The Frozen Desert: Wild Bill Hickok (May 28, 1954)

Wild Bill Hickok, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“The Frozen Desert” is an episode of Wild Bill Hickok, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 28, 1954. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

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What happens

Wild Bill Hickok and his deputy Jingles pursue outlaws Todd Blake and Slim Creever, who robbed a bank in Smoke City and shot a deputy sheriff. Hunting for them in the desert heat, the lawmen stop at a shady oasis run by a man named Mike McInish, who serves them cold lemonade from his ice cave. The outlaws, however, have also taken refuge there. Wild Bill and Jingles find themselves unarmed and trapped in the icy cave, where they must improvise to escape. The Wild Bill Hickok series starring Guy Madison and Andy Devine aired on May 28, 1954. The story follows the three men as they face the bandits, the desert, and the cold in their struggle to bring the outlaws to justice.

The Great Southwest desert, at a shady oasis with cottonwood trees and a house, and an ice cave nearby

Characters: Wild Bill Hickok, Jingles, Mike McInish, Todd Blake, Slim Creever

Listen for: Wild Bill's plan to use a block of ice to trap the outlaws in the cave

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.