The Sutler: Gunsmoke (September 5, 1953)

“The Sutler” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 5, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Dillon meets Will Jonas, a sutler who supplies goods to Fort Dodge. Jonas mentions trouble with his assistant Vail, revealing that Vail's real name is Jim Lindsay, a man with a shady past. Dillon visits the Fort to warn the Major about this potentially dangerous renegade working at the army post.

Dodge City and Fort Dodge, Kansas

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Will Jonas, Jim Lindsay (Vail), The Major, Jesse

Listen for: The revelation of Vail's true identity and the mystery of what he plans to do at the fort; the tension between Jonas and Vail over the Major's favor.

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.