The Bostonian

Above average entry featuring two of the best TV performers of the day-- Constance Ford who specialized in strong women, while no one could do weak men better than Harry Townes. Here they're a refined married couple from Boston trying to make a go of a frontier ranch. Trouble is established rancher (De Santis) thinks he's entitled to Townes' land and sets his rowdies on the out-muscled Townes who then hires Paladin as an equalizer.

Good script. Turnaround at end is imaginative but something of a stretch. That sit-down conversation between De Santis and Paladin is a little gem of pointed dialog. Paladin gets to show off his cultured side in the company of the educated Bostonians, proving he's a man for all seasons. More than most cowboy leads of the time, the imposing Boone makes Paladin an especially convincing master of situations, a big component I believe of the series' success.

In passing—note that Townes' weak man carries an appropriate sounding name, "Henry". Seems screenwriters of the period often tried to match defining character qualities with apt sounding names. For example, expectations would be different if Townes' character were named "Lance" or "Bart", or some other macho sounding name. And consider expectations if instead of the mythic name "Paladin", Boone's character were tagged with a "Clyde" or a "Homer". Strange how these things work.

Usually, the morals of such stories of unfit newcomers with difficulties to adjust to a rough, unknown environment is "you can become whatever you decide, it's just a question of willpower", see for example episode The Englishman with a slightly similar theme. Surprisingly not here - on the contrary. Prodded by his domineering wife, Henry Prince has been led to believe that in order to adjust to his new life as a rancher and to resist local tough guys trying to dispossess him, he must himself become a tough guy, Paladin-like. Skeptical from the start, Paladin quickly gives up and shows him there are other ways, so as not to try to go uselessly against his own nature, refined, peaceful and unable to become otherwise. The solution to the problem - which Paladin uses as well in another episode, Birds of a Feather - might not be the most elegant or brilliant, but it works. And more important it will enable Prince to continue his life the only way he is able to (and, important as well, to survive). The simple lesson in this case being, "be true to yourself, not to what others tell you you should be". Others being in that circumstance the slightly unpleasant but interesting character of Prince's wife - whom Paladin, in one of his seemingly uncountable previous lives, has been admiring long years ago on the Boston theatrical stages. Fairly strong dialogues and acting, as noted by the review above.