Third Son: Gunsmoke (April 19, 1959)

“Third Son” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 19, 1959. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A drunken man is found unconscious on Dodge City's streets and brought to jail. When his father, Mr. Crandell, arrives to claim him, Matt learns the man is the third son—two brothers already dead from violence. The father desperately wants to keep his surviving son away from trouble and out of town.

Dodge City—the jail, the Long Branch saloon, and the streets of town

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Justin, Mr. Crandell, Rob Crandell, Kitty, Doc

Listen for: A father's fierce determination to save his last son from the fate that claimed his other two brothers; Rob's resentment of his father's control and desire to live his own way

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.