Old Time Radio: Gunsmoke - Johnny Red

Broadcast: September 13, 1959

Matt Dillon was the Marshall of Dodge City, Kansas in this thirty-minute western adventure. There were over 480 episodes broadcast in the 9 years it had spanned. The opening of the show left little doubt that Dillon was the law; “Around Dodge City, and into the territory on the west, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers: that’s with a US Marshall and the smell of gunsmoke! Gunsmoke! … Starring William Conrad the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. I’m that man … Matt Dillon. United States marshal … the first man they look for, and the last man they want to meet … it’s a chancy job, and it makes man watchful … and a little lonely.” In this episode:

When a stranger walks into Dodge City looking for information about a Mr and Mrs John Krale, Matt informs him that John passed away a few years ago, and that his wife had been running the ranch alone ever since. The man says that he is their long, lost son, Billy Krale, and that he ran away from home seventeen years ago. The thing is, a few years ago, Mrs Krale asked Matt to trail her son, and he did it. He didn't have the heart to tell her that her son had joined the Union Army at the start of the war, and was killed in action at the Battle of Shiloh. So whoever this man in town is right now, it's definitely not Billy Krale...

Sponsor: L & M, Chesterfield

Cast: William Conrad, Parley Baer, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Dubov