Have Gun - Will Travel (TV Series) The Trial (1960) User Reviews

Have Kangaroo, Will Have Trial

[zsenorsock · 7/10 · 2 March 2007]

Paldin seems to be making a lot of mistakes in season three. In this one he's hired by Morgan Gibbs (Robert E; Simon) to bring his wanted son David back to town alive for trial. Paladin is due to make $5,000. In searching for the son (Bud Slater) he runs across a comic old bounty hunter who's pinned David down in an old shack using a beat up old Sharps rife. the bounty hunter (Raymong Hatton) offers Paladin half the "dead or alive" reward of $500 if he'll help him get David.

But instead of telling the guy he'll give him TWICE that much if he helps him take David alive, Paldin just goes about smoking David out of the cabin and out in the open, where the bounty hunter shoots him. Bye bye $5,000.

When he gets back in to town, Paladin is put on trial for the boys death. Gibbs has set up a kangaroo court and plans to have Paladin hung. Nobody seems to point out the logic that it makes NO SENSE for Paladin to want to kill the boy and bring him in for LESS MONEY.

Still despite these flaws in the script, the show is well acted and well directed. I wonder if Ida Lupino considered the similarities between David's situation and Mad Dog Earl's situation in "High Sierra".

How Do You Spell 'Rewrite'

[dougdoepke · 20 April 2010]

Our wine expert (opening scene) hero is hired to return half-breed son to vengeful father for killing his fiancée, but complications ensue.

Regrettably sloppy script undercuts some good acting from Simon (father) and Hatton (old guy) and a pretty good first half. Hatton's familiar from a thousand B-Westerns where he played variations on his crusty old character here. Also, Simon does these tyrannical parts very well.

The screenplay problems unfortunately go beyond what Zsenorsock rightly points out and had me shaking my head in wonderment. In short, how does Paladin know so much about Morgan's (Simon) private life, which he demonstrates during the questioning phase of the "trial". To that point, we're given no reason to think theirs is anything beyond a cursory relationship. It wouldn't have been hard for the screenwriter to cover this base.

This is one of those episodes that Boone carries with his strongly assured presence, but is more contrived than most. I understand that the typical series of the period held back their weakest entries for season's end. This one aired unsurprisingly next to 1961's last.