The Choice: Gunsmoke (October 30, 1955)

“The Choice” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 30, 1955. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A young man named Andy Hill arrives in Dodge City looking for honest work. After a confrontation in a saloon where he kills a man in self-defense, Marshal Dillon gives him a chance as a shotgun rider for the stage line. When the stage is held up and Andy refuses to shoot the bandit because the treasure box is empty, the stage driver fires him, suspecting him of being in on the robbery.

Dodge City and surrounding territory, including a saloon and stage office

Characters: Matt Dillon, Andy Hill, Chester Prouderford, Kitty, Jim Buck, Doc

Listen for: A young man's struggle to find honest work and prove his character when circumstances work against him, and Marshal Dillon's uncertainty about whether Andy is trustworthy or hiding something darker.

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.