Paid Killer: Gunsmoke (January 17, 1953)

“Paid Killer” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast January 17, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Matt Dillon learns that someone has put out a $5,000 bounty on his life. A young informant overhears two men discussing the contract at the livery stable, and Dillon traces the money to Losh Hails, a local businessman who has repeatedly tried to muscle in on Dodge City. Now Dillon must identify which hired killer will make the attempt and when the attack will come.

Dodge City and surrounding territory, 1953. The story takes place around town, the saloons, the livery stable, and the bank.

Characters: Matt Dillon, United States Marshal, Chester, Billy, Mr. Greeley, banker, Losh Hails

Listen for: The tension builds as Dillon walks the quiet streets of Dodge City at night, vulnerable and waiting for an assassin to strike. Chester's nervous warnings contrast with Dillon's calm determination to face the threat head-on rather than hide.

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.