Big Girl Lost: Gunsmoke (December 19, 1953)

“Big Girl Lost” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 19, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A man named Phillip Locke arrives in Dodge City from Philadelphia searching for Laura Simmons, a girl who claimed to be teaching school there but never enrolled. Marshall Dillon learns that Laura ran away from Philadelphia after her engagement was broken off due to her father's humble background as a riverboat captain. When Locke refuses to accept that Laura has left town, tensions escalate as Dillon tries to protect her whereabouts.

Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s; the Marshall's office, the Long Branch Saloon, and surrounding areas

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Doc Adams, Kitty, Laura Simmons, Phillip Locke, Sam

Listen for: The confrontation between Locke and Marshall Dillon over Laura's location, and the revelation of why Laura fled Philadelphia

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.