Stage Snatch: Gunsmoke (April 24, 1960)

“Stage Snatch” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 24, 1960. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Matt Dillon transports prisoner Rafe (a man accused of murder) by stagecoach to Hayes City for trial. En route, the stage is stopped by Bigfoot, a Native American who claims Rafe killed his father and demands the prisoner for his own justice rather than allowing the law to handle the case.

Dodge City and the territory west, including a stagecoach route to Hayes City

Characters: Matt Dillon, Bigfoot, Rafe, Chester, Kitty, Doc, stage driver

Listen for: The confrontation between Matt Dillon and Bigfoot over who has the right to justice for a murder victim, and how Matt attempts to convince Bigfoot to let the law take its course.

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.