Bad Bert: Have Gun, Will Travel (February 28, 1960)

“Bad Bert” is an episode of Have Gun, Will Travel, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 28, 1960. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Paladin is hired by the Countess of Dunkley-Tatsbury to find her youngest son Bertrand, who left England years ago feeling unwanted by his father. When Paladin learns that Bertrand's photograph matches that of Bad Bert, a notorious outlaw wanted across the Southwest territories, he realizes his search will be far more complicated than a simple family reunion.

San Francisco, 1875; the Carlton Hotel and territories of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas

Characters: Paladin, Countess of Dunkley-Tatsbury, Missy Wong, Bad Bert (Bertrand, Earl of Dunkley-Tatsbury)

Listen for: Paladin's wry observations about the irony of a gentle English nobleman becoming a dangerous road agent; the Countess's tender memories of her favorite son contrasted with the grim reality of his outlaw reputation.

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.