Gunsmoke Vol 3 - Jun 22 1958 - Jun 18 1961 - 200 episodes - Old Time Radio western - Instant Download

GUNSMOKE VOL 3 - OLD TIME RADIO

JUN 22 1958 - JUN 18 1961

200 EPISODES

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.

The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961, and John Dunning writes that among radio drama enthusiasts "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time."

In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe radio serial, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardboiled Western series, a show about a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West." Robinson instructed his West Coast CBS Vice-President, Harry Ackerman, who had developed the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task.

Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin, created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" based on one of their Michael Shayne radio scripts, "The Crooked Wheel". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.

But there was a complication. Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The project was shelved for three years, when MacDonnell and Meston discovered it creating an adult Western series of their own.

MacDonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism."

The radio series aired from April 26, 1952 ("Billy the Kid," written by Walter Newman) until June 18, 1961 on CBS. It starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Dillon's assistant Chester Wesley Proudfoot.

Conrad was one of the last actors who auditioned for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a powerful, distinctive voice, Conrad was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, MacDonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over MacDonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon as portrayed by Conrad was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. MacDonnell later claimed, "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad."

Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and felt that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed." In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."

Chester's character had no surname until Baer ad libbed "Proudfoot" during an early rehearsal. The amiable character was usually described as Dillon's "assistant," but the December 13, 1952 episode "Post Martin," Dillon described Chester as Dillon's deputy. The TV series changed Chester's last name to Goode.

Doc Adams was iconoclastic and grumpy, but McNear's performances became more warm-hearted. In the January 31, 1953 episode "Cavalcade," Doc Adams' backstory is revealed: His real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed. Even though it was a fair duel, because Doc was a Yankee and an outsider he was forced to flee. The young woman fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City seventeen years later under the name of "Charles Adams."

Georgia Ellis appeared in the first episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards," a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon and the widow of a criminal. "Miss Kitty" did not appear on the radio series until the May 10, 1952 episode "Jaliscoe." Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with TIME, MacDonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple. The television show first portrayed Kitty as a saloon employee (dance-hall girl/prostitute) then later as the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Sometime in 1959, Ellis was billed as Georgia Hawkins instead of Georgia Ellis.

Gunsmoke was often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Dunning writes that Dillon "played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into...life as a prostitute." Some listeners, such as Dunning, argue the radio version was more realistic. Episodes were aimed at adults and featured some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings, massacres, and opium addicts. Many episodes ended on a somber note, and villains often got away with their crimes. Nonetheless, thanks to the subtle scripts and outstanding ensemble cast, over the years the program evolved into a warm, often humorous celebration of human nature.

Apart from the doleful tone, Gunsmoke was distinct from other radio westerns, as the dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. John Dunning wrote, "The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from the next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking."

Radio's Gunsmoke was aired on Armed Forces Radio.

Volume 3 contains these episodes:

Gunsmoke 1958-06-22 (324) Target afrts.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-06-29 (325) What The Whisky Drummer Heard(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-06-29 (325) What The Whisky Drummer Heard.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-06 (326) Chesters Choice afrts(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-06 (326) Chesters Choice afrts.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-13 (327) The Proving Kid(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-13 (327) The Proving Kid.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-20 (328) Marshal Proudfoot(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-20 (328) Marshal Proudfoot.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-27 (329) The Cast(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-07-27 (329) The Cast.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-03 (330) Miguels Daughter(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-03 (330) Miguels Daughter.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-10 (331) A House Aint A Home(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-10 (331) A House Aint A Home.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-17 (332) The Piano(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-17 (332) The Piano.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-24 (333) The Blacksmith(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-24 (333) The Blacksmith.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-31 (334) I Thee Wed(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-08-31 (334) I Thee Wed.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-07 (335) Tried It Didnt Like It(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-07 (335) Tried It Didnt Like It.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-14 (336) False Witness(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-14 (336) False Witness.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-21 (337) Big Girl Lost(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-21 (337) Big Girl Lost.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-28 (338) Kittys Rebellion(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-09-28 (338) Kittys Rebellion.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-05 (339) Tag Youre It(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-05 (339) Tag Youre It.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-12 (340) Docs Showdown(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-12 (340) Docs Showdown.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-19 (341) Kick Me(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-19 (341) Kick Me.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-26 (342) The Tragedian(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-10-26 (342) The Tragedian.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-02 (343) Old Mans Gold(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-02 (343) Old Mans Gold.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-09 (344) Target - Chester(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-09 (344) Target - Chester.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-16 (345) Brush At Elkader(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-16 (345) Brush At Elkader.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-23 (346) The Correspondent(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-23 (346) The Correspondent.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-30 (347) Burning Wagon(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-11-30 (347) Burning Wagon.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-07 (348) The Grass Asp(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-07 (348) The Grass Asp.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-14 (349) Kittys Injury(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-14 (349) Kittys Injury.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-21 (350) Whered They Go(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-21 (350) Whered They Go.mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-28 (351) The Choice(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1958-12-28 (351) The Choice.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-04 (352) The Coward(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-04 (352) The Coward.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-11 (353) The Wolfer (WBT)(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-11 (353) The Wolfer (WBT).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-18 (354) Kangaroo(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-18 (354) Kangaroo.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-25 (355) The Boots(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-01-25 (355) The Boots.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-01 (356) The Bobsy Twins(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-01 (356) The Bobsy Twins.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-08 (357) Groats Grudge(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-08 (357) Groats Grudge.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-15 (358) Body Snatch(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-15 (358) Body Snatch.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-22 (359) Sarahs Search(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-02-22 (359) Sarahs Search.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-01 (360) Big Tom(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-01 (360) Big Tom.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-08 (361) Maw Hawkins(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-08 (361) Maw Hawkins.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-15 (362) Incident At Indian Ford(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-15 (362) Incident At Indian Ford.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-22 (363) The Trial(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-22 (363) The Trial.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-29 (364) Lauries Suitor(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-03-29 (364) Lauries Suitor.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-05 (365) Trappers Revenge(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-05 (365) Trappers Revenge.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-12 (366) Chesters Mistake(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-12 (366) Chesters Mistake.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-19 (367) Third Son(1).mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-19 (367) Third Son.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-04-26 (368) The Badge.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-05-03 (369) Unwanted Deputy.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-05-10 (370) Dowagers Visit.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-05-17 (371) Scared Boy.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-05-24 (372) Wagon Show.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-05-31 (373) The Deserter.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-06-07 (374) Docs Indians.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-06-14 (375) Kittys Kidnap.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-06-21 (376) Carmen.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-06-28 (377) Jailbait Janet.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-07-05 (378) Emmas Departure.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-07-12 (379) Friends Payoff.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-07-19 (380) Second Arrest.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-07-26 (381) Old Beller.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-08-02 (382) Ball Nine Take Your Base.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-08-09 (383) Mavis McCloud.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-08-16 (384) Pokey Pete.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-08-23 (385) The Reed Survives.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-08-30 (386) Shooting Stopover.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-09-06 (387) Matts Decision.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-09-13 (388) Johnny Red.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-09-20 (389) Gentlemens Disagreement.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-09-27 (390) Personal Justice.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-10-04 (391) Hinka-Do.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-10-11 (392) Kittys Quandary.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-10-18 (393) The Mortgage.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-10-25 (394) Old Gunfighter.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-11-01 (395) Westbound.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-11-08 (396) Cavalcade.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-11-15 (397) The Square Triangle.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-11-22 (398) Paid Killer.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-11-29 (399) Hard Lesson.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-12-06 (400) Big Chugg Wilson.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-12-13 (401) Don Mateo.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-12-20 (402) Beekers Barn.mp3
Gunsmoke 1959-12-27 (403) Puckets New Year.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-01-03 (404) Trojan War.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-01-10 (405) Lukes Law.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-01-17 (406) Fiery Arrest.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-01-24 (407) Bless Me Till I Die.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-01-31 (408) Chesters Dilemma.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-02-07 (409) Delias Father.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-02-14 (410) Distant Drummer.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-02-21 (411) Mr And Mrs Amber.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-02-28 (412) Prescribed Killing (WBT).mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-03-06 (413) Blood Money.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-03-13 (414) Unloaded Gun.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-03-20 (415) The Constable.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-03-27 (416) Indian Baby.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-04-03 (417) Greater Love.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-04-10 (418) Daves Lesson.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-04-17 (419) Solomon River.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-04-24 (420) Stage Snatch.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-05-01 (421) Nettie Sitton.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-05-08 (422) Wrong Man.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-05-15 (423) Tall Trapper.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-05-22 (424) Marryin Bertha.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-05-29 (425) Bad Seed.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-06-05 (426) Fabulous Silver Extender.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-06-12 (427) Kitty Accused.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-06-26 (429) Line Trouble.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-07-03 (430) Little Girl.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-07-10 (431) Reluctant Violence.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-07-17 (432) Busted-Up Guns.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-07-24 (433) The Imposter.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-07-31 (434) Stage Smash.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-08-07 (435) Old Fool.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-08-14 (436) The Noose.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-08-21 (437) Dangerous Bath.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-08-28 (438) The Tumbleweed.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-09-04 (439) The Peace Officer.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-09-11 (440) About Chester.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-09-18 (441) Two Mothers (WBT).mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-09-25 (442) Doc Judge.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-10-02 (443) The Big Itch.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-10-09 (444) Born To Hang.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-10-16 (445) Crack-Up.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-10-23 (446) Newsmaam (WBT).mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-10-30 (447) Never Pester Chester.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-11-06 (448) Jedros Woman.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-11-13 (449) The Big Con.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-11-20 (450) The Professor.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-11-27 (451) Dirt.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-12-04 (452) Kittys Good Neighboring.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-12-11 (453) The Cook.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-12-18 (454) Heros Departure.mp3
Gunsmoke 1960-12-25 (455) Minnie.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-01-01 (456) Spring Term.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-01-08 (457) Old Faces.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-01-15 (458) The Wake KRLD (Dallas).mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-01-22 (459) Hard Virtue.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-01-29 (460) Harriet.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-02-05 (461) Love Of Money.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-02-12 (462) Daddy-O.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-02-19 (463) Kitty Love KRLD (Dallas).mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-02-26 (464) Joe Sleet.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-03-05 (465) Melinda Miles.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-03-12 (466) Sweet And Sour.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-03-19 (467) Joe Phy.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-03-26 (468) No Indians.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-04-02 (469) Chesters Inheritance.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-04-09 (470) Hangmans Mistake.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-04-16 (471) Cooter.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-04-23 (472) Father And Son.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-04-30 (473) Ex-Urbanites.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-05-07 (474) Mas Justice.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-05-14 (475) The Lady Killer.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-05-21 (476) Chesters Rendezvous.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-05-28 (477) The Sod-Buster.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-06-04 (478) Cows And Cribs.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-06-11 (479) Docs Visitor.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-06-18 (480) Letter Of The Law.mp3
Gunsmoke 1961-06-18 The End of Series Announcement.mp3