The Man Who Would Be Marshal: Gunsmoke (March 18, 1956)

“The Man Who Would Be Marshal” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 18, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A man named Emmett Egan arrives in Dodge City with fifty thousand dollars and an unusual proposition for Marshal Dillon: he wants Dillon to quit so that Egan can take his job as marshal. Egan claims he's tired of his civilian work and wants the excitement of being a lawman, and he's even been endorsed by the War Department. Dillon takes Egan on a tour of marshal duties to show him what the job entails.

Dodge City, Kansas and the Long Branch saloon

Characters: Matt Dillon, Emmett Egan, Chester, Kitty

Listen for: Egan's military background and his determination to become marshal; his conversation with Kitty about his cavalry service and past experiences

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.