Old Friend: Gunsmoke (March 20, 1954)

“Old Friend” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 20, 1954. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When a smooth-talking gambler named Ben Carter arrives in Dodge City, he attempts to bribe Marshal Dillon to overlook crooked gambling games in exchange for a cut of the profits. Dillon refuses and orders Carter out of town, but Carter's attempt to intimidate the Marshal with gunfire backfires. A few weeks after Carter leaves Dodge, Dillon discovers the gambler has returned to cause more trouble.

Dodge City and surrounding territory in the Old West

Characters: Marshal Matt Dillon, Chester, Kitty, Ben Carter, Doc

Listen for: The tension between an honest lawman and a manipulative gambler who refuses to accept rejection; Chester's awkward romantic prospects; Doc's complaints about his medical practice.

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.