MovieChat Forums > Have Gun - Will Travel (1957) Discussion > Fast Draw

Fast Draw

posted 11 years ago by rex-sheldon
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I started watching this show a few months ago on Encore westerns. I don't know why, but I never watched it as a kid. The first time I saw Paladin draw his gun in a show-down situation, I saw how awkward he looked. He got in a kind of crouch, with his left arm out in front of him, and his right behind him, and then he'd draw, with all kinds of wasted motion. However, Encore just started showing HGWT from the start again. At the end of the second episode, Paladin was forced to kill the bad guy, (Charles Bronson) and he drew standing erect, like all the other fast guns, and it looked normal. I wonder why he changed his style. I much prefer the earlier style to that crouchy crap!

[–] lexyladyjax 11 years ago

Here's some information on Hollywood fast draws:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-481662.html

Boone was trained by the same fast-draw specialist Avro Ojala. He trained most other big and small screen fast draw Western star.

http://www.fastdraw.org/fd_holsterhist.html

Ojala designed the fast draw rig that all the cowboys wore.

http://secretsofthefastdraw.com/the-legend/

Ojala did all of the trick shooting on HGWT. You can tell by the shape of his ears from behind when they do the cutaway and the cut back to Paladin from behind that they've changed actors. He made those amazing shots live when there were no computer tricks. With television back in the day it was impossible to tell the difference. Today with HDTV we can see the substitution.

Some things you just can't ride around...

[–] lexyladyjax 11 years ago

Recently I read elsewhere that Boone would fling his handgun halfway across the set when he drew it from the holster half the time. He'd laugh about it, too. I haven't been able to find out why he started to crouch before drawing his gun.

Too bad I didn't see your question before Hal Needham passed away. He may have known the answer.

Some things you just can't ride around...