Gunsmoke: Old West Stories

Originally Aired: September 29, 1957 In Gunsmoke #286, “Another Man’s Poison,” Marshal Matt Dillon is drawn into a volatile triangle when Sally Bogan’s past resurfaces in Dodge City. Long believing her first husband drowned at sea, Sally is now confronted by Jeff Lightly—very much alive—and his sudden return puts her current marriage to Ben Bogan in jeopardy. As...

Originally Aired: September 22, 1957 In Gunsmoke #285, “Custer,” Marshal Matt Dillon arrests a suspicious drifter, Joe Trimble, for the brutal murder of a reclusive old rancher. But just as Dillon prepares to take him to trial, a U.S. Army major arrives with shocking news—Trimble is actually a deserter from the 7th Cavalry under an alias. Though Matt is convinced of Trimble's gui...

Originally Aired: September 15, 1957 In Gunsmoke #284, “Child Labor,” two orphaned Texas boys arrive in Dodge hoping to find their uncle—but instead fall under the influence of shady rancher Oren Seibert, who hires them to break wild horses. Seibert promises a fair deal, but delivers exploitation and danger, driving the younger brother to his death and the elder to thoughts of re...

Originally Aired: September 8, 1957 In Gunsmoke #283, “Looney McCluny,” a quirky old prospector named Pop McCluny returns to Dodge City with another sack of what everyone assumes is worthless fool’s gold. But when he’s found murdered in his shack, the town is shocked—and Marshal Dillon realizes someone believed Pop’s tales of striking it rich. As suspicion falls...

Originally Aired: September 1, 1957 In Gunsmoke #282, “Jobe’s Son,” a broken old rancher named Jobe Harley finally sees his prayers answered when his estranged son Tad returns after four years. But the reunion is not what Jobe had hoped. Tad is bitter, brash, and proud of a life of violence and crime. As Marshal Dillon watches the young man stir up trouble around Dodge, Jobe grap...

Originally Aired: August 25, 1957 In Gunsmoke #281, “Grass,” Matt Dillon encounters Harry Pope, a skittish Easterner trying to start a quiet life on the prairie. But Pope’s isolation and fear of Indians are not all in his head—he’s the target of cruel harassment by local cowhands Joe Carter and Earl Brant. When Pope defends himself one night with deadly results, Marsh...

Originally Aired: August 18, 1957 In Gunsmoke #280 , “The Peace Officer,” U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon rides to Tascosa to help replace a corrupt sheriff, only to find himself the target of a deadly ambush. Along the way, he encounters Stella Harkney, a saloon girl desperate to escape the clutches of Clegg Rollins—the very man Dillon’s been sent to confront. As the two flee acr...

Originally Aired: August 11, 1957 In Gunsmoke #279, “Jayhawkers,” Marshal Matt Dillon rides out with a Texas trail herd to help ease tensions between Kansans and bitter cattlemen—only to find himself embroiled in a deadly ambush by marauding Jayhawkers. When a trusted drover is murdered and suspicion falls on a newcomer named Studer, Dillon’s instincts prove true. As violen...

Originally Aired: August 4, 1957 In Gunsmoke #278, “Big Hands,” Marshal Matt Dillon encounters a murder mystery when a homesteader’s wife brings her husband’s body into Dodge, claiming he was shot by a stranger with massive shoulders. As Dillon investigates, the description leads him to Bull Logan, a drifter with a criminal past. But when the widow inexplicably denies recog...

Originally Aired: July 28, 1957 In Gunsmoke #277, “Cow Doctor,” Doc Adams is lured out to the homestead of Ben Pitcher under false pretenses—only to find he's been summoned not for a man, but to treat a cow. Doc does his duty, but the deception proves costly when his absence leads to a woman’s death back in Dodge. Enraged, Pitcher turns violent and stabs Doc, who barely sur...

Originally Aired: July 21, 1957 In Gunsmoke #276, “Kitty Caught,” a routine morning turns to horror when Kitty is taken hostage during a bank robbery by the infamous Carp brothers. With her life hanging in the balance, Marshal Dillon and Chester set out on a desperate and agonizingly cautious pursuit—knowing one wrong move could get Kitty killed. A tense standoff unfolds at a rem...

Originally Aired: July 14, 1957 In Gunsmoke #275, “Bloody Hands,” Marshal Matt Dillon brings in notorious outlaw Jack Brand, killing three of his gang in a brutal shootout. But the bloodshed haunts him, and when another killer, Joe Stanger, provokes him to a showdown, Dillon hesitates—and resigns. For a brief moment, he tries to live a peaceful life, free from violence. But when...

Originally Aired: July 7, 1957 In Gunsmoke #274, “Word of Honor,” Doc Adams returns to Dodge after disappearing for two days—summoned by outlaws to save a dying boy. But when the boy dies, Doc finds himself sworn to secrecy under threat of death. The victim turns out to be Hank Worth, the son of a powerful rancher, and Marshal Dillon is under pressure to find the killer fast. As...

Originally Aired: June 30, 1957 In Gunsmoke #273, “The Buffalo Hunter,” Marshal Matt Dillon investigates the suspicious death of a buffalo skinner who suffered a horrifying accident—being doused in molten lead. As Dillon digs deeper, he uncovers the greed and cruelty of the man responsible: the ruthless hunter Gatliff. But justice is a long ride across the prairie, and when Gatli...

Originally Aired: June 23, 1957 In Gunsmoke #272, “Home Surgery,” Marshal Matt Dillon and Chester come across a desperate teenage girl named Tara Hortree whose father lies dying from blood poisoning after a horse accident. With no doctor for miles and the only man who promised help suspiciously missing, Dillon is forced to attempt a brutal, risky operation himself—amputating the...

Originally Aired: June 16, 1957 In Gunsmoke #271, “Summer Night,” the dusty trails of Dodge are left in silence as a wagon train rolls west—leaving behind something unexpected: a newborn baby. When Marshal Dillon finds the infant abandoned at Doc’s office, a quiet search begins for the mother. But the woman who returns may not be who she claims to be. As truths unravel in t...

Originally Aired: June 9, 1957 In Gunsmoke #270, “Dodge Podge,” a troubled father’s rage blinds him to the truth. Leif Sutter is determined to mold his son Packy into a hardened cattleman, forbidding him from fraternizing with the gentle, educated sheepherder Jason Roe. When Packy disappears, Sutter’s obsession spirals into deadly vengeance. Despite Marshal Dillon’s w...

Originally Aired: June 2, 1957 In Gunsmoke #269, “Ben Tolliver’s Stud,” a drifting horseman’s pride—and a stolen stud—ignite a deadly conflict. When Ben Tolliver flees his abusive employer, Jake Creed, with a horse he believes he's earned, Creed vows revenge. Marshal Dillon tries to keep the peace, but pride and cruelty escalate matters. As tensions build and a...

Originally Aired: May 26, 1957 In Gunsmoke #268, “Pal,” a stray dog poisoned and half-dead sets off a chain of chaos in Dodge City. When Chester rescues the animal—dubbed Pal—he unwittingly becomes entangled in the twisted marriage of Spiny Murphy and his brutal wife, Mal. As the dog recovers, tensions rise, secrets surface, and violence looms on the horizon. Marshal Matt D...

Originally Aired: May 19, 1957 In Gunsmoke #267 , “One Night Stand,” a smooth-talking stranger named Ben Argo arrives in Dodge City with a heavy pair of saddlebags and a tale of gold struck at the Gold Hill diggings. But Marshal Matt Dillon isn’t convinced. As Argo insists on securing his fortune in the local storekeeper’s safe, two shady men from Gold Hill turn up asking q...

Originally Aired: May 12, 1957 In Gunsmoke #266 , “Sheep Dog,” a poker game turns deadly when young Orland Barkas shoots an unarmed man in cold blood. As Marshal Matt Dillon struggles to find the boy and bring him in for trial, he faces pressure from all sides—townsfolk hungry for mob justice, a father blinded by loyalty, and a community ready to take the law into its own hands....

Originally Aired: May 5, 1957 In Gunsmoke #265 , “How to Kill a Friend,” Marshal Matt Dillon faces more than just another hired gun—he faces a ghost from his own past. When two crooked gamblers return to Dodge with a gunman in tow, Dillon is stunned to discover it’s Tope Marlin, a man he once rode the range with, now soured by betrayal and hate. Tope has one job: kill Dillo...

Originally Aired: April 28, 1957 In Gunsmoke #264 , “Medicine Man,” Hart Finney rolls into Dodge City with his wife and a wagon full of “muscle, bone, blood, and nerve tonic,” hoping to make a few sales before heading out. But when saloon-owner Grant Medford suddenly claims the land Finney’s using, Marshal Dillon finds himself caught in a legal tangle—and a mora...

Originally Aired: May 12, 1957 In Gunsmoke #266 , “Sheep Dog,” Marshal Matt Dillon is caught between justice and heartbreak when Orlin Barker, the son of an old friend, shoots an unarmed man during a drunken poker game. As the boy disappears into the prairie, rumors and resentment swell in Dodge, spurred on by mob leader Riff Kelso. While Matt tries to keep law and order, Jeb Barker mu...

Originally Aired: April 21, 1957 In Gunsmoke #263 , “Bear Trap,” Dodge City's aging liveryman Andy Weaver is known for his tall tales—but when ex-convict Hod Logan returns with a grudge, Andy’s life is suddenly in real danger. As Marshal Matt Dillon tries to anticipate Logan’s next move, a more sinister plot unfolds: a nighttime robbery with murder on the agenda. What...