Gunsmoke: “How to Kill a Friend”
Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Date: October 10, 2025 (Original broadcast: Oct 3, 1953)
Episode: Gunsmoke 53-10-03 076
Host: Not present (Rebroadcast of vintage radio drama)
Starring: William Conrad as Matt Dillon
Episode Overview
This episode of Gunsmoke, entitled “How to Kill a Friend,” explores Marshal Matt Dillon’s struggle to uphold law and order in Dodge City when his past collides violently with his present. Two unscrupulous gamblers, Ben Corder and Harry Duggan, return to Dodge with a deadly enforcer: Toke Moreland—an old friend and former ally of Dillon’s. The story is a tense meditation on personal loyalty, moral codes, and the price of law in a lawless land.
Key Discussion Points and Narrative Beats
Introduction of the Threats in Dodge (02:37–05:15)
- Matt Dillon and the new arrivals, Corder and Duggan, size each other up, with Corder attempting to bribe Dillon into looking the other way as they run their gambling games.
- Matt Dillon (04:15): “I'm a lawman, Corder, and as long as I am, there won't be any crooked games in Dodge.”
- Corder and Duggan are warned. The tension is established between law and lawlessness.
Ambush and Escalation (05:33–07:39)
- During a late night, Dillon survives an ambush, suspecting Corder and Duggan. He is uninjured but wary.
- Matt Dillon (06:18): “That's mighty poor shooting if he wanted to hit me. Think he was trying to scare me? Show me how they treat the law where he comes from. Oh, them two gamblers, huh?”
Social Conflict and the Code of the Lawman (07:11–09:19)
- Kitty, Dodge's saloon girl, expresses concern for Dillon’s constant brushes with danger.
- Kitty (07:39): “Oh, Matt, why do you have to fight at all? Why can't you live like other men?”
- Matt Dillon (07:45): “Somebody has to enforce the law, Kitty.”
- Dillon orders Corder and Duggan out of town after exposing their attempt to bribe and threaten him. He ensures their guns are disarmed as they board the stagecoach.
Return of the Villains—and an Old Friend (10:49–13:10)
- Weeks later, Chester reports the gamblers’ return with a third man, Toke Moreland—a gunman, and Dillon’s old friend.
- Dillon recognizes Moreland instantly.
- Matt Dillon (11:41): “Hello, Toke.”
- Toke Moreland (11:43): “You really marshal here?”
Reunion and Emotional Showdown (14:01–16:55)
- Dillon and Toke discuss their shared violent history and the way their paths diverged after a traumatic mob attack in Silver City.
- Matt Dillon (15:30): “But we changed in different ways. You hate everybody. I just hate mobs. I guess that's one reason I became a lawman.”
- Toke Moreland (15:41): “There was a lawman helping them that night in Silver City. He was the sheriff.”
- Moreland, accepting his role as hired killer, gives Dillon 24 hours to leave Dodge.
- Matt Dillon (16:08): “Do you think I'll do that?”
- Toke Moreland (16:11): “No. But I'll give you 24 hours to think it over anyway.”
Dillon’s Moral Dilemma and Attempt at Resolution (18:39–19:54)
- Dillon confronts Moreland in the saloon, offering him the same money to leave rather than kill.
- Matt Dillon (19:14): “What are they paying you to get rid of me?”
- Toke Moreland (19:14): “$700.”
- Matt Dillon (19:29): “I'll give you 700 to clear out of here. Forget this whole business.”
- Toke Moreland (19:32): “You have changed, Matt. You sure never were a coward in the old days.”
- Moreland refuses, preferring both the money and the chance at violence.
Final Confrontation (20:06–22:30)
- Moreland kills a man at the gambling table "in self-defense," confirming the violent inevitability of crooked games.
- Matt Dillon (21:17): “A crooked deal always leads to killing. That's why I'm running your friends out of Dodge.”
- The inevitable showdown occurs between Dillon and Moreland.
- Toke Moreland (21:45): “No, I'm gonna try to kill me another lawman first.”
- Shots are fired; Moreland is mortally wounded.
Aftermath and Reflection (22:34–22:44)
- Moreland, dying, expresses some remorse and nostalgia for the past, wishing he'd made other choices:
- Toque Moreland (22:34): “By heaven, I wish I had last week. Back again, man.”
- Dillon warns Corder and Duggan, banishing them for good and threatening swift justice should they try this again:
- Matt Dillon (22:44): “Get out of here any way you can, but fast. ... If you come back with another gunman, I won't wait to shoot him.”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On corruption:
“You've made one mistake trying to bribe me. You make another and you're through in Dodge.”
— Matt Dillon (04:41) - On enforcing law:
“Somebody has to enforce the law, Kitty.”
— Matt Dillon (07:45) - On the pain of old friendship turned deadly:
“Is this your profession now? Shooting people?”
— Matt Dillon (14:56)
“Oh, I gamble a little.”
— Toke Moreland (15:07) - On moral divergence:
“But we changed in different ways. You hate everybody. I just hate mobs. I guess that's one reason I became a lawman.”
— Matt Dillon (15:30) - On the temptations of money:
“Money is. ... It adds to the pleasure.”
— Toke Moreland (16:23) - Last words amid regret:
“By heaven, I wish I had last week. Back again, man.”
— Toke Moreland (22:34)
Important Timestamps
- 02:37 – Dillon meets Corder and Duggan
- 05:33 – Ambush at the office
- 07:11 – Dillon and Kitty discuss the dangers of the job
- 09:07 – Dillon orders gamblers to leave
- 11:09 – The return of Corder, Duggan, and Toke Moreland; old friendship revealed
- 14:01 – Dillon and Toke reminisce about past traumas
- 16:08 – 24-hour ultimatum issued
- 18:39 – Dillon offers a bribe in hopes of peace; Toke refuses
- 20:06 – Toke kills a bystander, then the final showdown
- 22:17 – Toke's dying words; Dillon’s final warning
Episode Tone & Language
Enigmatic, spare, and emotionally taut, the episode makes frequent use of clipped, direct language. Matt Dillon’s stoic morality is challenged by ghosts of the past and the corrosive influence of money and lawlessness.
Summary Takeaway
“How to Kill a Friend” is a tragic, hard-edged story about the impossibility of reconciling friendship with duty in an unforgiving frontier. It is less a tale of good and evil than of the human cost of holding the line against chaos, and how old bonds can be tragically broken by the violence of the West.