The Margin: Gunsmoke (October 13, 1957)

“The Margin” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 13, 1957. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Dillon releases cattle thief suspect Grody Beck due to insufficient evidence, angering rancher Flag Miller who lost his herd. When more cattle are stolen while Grody is still in the territory, Flag threatens to take justice into his own hands rather than trust the law's slow process.

Dodge City and the surrounding ranches

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Grody Beck, Flag Miller, Judge Bent, Doc

Listen for: Matt Dillon's warning to Flag Miller about taking the law into his own hands, and the tension between legal justice and frontier vigilantism.

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.