Braggart's Boy: Gunsmoke (December 9, 1956)

“Braggart's Boy” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 9, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Young Tom Cleveland arrives in Dodge City from Philadelphia to work on his father's ranch, but his citified appearance and inexperience draw mockery from the cowhands. His father Cleve has been training him intensively with guns to make him tough, and Tom's resulting arrogance leads him into conflict with gunslinger Brawley Star at the saloon, resulting in a shot wound. Cleve and Tom both threaten to face Brawley in a gunfight the next morning.

Dodge City and surrounding ranch country in Kansas

Characters: Matt Dillon, Tom Cleveland, Cleve Cleveland, Brawley Star, Chester, Miss Kitty, Doc

Listen for: A story about a young man trying to prove himself through gunfighting, and the tension between a father's misguided attempts to toughen his son and a lawman's efforts to prevent needless violence.

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.