Gunsmoke - Single Episodes
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
(4,726 Sterne; 223 Bewertungen)
Gunsmoke is one of those long-running classic Old-Time Radio shows that everyone knows and remembers. It's also one that is still respected for its high values, in all aspects. Gunsmoke first aired on the CBS network on April 26, 1952, billed as the first adult western. It was set in Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870's.
The main character, Matt Dillon, was played by William Conrad. On August 6, 1951, William Conrad played the lead in a show entitled "Pagosa" in the series Romance, where he played the part of a reluctant sheriff in a tough Western town. Although not a true audition, Conrad's character role is very close the that of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. It was one of the "stepping stones" toward the production of Gunsmoke.
Other regular characters were Chester Proudfoot, played by Parley Baer; Kitty, played by Georgia Ellis; and Doc Adams, played by Howard McNear.
The series featured top-notch acting and well-developed scripts that set it apart from many other shows, not only Westerns; however, it was the sound effects that stood out the most. Listen carefully and one can hear many levels of sound that really helps transport the listener back to the old west.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.
Chapters
29:04
7:43
29:19
28:45
30:17
29:45
29:32
30:28
30:40
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28:59
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29:56
30:00
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29:22
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28:34
28:50
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29:51
27:36
27:25
29:29
30:01
29:56
30:07
30:04
30:12
3:34
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7:47
25:20
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25:56
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24:56
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22:36
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25:48
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25:00
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20:03
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25:08
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25:03
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29:24
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29:04
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25:04
26:37
24:33
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23:49
24:00
29:57
23:28
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25:19
29:46
30:17
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27:48
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28:49
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Bewertungen
Long live marshall dillon
Rayme
(5 Sterne)
I am a big fan of this show. I recently found it online with all the episodes listed here and have them all in my ipod. Now I cannot go to sleep without having it playing in my ear. I can honestly see the town in my mind as the episodes play. The funny thing is that I can't really get into the tv show, but I love the otr broadcasts. You can almost smell the gunsmoke when marshall dillon puts one of the bad guys down. I recommend this show to anyone who has never enjoyed the theater of the mind.
Gunsmoke is the greatest radio show of all time
mikefromgeorgia
(5 Sterne)
It is a very tough call between Dragnet and Gunsmoke, but I guess the incredible sound effects and the high quality writing, along with the talented cast of regular and guest supporting actors give Gunsmoke a decided edge in my own humble opinion. William Conrad had such a wonderful voice for radio and he also was a better actor in every respect than James Arness. Conrad's only drawbacks to playing Marshal Matt Dillon in the television version of Gunsmoke were his height and especially weight. Many people probably don't even know that he was a fighter pilot in World War II. He made the role of Matt Dillon his own on radio and I don't think Arness could ever have held a candle to him. I have watched the t.v. series many times for years before ever hearing the radio version and I definitely think the radio version is far superior in every respect. On t.v. both Dillon and the other regular characters (Doc Adams, Miss Kitty Russell and Chester Proudfoot (Goode on t.v.) and also (later Festus Haggan on t.v.) were seen less and less as the years went by and more guest stars were primarily given the reins and on-screen time. Matt Dillon was out-of-town far too much in the later t.v. episodes, often leaving Dodge City in the highly questionable hands of Festus and Newley, the town's blacksmith. While the t.v. show is a great classic, no question, as proven by the length of the time it was on the air, the radio show was consistently better in keeping Matt Dillon in Dodge City where he always belonged.
Gunsmoke the King OTR
AcworthAL
(5 Sterne)
Dragnet is great, but Gunsmoke is the best radio program of all time. I'm not a hugh fan of western themed radio (except Six Shooter which is pretty good too!)TV or Movies but Gunsmoke was so real and smart. I've often finsihed listening to a pretty raw, real episode come acrossed amazed that they did this program in the 50's. One episode a man cuts the tongue out of a young Indians mouth and his racist remark was so difficult, but Matt Dillion was the voice of reason and justice prevailed. I could name dozens of outstanding episodes but If you interested at all, do yourself the favor and download all of them. These shows have given me hours and hours of listening pleasure. Then give Dragnet, Jack Benny Program, Our Miss Brooks, Great Gildersleeve,Yours truly Johnny Dollar and Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show a try these are favorites.
William Conrad's contribution
Matt Dillion
(5 Sterne)
After listening to the radio series, it is hard to imagine how avid listeners in that era, could have made the transition between William Conrad and James Arness. William Conrad's had contributed so much to the fictional character Matt Dillion, that it would be almost next to impossible to make the transition without missing the baritone husky voice that made him a legion.
Pretty violent, some good episodes...
iluvotralot
(4 Sterne)
Some of you probably aren't going to like me, because of this review. Don't get me wrong, I've listened to about every episode of Gunsmoke, and it is undoubtedly one of the best otr shows ever produced, along with Dragnet. It has some really good episodes to listen to. I think my favorite is the episode about the German blacksmith who is getting a hard time from 3 of the townspeople, at least one won't pay him, and complains about his work, even though his work is fine. He puts up with it until his German mail order bride shows up. Then they start messing with her, and he won't take that, and beats the tar out of them - all with Matt's blessings. And, it has some good episodes, like that one. But, one morning I was thinking about the show and I got to thinking, man, living in Dodge would have been like living in the bad place (the opposite of heaven). I mean, it seemed like hardly anyone liked anyone else, guys would ride into town and start trouble right out of the blue. You'd only be about a second away from eternity as so many people got gunned down and stabbed and even though I liked Matt a lot, he gunned down a lot of people. It was usually justified, but I'll bet he won about 300 gunfights. I don't have any idea of what the old west was really like. I've heard it was nothing like the TV shows and radio shows about it. Well, I hope Dodge was nothing like the radio show. If it was, who'd want to live there? They said on a couple of the episodes that Abilene wasn't as wild - I'd go live there. And, I'm really surprised, with the censorship back then, that they allowed the violence of Gunsmoke to get through. The pros about the show - Matt is a good moral marshall who believes in the law, though sometimes he has to carry out the sentence himself. Kitty, Doc (Howard McNear), and Chester are all good characters, many of the episodes are interesting, with interesting mysteries. The quality is pretty good with pretty even audio throughout the collection, etc. The cons - the main con definitely has to be the violence. In one episode an indian boy's tongue is cut out, to give an example, numerous gunfights, it is far more violent and really not much like the popular TV show that it spawned, the numerous necktie parties, and just the general way people treated one another. I mean, I know there are still horrible places to live in the world. But, the way that people treated each other in Dodge, who'd want to live there? It is depressing. I don't know - that is my 2 cents worth. If I listen to any more episodes (which I probably will). I'm going to try to find the ones that aren't real violent and where people treat one another in a decent manner, with a good mystery to it. Again, I don't see how the violence in this show got past the censors back then, but it sure did. Even though it gave birth to a TV show, I don't think it would have ever got past the censors had they done the TV show like the radio show, with the blood and gore, shootings, knivings, and murders, and just horrible things that people did to other people. That's my 2 cents worth. Please don't get mad at me. I love old time radio, and was really surprised that I liked Gunsmoke at all, as it really wasn't my type of western. I like the more light hearted ones - the kind with guys like Roy Rogers and Red Ryder in them. Hope you all have a good day.
If I was going to listen to one episode...
Dungarees2
(5 Sterne)
First, for those that aren't already fans of the series or familiar with the characters: William Conrad was one of the last actors who auditioned for the role of Marshal Dillon. He had a powerful, distinctive voice and was one of radio's busiest actors (he is believed to have appeared in more old time radio episodes than any other performer). After the series was created, writer John Mesten wanted him for the role of Matt Dillon, but director Norman MacDonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed because of being heard so frequently on other shows. During his audition, however, Conrad won over MacDonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon as portrayed by Conrad was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and felt that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions." Chester's character had no surname until Parley Baer ad libbed "Proudfoot" during an early rehearsal. The character was usually described as Dillon's "assistant," but the December 13, 1952 episode "Post Martin," Dillon described Chester as Dillon's deputy. (The TV series changed Chester's last name to Goode.) Doc Adams was iconoclastic and grumpy, but McNear's performances became more warm-hearted. In the January 31, 1953 episode "Cavalcade," Doc Adams' backstory is revealed: His real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed. Even though it was a fair duel, because Doc was a Yankee and an outsider he was forced to flee. The young woman fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City seventeen years later under the name of "Charles Adams." Georgia Ellis appeared in the first episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards," a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon and the widow of a criminal. "Miss Kitty" did not appear on the radio series until the May 10, 1952 episode "Jaliscoe." Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with Time, MacDonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple." (The television show portrayed Kitty as a saloon proprietor, not a prostitute.) While there are numerous excellent episodes to listen to, one that's not a great one in my view, but completely different, and excellent in its own way, is Cavalcade (described above). If I was going to listen to one episode a second or third time, or would recommend an episode to a fan who hadn't listened to many episodes, I'd probably suggest Cavalcade. dungarees2@gmail.com
Gunsmoke "Bloopers" available
351Charlie
(5 Sterne)
"Gunsmoke" is simply the very best radio western. Recently, I found some GREAT Gunsmoke radio bloopers & gags, with William Conrad and cast. They would make a great addition here, and the audio quality is excellent, too. Let me know and I'll share them . . . . Approx. 8 yrs ago, I discovered "Old Time Radio." I'm still amazed at the time and effort put in by producers, directors and actors (at least on the most popular shows) and such high quality entertainment they provide. There must be a way to get the best series (such as Suspense, Escape, Gunsmoke, and many of the "Theaters") introduced to new generations, and what great entertainment they are missing! During my working career, I was in advertising, marketing and creating promotions. I have several ideas as to how to promote this "genre" but don't have the means. If you share the passion, have a good PC,, I can design websites and the like on paper, and you can do the actual construction online. Of course, there's no money in it, (although I have thought of a way that WOULD make it profitable) I would need to partner up with the right person, one who is honest, trustworthy, and has a little money (to pay for copyrights and the like) Also, it would leave a legacy for your name and mine forever. I can't leave an address here, but it would end in gmail "dot" and then "com" It starts with my one of my screen names: charlie351c4v - get it? Please respond only if you share the above mentioned qualities.
Gunsmoke newbie
kumarihpx
(4 Sterne)
I usually listen to OTR to cover up city traffic and my loud-a$$ neighbors. I have never listened to Gunsmoke or watched it on TV either. I like old TV channels for the nostalgic effect, but Gunsmoke was before my time and seemed even slower than the 70s shows I look at every once in a while. They're just too slowly-paced to keep my attention. I know my grandma always has that channel on when I visit. But, I gave OTR Gunsmoke a chance because it's rated most popular and I was desperate for something interesting to hear. Well, I am pretty impressed, as these shows definitely held my attention. Also, I do love the Western genre (to read and the great classic movies), so the beginning of the Gunsmoke series was v. interesting for me bc it is in a time when the West was not settled yet, the Civil War wasn't long over, and people claimed land just by stepping on it. The sheriff in the series is somewhat like Wyatt in other series -- def. honorable but not as ornery. I really like this series, at least the first 10 episodes or so. That is all that I have listened to. I've traveled onto to try other series since, so I guess the stories became a little repetitive for me or I got antsy. We'll see if I make it back to hear more. 4/5 stars