the 1950's. This season has more great episodes than the first two (although they are also superior). The only flaw is occasional melodramatic overacting (ironically the episodes directed by Boone are some of the worst offenders).

I became a fan of "Have Gun-Will Travel" after buying the first dvd in a Columbia House offer. I enjoyed the show so much that I went out and purchased the entire first season on dvd. I purchased season two when it was released and now I have season three as well. This series holds up well and the quality is fantastic. I just finished watching the first disc of season three and I enjoyed every episode. I like the new opening too, which is similar to season one's opening yet a little different. The quality of the first two seasons of this great series is still with us in season three. And Richard Boone was a fantastic actor. I strongly urge you--buy this set!