Wrong Man: Gunsmoke (November 13, 1954)

“Wrong Man” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast November 13, 1954. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Sam Ricker, a homesteader, brings the body of a man he killed to Dodge City, believing he has shot the outlaw Bob Hobart and earned a thousand-dollar reward. However, when Marshal Dillon investigates, he discovers that the dead man is not Hobart at all, making Ricker guilty of murder rather than a righteous killing.

Dodge City and a homestead a few miles west of town

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester Proudfoot, Sam Ricker, Lettie Ricker, Doc, Bob Hobart

Listen for: The tragic irony of Ricker's mistake and how a wanted poster leads to a case of mistaken identity with deadly consequences.

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.