Have Gun, Will Travel: Season 5
The fifth season of Have Gun – Will Travel originally aired Saturdays at 9:30-10:00 pm on CBS from September 16, 1961 to June 2, 1962. Volume 1 of the Region 1 DVD was released on November 30, 2010. Volume 2 was released on February 22, 2011.
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Have Gun, Will Travel Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season overview
The fifth season of Have Gun – Will Travel originally aired Saturdays at 9:30-10:00 pm on CBS from September 16, 1961 to June 2, 1962.
Volume 1 of the Region 1 DVD was released on November 30, 2010. Volume 2 was released on February 22, 2011.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
The Vigil
Sep 16, 1961
Paladin agrees to accompany a nurse to the gold fields; she aspires to replace its deceased physician. Along the way, they encounter two men who have just buried their companion.
The Education of Sarah Jane
Sep 23, 1961
The Darrow and Tyler families have been feuding so long they don't remember who started it. It's up to Paladin to help them decide if the feud should continue.
The Revenger
Sep 30, 1961
Paladin takes a $500 stagecoach ride with an embezzler, a convicted cutthroat, and a murderer to collect the other half of that bill.
Odds for Big Red
Oct 7, 1961
Paladin trails a killer and bank robber to a saloon but while trying to capture him, the saloon's owner, Big Red, is shot.
A Proof of Love
Oct 14, 1961
Paladin urges a momma's boy farmer to win back his wayward mail-order bride, by besting party-animal neighbor Rud Saxon in a dance contest.
The Gospel Singer
Oct 21, 1961
Bugbear wants to change its image. When Paladin is hired, his idea of disarmament is working fine. Until a missionary rides to town with her own methods for doing the same thing.
The Race
Oct 28, 1961
Paladin is offered $1000 to win a horse race called a mule kalanta. When he arrives he finds out what the bet is, and he decides to make a change.
The Hanging of Aaron Gibbs
Nov 4, 1961
Singer Odetta plays Sarah Gibbs, who is barred by a marshal from visiting her condemned husband.
The Piano
Nov 11, 1961
European pianist Franz Lister comes to the United States to give a concert for Mona Lansing, a former saloon hostess. When Lister's piano is stolen, Mona hires Paladin to get it ba
Ben Jalisco
Nov 18, 1961
Escaped killer, Ben Jalisco, is a ruthless hunter who has murdered more than 30 men. Now he is after his wife, Lucy, who informed on him and Paladin, who brought him in.
The Brothers
Nov 25, 1961
Will prospector Possum Corbin rescue Paladin from dying in a desert, if Paladin reads the encyclopedia to him?
A Drop of Blood
Dec 2, 1961
Paladin is invited to best man at Rivka Shotness' wedding. When he arrives he finds that Billy Buckstone, the man the bride's family helped to convict, has been freed from prison a
A Knight to Remember
Dec 9, 1961
Paladin is hired to find Don Esteban, who has disappeared. When he finds him he is dressed as a knight in armor and thinks he is Don Quixote.
Blind Circle
Dec 16, 1961
Two years ago, the Cattleman's Association put a bounty of $500 on a rustler who was never caught. Now they don't want him pursued but a bounty hunter doesn't know or maybe he does
The Kid
Dec 23, 1961
Paladin is sent a $100 bill and told there are 9 more like it if he travels to a town called Last Gasp.
Squatter's Rights
Dec 30, 1961
Costigan is a land owner and cattleman. He was shot by Clemenceau, a squatter on his land. Paladin has offered to help him get rid of the squatter but doesn't approve of his method
Lazarus
Jan 6, 1962
After local boozing champ Big Fontana cheats Paladin in a drink-off, sickly Boise Peabody convinced he'll die by morning, challenges the sneaky fast draw to a shootout.
Justice in Hell
Jan 13, 1962
Paladin goes after a wagon-master who led the massacre of his own wagon train. Rusty Doggett hides out in a town entirely populated by wanted outlaws.
Mark of Cain
Jan 20, 1962
Dr. Avatar hires Paladin to guide him to Jack Trueblood, a notorious western badman who has killed many men. Avatar wants to measure Trueblood's head to confirm his research on cra
The Exiles
Jan 27, 1962
General Ortega hires Paladin to recover $16 million in French bonds. Where they are and who has them is already known.
The Hunt
Feb 3, 1962
Paladin is lured to Oregon under the pretense of a widow in distress. The real reason is to engage him in a deadly hunt with a bored prince.
Dream Girl
Feb 10, 1962
Paladin rides upon Buddy Webster's mining camp, who needs a big favor. He has been prospecting for gold dust the last five years.
One, Two, Three
Feb 17, 1962
Samuel Keel hires Paladin to find Seth Carter. Keel gives him the names of three people who can help him find Seth. As Paladin finds them, each is murdered. Paladin is determined t
The Waiting Room
Feb 24, 1962
After a 4 state murder spree, the Wilder Brothers head back to Texas for trial, under Paladin's gun.
The Trap
Mar 3, 1962
A lawman for 23 years, Jim Buell has always done what he believed was right. Taking in Davy Walsh for shooting at his jail while drunk seemed just that.
Don't Shoot the Piano Player
Mar 10, 1962
With no help from local law enforcement, a writer hires Paladin to find her fiancé; in the roughest gutter on the Barbary coast.
Alice
Mar 17, 1962
A daughter hires Paladin to help her look for an old friend of his - her mother.
The Man Who Struck Moonshine
Mar 24, 1962
Moses Kadish is an alcoholic. He moves to middle of nowhere to try to stop drinking and drills a well. The well produces whiskey instead of water.
Silent Death, Secret Death
Mar 31, 1962
Paladin is asked to look for a missing brother, no matter the cost. When he finds out he's been missing for seven years, he accepts this task.
Hobson's Choice
Apr 7, 1962
Alfred Nobel, staying at the Carlton, enlists the aid of resident Paladin to recover a mixed up shipment of mineral oil with his more potent nitroglycerin.
The Coming of the Tiger
Apr 14, 1962
An elder from the Japanese community informs Paladin that a Nationalistic Japanese Priest, accompanied by a Samurai Warrior, is attempting to enter the country illegally.
Darwin's Man
Apr 21, 1962
A rancher (Kent Smith) pits his sons (Richard Rust, Buzz Martin) against one another in a fight to determine which of them will be his heir.
Invasion
Apr 28, 1962
The State Department hires Paladin to stop an Irishman (Robert Gist) from invading Canada.
Cream of the Jest
May 5, 1962
Paladin tries to stay one step ahead of a prankster who may be on the point of playing one prank too many.
Bandit
May 12, 1962
A girl bandit robs and kills a stagecoach driver for $50,000. When Paladin catches up to her he finds out she is no lady but with his help is willing to learn.
Pandora's Box
May 19, 1962
Protecting the current administration from low gossip and sensationalism, Paladin is asked to discreetly bring the Secretary's son to justice for murder.
Jonah and the Trout
May 26, 1962
$20,000 in gold bullion is stolen and dropped into a lake. Paladin decides to try to retrieve it but Jonah, a fisherman, has the spot staked out. He's after a huge trout and doesn'
The Knight
Jun 2, 1962
Paladin is hired to find a killer. His usual fee is paid for instead with a ring. A ring that may tie his employer to his quarry with him in the middle.