episodes of Gunsmoke

William Conrad, ca late 1940s

William Conrad, ca late 1940s
Probably radio's greatest Western drama, Gunsmoke was a masterful combination of excellent scripts, fine voice characterizations, and superior sound effects (or sound "patterns", as they were called on the show).

Producer/director Norman MacDonell and writer John Meston created Gunsmoke as an antidote to the entertaining but juvenile westerns like The Lone Ranger which dominated the airwaves. No simple ride-to-the-rescue morality plays here -- Marshall Matt Dillon was recognizably human. Memorably voiced by William Conrad and a supporting cast, the dramas, where good didn't always triumph, where brought vividly to life with an extra layer of ambient sound effects much as Dragnet was doing for police dramas.

Premiering on CBS in April 1952, Gunsmoke was good enough not merely to survive until 1961, but to carry a sponsor (L&M Cigarettes) into it's final days, and of course to spawn the long-running television version with James Arness as Marshall Dillon. On video Gunsmoke aired from 1955 to 1975.


Click on a script title below to view it:

Apr 26 1952 Start of a Legend
May 17 1952 Dodge City Killer
Oct 10 1952 Hinka-Do
Oct 24 1952 The Mortgage
Dec 20 1952 A Christmas Story
Dec 26 1953 The Guitar
Jan 22 1955 Sins of the Fathers
Apr 02 1955 Bloody Hands
Apr 30 1955 Reward for Matt
Dec 25 1955 Twelfth Night
Jun 17 1956 Cheap Labor
Nov 18 1956 Brother Whelp
Jan 31 1960 Chester's Dilemma
Date Unknown Script collections from 1954 and 1955
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