episodes of Gunsmoke
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 |