Scared Boy: Gunsmoke (May 17, 1959)

“Scared Boy” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 17, 1959. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When a gambler shoots a man at the Meadows home, young Tad witnesses the killing. Afraid the murderer will silence him, Tad's mother seeks Marshal Dillon's help. Dillon keeps the frightened, beaten boy in town as bait, hoping the killer will return to the Long Branch saloon where he gambles.

Dodge City and the surrounding territory in Kansas, including the Meadows homestead, the marshal's office, Doc Adams' office, and the Long Branch saloon.

Characters: Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, Cora Meadows, Tad Meadows, Chester, Doc Adams, Kitty, Sam, A gambler and killer

Listen for: The tension between Dillon's need to catch a dangerous killer and his reluctance to put a traumatized boy in danger. Tad's silence after his beating, and his gradual warming to those around him.

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.