Have a little adventure -without leaving home!
Listen to an old time western, hear what it was like during WWII, laugh to some great comedies, figure out crimes and mystery with a hard-boiled detective. You an do all of this with just a couple of CDs.
Listen to an old time western, hear what it was like during WWII, laugh to some great comedies, figure out crimes and mystery with a hard-boiled detective. You an do all of this with just a couple of CDs.
Gunsmoke
Running from 1952 to 1961, Gunsmoke is considered by many to be the best old time radio show of all, regardless of era or genre. You probably won't find too many people who would disagree with this bold statement. I am basing it on two things, it's our 2nd best seller behind CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and being a fan myself, I've been to a few shows, and talked with other collectors, and even the ones that don't like western old time radio like Gunsmoke.
Set in Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870's Gunsmoke probably gave the most realistic view of the old west, even today, it's considered an insight into the life back then. It was very well acted, William Conrad played Matt Dillon. Howard McNear as Doc Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty, and Parley Baer as Chester. Together this cast created a dramatic series that was targeted for adults, having some of the most explicit scripts acted on old radio. In fact the Gunsmoke radio show was much more 'adult' then the TV series. The tone was often somber, but it made for a very realistic program. Sound effects were spot on as well, they didn't detract, but rather added to the show.
Besides the edgy scripts, the biggest asset (no pun intended) was landing William Conrad for the role of Matt Dillon. Many old time radio fans agree that Conrad in that role was the best marriage of actor and character in all of old time radio. Of course when Gunsmoke was made into a TV show, Conrad play the role he made famous, and he was a little upset with that. But he did go on to have a successful TV career in other roles.
Other fine actors had parts in Gunsmoke, such as Virginia Greg, and Jeanette Nolan. Also one of the finest actors in old time radio had a part in Gunsmoke, and that's John Dehner.
For the first two years Gunsmoke was supported by CBS. Then L&M and Chesterfield cigarettes picked up the tab for the remainder of the series.
If you do a little research into the history of this western drama old time radio show, you may get a little confused about how many episodes of Gunsmoke were actually produced. Most reputable sources say right around 430, but, as often happens in this hobby, that number may be a few episodes off, but it's pretty close. This set has 450+ episodes, which also include a few of the Australian versions. A couple of retailers offer sets with 500 or more episodes, but the extras are rehearsal, and east/west coast versions, and or rescripts. I do have all the rehearsal and rescripts , but to make the size of this set manageable we have deleted them to enable us to sell this as a four disc set.
Gunsmoke is an outstanding old time radio drama and western. The TV version was a hit as well, running for 20 years with over 600 episodes. And as much as I hate to admit it, the TV versions isn't too bad. Just a little tamer than the old time radio version. There was also a Gunsmoke comic book series, and it wouldn't be surprising to see this classic made into a major Hollywood movie. This 4 disc MP3 CD set has 450+ of these great shows on it, each lasting about 30 minutes.
If you prefer Gunsmoke on Regular Audio CD, we have 200 CDs available, each with 2 unique 30 minute episodes. For those of you who give old time radio show's as gifts, this is perfect, as fans of all genres should like this show.
We now offer Gunsmoke old time radio show as a direct download at Eddies Payloadz.com site. The #1 place to quickly, securely, and SAFELY download MP3 and other digital products. Click on the link below to be taken to our Payloadz download site.
Gunsmoke- The Blacksmith