Paid Killer: Gunsmoke (November 22, 1959)

“Paid Killer” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast November 22, 1959. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Dillon learns that someone has been hired to kill him for a thousand dollars in gold. After discovering that a man named Lawson Hale withdrew the gold from the bank, Dillon must identify the hired killer before the assassin strikes, all while the tension of waiting wears on both him and Chester.

Dodge City in Kansas Territory, including the jail, Long Branch Saloon, and bank

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Lawson Hale, Billy, Mr. Buckingham, Kitty

Listen for: A tense cat-and-mouse game as Dillon tries to identify who has been hired to kill him, with mounting pressure as he waits for the inevitable confrontation.

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.