Murder Warrant: Gunsmoke (April 24, 1954)

“Murder Warrant” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 24, 1954. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A young rancher named Lee Prentice is shot on his property near Dodge City and nursed back to health by Doc Adams. Marshal Matt Dillon investigates the shooting, but when a stranger named Jake Harbin arrives in town claiming to be a legal deputy, he produces a murder warrant for Lee Prentice from Baker City, complicating matters and casting suspicion on the seemingly upright young man.

Dodge City and the surrounding territory in the American West, including Doc Adams's office, the Longbranch Saloon, and the Marshal's office.

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Doc Adams, Lee Prentice, Kitty, Jake Harbin

Listen for: The revelation of the murder warrant for Lee Prentice and the question of whether the quiet, reformed young rancher is truly guilty of the crime he's accused of.

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.