I saw the episode "In An Evil Time" this evening during the "Have Gun, Will Travel" marathon on the Encore Western channel on 1/2/10 (I believe this episode is available on DVD and may be repeated in the daily broadcast of this program that begins on Encore on Monday, Jan. 4th, 2010 in the late afternoon).
This episode concerns Richard Boone's encounter with Hank Patterson, a crusty old bank robber with a badly broken leg. Patterson has absconded with $50k following a robbery, leaving his fellow robbers and the posse behind. Paladin has been hired by the bank owner to recover the loot.
Richard Boone discovers Patterson, a grizzled reprobate named Pappy French, who's been on the wrong side of the law for forty years, lying in the desert after the old thief has fallen from his horse, (which really aggravates the geezer, since he regards the horse as one of the dumbest creatures in creation). He and Paladin become friends, despite the old man's initial hostility to him. Gradually, even though he knows that Paladin will turn him in after they go back and get the money that Pappy has hidden before his accident, the pair grow on each other. The robber in Pappy can't quite believe that Richard Boone won't help him escape, even if he is offered half of the loot.
Written by Shimon Wincelberg aka Simon Bar-David, an excellent screenwriter who is perhaps best remembered for the Star Trek episode, "Dagger of the Mind", this story was a model of economy and eloquence. Wincelberg wrote 14 of the programs for Have Gun, Will Travel and after seeing this one, I can't wait to see some others.
The characterization of Boone and particularly of Hank Patterson, who had a very long career portraying old coots, (remember him on Green Acres?), both actors were splendid, funny, natural and surprisingly moving.
When the old boy, fatally shot by his former greedy young companions, asks Boone: "Paladin, would you laugh if I asked you to say a few words over me? Not that I'm asking Him for any favors, I'd just like to hear how you might say them." Richard Boone eloquently quoted from Ecclesiastes 9:11 in a believably conversational way: "I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Neither yet bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding. Nor yet favor to men of skill. But time and chance happeneth to them all. For a man also knoweth not his time. As fishes that are taken in an evil net. as birds that are caught in a snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when it falleth suddenly upon them."
This was beautifully done by all--with direction by Andrew MacLaglen, Victor's son, who appears to have been behind the camera on many of these episodes.