I saw this in the other thread but just had to respond after seeing numerous people use it (not you specifically, Zimri, your post was just a good jump-point):
You have to initiate a grapple, then win a grapple check, THEN put him where you want him. Alternately, bull rushing, you have to move on him, (ignore the AoO because of his level), then win a contest, and then you only move him the amount you won the contest by. Neither is a sure thing, and either could get the HELPLESS girl (chained to the chair, I recall) stabbed. In real life, if my loved one is threatened in similar fashion, and I have deadly force, I would use the deadly force instead of taking chances with my loved one's life.
Initiating a charge or a grapple is still taking chances with the girl's life, because the outcome is VERY uncertain, not nearly as certain as the outcome of use of force, because that paladin has at most a +7 or +8 bonus, versus whatever the commoner's strength is, PLUS a 20-point spread. I've seen a 7th level character lose a grapple contest before to a 2nd level goblin. We ribbed the player for a week thereafter.
I WOULD say he POSSIBLY could have subdued, but there's a -4 on the attack, and if he missed and the evildoer retaliated, then he'd REALLY feel like crap-on-a-stick. Also, the DM could have "Storyfied" it, and let the paladin just "save the day by knocking him aside" automatically, but then we don't have inidication one way or another whether he would have allowed that or not.