In an Evil Time

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.

Hank Patterson, who began as a serious musician and who spent many years in vaudeville, is probably best-remembered as Fred Ziffel on "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction." When he gravitated to TV in the early 1950's, he was at the age when most people retired. Instead, he put his weathered-looks and gravel voice to good use, playing various old codgers on many CBS westerns in the 1950's and early 1960's. And the man could act, too, as is evident in this role, and he was a natural for this role. Writer Shimon Wincelberg wrote this episode with the idea of casting Hank Patterson in the role of Pappy French. It was a good choice. The self-deprecating Patterson became the self-deprecating old codger in the role. To tell more would spoil the plot.

Of course, we know that Richard Boone was a fine actor. The two of them dominate the episode, with only bit appearances by Westerns staple players Charles Horvath and William Stevens, and it doesn't get boring or drag on at any point. Be sure to see this episode when it shows up on TV.

For those wondering the words spoke by Paladin at the end of the episode are from Ecclesiastes 9:12.

This episode is a small masterpiece of writing, acting, directing and photography. Director Andrew McLaglen is at his best here. Never was he to achieve comparable results in a feature. It is also the crowning glory of often-seen character actor Hank Patterson, playing the part of Pappy French, an old outlaw heading for the last roundup. This is matched by a tight, effective script by Shimon Wincelberg, a textbook example of swift, effective characterization, with plotting and themes that have an almost biblical quality. There's also striking black and white cinematography by Howard Schwartz. Notice the beautifully captured mountains, sky and clouds. And Richard Boone's Paladin is surely one of the most original characters in the history of television. Boone's acting here...as always...is flawless. A perfect example of simplicity in action...with moving results.

One of the most moving episodes I've seen on any TV series. Growing up, I remember watching HGWT on Saturday nights immediately followed (or maybe preceded) by Gunsmoke. Gunsmoke was a 30-minute program at the time. The character of Paladin was an icon at the time for school boys my age and Paladin "play-sets" with the black holster containing the famous emblem and the HGWT business cards were very popular. I'm in the process of purchasing the entire series offered by Amazon (I have seasons 1 - 3) so far. Although I'm sure that I saw many of these episodes when they were first telecast, I really can't remember much about them. Watching the episodes in the DVD sets which I currently own, is like seeing them for the first time.

When I watched "In an Evil Time", it nearly brought tears to my eyes. The cast (especially Richard Boone), the characters, the story, and the scenery were all just perfect.