Ben Tolliver's Stud: Gunsmoke (June 2, 1957)

“Ben Tolliver's Stud” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast June 2, 1957. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When Nancy Creed warns Marshal Dillon that her father intends to shoot a man named Ben Tolliver over a stolen horse, Dillon must prevent bloodshed. Ben claims the horse is rightfully his as payment for three months of unpaid wages and work breaking the animal, while Nancy's father believes it's his property. Dillon jails Ben to keep the peace until he can talk sense into the angry father.

Dodge City and the surrounding territory in Kansas, late 1800s

Characters: Marshal Matt Dillon, Chester Proudfoot, Nancy Creed, Ben Tolliver, Nancy's father (Creed)

Listen for: A dispute over a horse and wages that threatens to turn violent; the marshal's strategy to prevent a killing by jailing an innocent man; Nancy's determination to stop her father from committing murder.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.