Crack-Up: Gunsmoke (February 26, 1955)

“Crack-Up” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 26, 1955. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Dillon encounters a nervous gunman named Nate Springer in the barber shop, who demands immediate service and threatens violence. After Dillon disarms him without drawing his gun, Chester reveals that Springer is a notorious killer with a reputation for instability, and Dillon must figure out how to handle this dangerous man in Dodge without provocation.

Dodge City, Kansas - the barber shop and the Long Branch Saloon

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Peter the barber, Nate Springer, Doc

Listen for: The tense confrontation between Dillon and Springer in the barber shop, and Springer's peculiar reputation as a killer who laughed at death

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.