There Was Never a Horse: Gunsmoke (September 19, 1953)

“There Was Never a Horse” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 19, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A gunfighter named Ken Creed comes to Dodge City and kills a drunk man in self-defense at a saloon. Marshal Matt Dillon warns Creed not to cause trouble, but Creed makes it clear he wants to build his reputation by killing the marshal himself. Dillon must decide how to handle the dangerous gunman without abandoning his principles as a lawman.

Dodge City, Kansas, at a saloon and the marshal's office

Characters: Matt Dillon, United States Marshal, Ken Creed, a gunfighter, Chester, Dillon's deputy, Doc, the town doctor

Listen for: The tense confrontation between Marshal Dillon and the ambitious gunfighter Ken Creed, and Dillon's refusal to be drawn into a gunfight over matters of reputation and pride.

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.