Old Time Radio: Gunsmoke - Stage Holdup

Broadcast: January 2, 1954

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:

For Marshall Matt Dillon, the trip from Hayes City to Dodge was long enough on horseback, but by stage coach it seemed endless. There were only two passengers, besides him, and after the first hour on the road they stopped talking. Just sat there in silence waiting for the ride to be over. He'd been up late the past couple of nights, so he braced himself into the corner of the coach and fell asleep. He vaguely remember the stage pulling to a stop and somebody shouting. But he came fully awake when the door was jerked open and a man behind a bandanna stuck a shotgun in his face...

Cast: William Conrad, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Georgia Ellis, Vic Perrin, John Dehner, Lawrence Dobkin