Gunsmoke - Single Episodes
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Gunsmoke is one of those long-running classic Old-Time Radio shows that everyone knows and remembers. It's also one that is still respected for its high values, in all aspects. Gunsmoke first aired on the CBS network on April 26, 1952, billed as the first adult western. It was set in Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870's.
The main character, Matt Dillon, was played by William Conrad. On August 6, 1951, William Conrad played the lead in a show entitled "Pagosa" in the series Romance, where he played the part of a reluctant sheriff in a tough Western town. Although not a true audition, Conrad's character role is very close the that of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. It was one of the "stepping stones" toward the production of Gunsmoke.
Other regular characters were Chester Proudfoot, played by Parley Baer; Kitty, played by Georgia Ellis; and Doc Adams, played by Howard McNear.
The series featured top-notch acting and well-developed scripts that set it apart from many other shows, not only Westerns; however, it was the sound effects that stood out the most. Listen carefully and one can hear many levels of sound that really helps transport the listener back to the old west.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.
Chapters
Reviews
Long live marshall dillon
Rayme
I am a big fan of this show. I recently found it online with all the episodes listed here and have them all in my ipod. Now I cannot go to sleep without having it playing in my ear. I can honestly see the town in my mind as the episodes play. The funny thing is that I can't really get into the tv show, but I love the otr broadcasts. You can almost smell the gunsmoke when marshall dillon puts one of the bad guys down. I recommend this show to anyone who has never enjoyed the theater of the mind.
Gunsmoke is the greatest radio show of all time
mikefromgeorgia
It is a very tough call between Dragnet and Gunsmoke, but I guess the incredible sound effects and the high quality writing, along with the talented cast of regular and guest supporting actors give Gunsmoke a decided edge in my own humble opinion. William Conrad had such a wonderful voice for radio and he also was a better actor in every respect than James Arness. Conrad's only drawbacks to playing Marshal Matt Dillon in the television version of Gunsmoke were his height and especially weight. Many people probably don't even know that he was a fighter pilot in World War II. He made the role of Matt Dillon his own on radio and I don't think Arness could ever have held a candle to him. I have watched the t.v. series many times for years before ever hearing the radio version and I definitely think the radio version is far superior in every respect. On t.v. both Dillon and the other regular characters (Doc Adams, Miss Kitty Russell and Chester Proudfoot (Goode on t.v.) and also (later Festus Haggan on t.v.) were seen less and less as the years went by and more guest stars were primarily given the reins and on-screen time. Matt Dillon was out-of-town far too much in the later t.v. episodes, often leaving Dodge City in the highly questionable hands of Festus and Newley, the town's blacksmith. While the t.v. show is a great classic, no question, as proven by the length of the time it was on the air, the radio show was consistently better in keeping Matt Dillon in Dodge City where he always belonged.
Gunsmoke the King OTR
AcworthAL
Dragnet is great, but Gunsmoke is the best radio program of all time. I'm not a hugh fan of western themed radio (except Six Shooter which is pretty good too!)TV or Movies but Gunsmoke was so real and smart. I've often finsihed listening to a pretty raw, real episode come acrossed amazed that they did this program in the 50's. One episode a man cuts the tongue out of a young Indians mouth and his racist remark was so difficult, but Matt Dillion was the voice of reason and justice prevailed. I could name dozens of outstanding episodes but If you interested at all, do yourself the favor and download all of them. These shows have given me hours and hours of listening pleasure. Then give Dragnet, Jack Benny Program, Our Miss Brooks, Great Gildersleeve,Yours truly Johnny Dollar and Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show a try these are favorites.
it wasn't just the commercials
jennijanzen
Muskratbill- it wasn't just the commercials that the 2 previous reviewers wanted cut. They wanted the parts that portrayed people eating meat, the violence that was done to the indians, AND all the gunplay that they want cut out of the Gunsmoke episodes too. I'm not trying to get anyone's hackles up, but a few of the other reviewers were trying to have OTTR cut out what they found offensive too. The point I'm trying to make is simple; if there is any material that people find offensive, the listener can simply stop listening. OTTR is trying to give us shows as they were THEN and not to chop up the audio shows so that the few can now "safely" listen to what THEY want to hear NOW. I just don't understand why they are picking on Gunsmoke when there is worse things out there that people listen to every day that is so much worse than Matt Dillon and Chester eating a steak at Delmonico's or defending themselves in a FICTIONAL setting!
A Podcast Introduction/Breakdown of Gunsmoke
tomwsmf
In Episode 3 of Our Show of Shows Podcast we talk about the great 1950s radio western, Gunsmoke (and, as much as possible, we avoid talking about the mediocre TV version). Gunsmoke was the first radio western made strictly for adults, and its creators originally intended Marshall Matt Dillon to be as a sort of Philip Marlow of the Old West, but the show quickly grew into a complex, often dark drama that went to some really harrowing places. We veer off topic into the original Maltese Falcon prop (which sat on Gunsmoke star William Conrad’s mantle for years) and the cast’s connections to Rocky & Bullwinkle, Star Trek, and the Keebler cookies, but we eventually circle back to talk about the curse of being Matt Dillon, why Fort Laramie is no Gunsmoke, and we discuss the pioneering disabled woman who wrote 80 of the last 200 episodes of the show, Marion Clark. And Dan still doesn’t have a good tag line. https://archive.org/download/OurShowOfShowsPodcast/OurShowOfShowsPodcastEpisode003.mp3
Gunsmoke
Bandit81
I LOVE this program and everything that goes with it. Yes, that means the vintage commercials as well!! Those commercial are almost as entertaining as the show and I wouldn't want to have them cut out in fact I personally would just like a few more added. I get to liten to this at work and I really enjoy being able to listen to something that isn't all sexed up and riddled with profanity!!
William Conrad's contribution
Matt Dillion
After listening to the radio series, it is hard to imagine how avid listeners in that era, could have made the transition between William Conrad and James Arness. William Conrad's had contributed so much to the fictional character Matt Dillion, that it would be almost next to impossible to make the transition without missing the baritone husky voice that made him a legion.
Pretty violent, some good episodes...
iluvotralot
Some of you probably aren't going to like me, because of this review. Don't get me wrong, I've listened to about every episode of Gunsmoke, and it is undoubtedly one of the best otr shows ever produced, along with Dragnet. It has some really good episodes to listen to. I think my favorite is the episode about the German blacksmith who is getting a hard time from 3 of the townspeople, at least one won't pay him, and complains about his work, even though his work is fine. He puts up with it until his German mail order bride shows up. Then they start messing with her, and he won't take that, and beats the tar out of them - all with Matt's blessings. And, it has some good episodes, like that one. But, one morning I was thinking about the show and I got to thinking, man, living in Dodge would have been like living in the bad place (the opposite of heaven). I mean, it seemed like hardly anyone liked anyone else, guys would ride into town and start trouble right out of the blue. You'd only be about a second away from eternity as so many people got gunned down and stabbed and even though I liked Matt a lot, he gunned down a lot of people. It was usually justified, but I'll bet he won about 300 gunfights. I don't have any idea of what the old west was really like. I've heard it was nothing like the TV shows and radio shows about it. Well, I hope Dodge was nothing like the radio show. If it was, who'd want to live there? They said on a couple of the episodes that Abilene wasn't as wild - I'd go live there. And, I'm really surprised, with the censorship back then, that they allowed the violence of Gunsmoke to get through. The pros about the show - Matt is a good moral marshall who believes in the law, though sometimes he has to carry out the sentence himself. Kitty, Doc (Howard McNear), and Chester are all good characters, many of the episodes are interesting, with interesting mysteries. The quality is pretty good with pretty even audio throughout the collection, etc. The cons - the main con definitely has to be the violence. In one episode an indian boy's tongue is cut out, to give an example, numerous gunfights, it is far more violent and really not much like the popular TV show that it spawned, the numerous necktie parties, and just the general way people treated one another. I mean, I know there are still horrible places to live in the world. But, the way that people treated each other in Dodge, who'd want to live there? It is depressing. I don't know - that is my 2 cents worth. If I listen to any more episodes (which I probably will). I'm going to try to find the ones that aren't real violent and where people treat one another in a decent manner, with a good mystery to it. Again, I don't see how the violence in this show got past the censors back then, but it sure did. Even though it gave birth to a TV show, I don't think it would have ever got past the censors had they done the TV show like the radio show, with the blood and gore, shootings, knivings, and murders, and just horrible things that people did to other people. That's my 2 cents worth. Please don't get mad at me. I love old time radio, and was really surprised that I liked Gunsmoke at all, as it really wasn't my type of western. I like the more light hearted ones - the kind with guys like Roy Rogers and Red Ryder in them. Hope you all have a good day.