The Relic Radio Show — January 6, 2026

Episode: The Columbia Workshop "In the Train" (1939) & Gunsmoke "Pussycats" (1953)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Relic Radio Show, hosted by RelicRadio.com, journeys into radio’s golden age with two vibrant dramas:

• Columbia Workshop’s “In the Train” — a 1939 Irish radio play exploring tragedy, community, and suspicion during a late-night railway journey after a contentious murder trial.
• Gunsmoke’s “Pussycats” — a 1953 Western focusing on violence, retribution, and the chase of a fugitive couple across the plains.

The episode immerses listeners in Irish and American storytelling traditions, highlighting contrasting moods—one brooding on justice and scandal, the other taut with suspense and gunfire.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Columbia Workshop: “In the Train” (00:43–28:53)

Setting & Tone

• Dublin railway station at night; passengers gather for a journey shadowed by the recent murder trial of Helena Maguire.
• Dialogues are thick with Irish wit, gossip, and underlying suspicion.

Character Dynamics

• Julietta: Anxious, critical of her provincial life and community’s lack of culture.
• Sergeant Jonathan: Good-natured, balancing duty and sympathy; tries to ease Julietta’s nerves.
• Michael O’Leary: Melancholic, mourns leaving his best friend; comic relief.
• Helena Maguire: The scandalized woman acquitted of murdering her husband; present but mostly spoken about by others, a focus of fascination and judgment.

Themes

• Small-town Scandal: The murder trial has deeply affected community relationships and perceptions.
• Law & Justice: The verdict (“not guilty”) is controversial, with debates about truth, morality, and what “the law” can see versus what is felt by the people.
• Exile vs. Homecoming: Julietta dreads returning home, associating “Farren Crest” with isolation and rain; others look forward to familiar comforts.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Gossip and Prejudice:
  • “Maybe they didn't, Jonathan. But all the same. Why the papers were full of it.” – Julietta (03:33)
• Ambivalent View of Justice:
  • “In the eyes of the law she's an innocent woman.” – Sergeant Jonathan (04:56)
• Community Solidarity and Deception:
  • “We told our story, the lot of us. And we told it well.” – Julietta (17:08)
• On the Transforming World:
  • “There's a great change coming, a great change in the ears of the world.” – Julietta (17:58)
• The Weight of Exile:
  • “No one to speak to all day and nowhere to go. Nothing to look at but bogs and mountains and rain. Nothing but rain.” – Julietta (06:04)
• The Unveiling of Social Truths:
  • “The law is a truly remarkable phenomena. Here you are sitting at your ease at the expense of the State. And for one word...you could be lying in the body of the jail waiting for the rope.” – Sergeant Jonathan (24:07)

Dramatic Climax & Reflection

• The play circles Helena’s ambiguous innocence and the doubts of those around her, closing with the idea that justice and social capital are as fluid as the rain and mist outside (“Farrenchryst...lights in the windows. The heart and the fire...The countryside’ll be up. Twould be like daylight with all the talk there’ll be there.” – 19:27).

Timestamps

• Opening scene at the Dublin station: 00:43–01:51
• Main characters introduced and trial aftermath discussed: 01:51–06:23
• Rumors and community responses: 06:23–10:59
• Reflections on justice and Helena’s fate: 10:59–24:45
• Final moments, homecoming, and social reckoning: 24:45–28:53

2. Gunsmoke: “Pussycats” (28:53–End)

Setting & Mood

• Dodge City, nighttime—Marshall Matt Dillon and Chester finish a long day, seeking relaxation but drawn into trouble at the Texas Trail saloon.

Story Progression

• Introduction of the Strangers:
  • A tall, silent man (Jack, aka Jack Farrow) and a talkative woman arrive. Their odd demeanor raises Kitty’s and Chester’s suspicions (30:57–31:59).
• Danger Unfolds:
  • Jack draws a gun as riders arrive, holding up the bar and preparing for a shootout. When the attackers rush in, Jack and the woman gun them down (35:26–39:27).
  • Matt and Chester learn from a dying man, Acton, that Jack and the woman fled California after a bloody stagecoach robbery betrayal (45:03).

Themes

• Vigilantism and Pursuit: Matt’s dogged sense of justice pushes him to pursue Jack and the woman across the prairie.
• Law vs. Survival: The fugitives’ view of lawlessness collides with Matt’s code.
• Moral Ambiguity: The dying Acton is pressed for information, blurring lines between justice and human compassion (“Even if he was a gunman, I'd given no peace to a dying man.” – Matt Dillon, 46:01).

Chase and Final Confrontation

• Matt and Chester catch up to the fugitives on a train. With cunning, they help clear the train car—avoiding a shootout among civilians (50:07–52:50).
• Mrs. Farrow (the woman) attempts a desperate last stand but is overpowered after a brief firefight (53:24–54:25).
• Resolution: The law prevails, but not without tragedy. Mrs. Farrow mourns, her husband is killed, and Matt reflects on the weight of his actions and the ambiguity of frontier justice.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the weariness of the day:
  • “I guess the best thing that could be said for the night was that it was still—not cold, not warm—somewhere in that between that makes you wish it would be one thing or the other.” – Matt Dillon (30:15)
• Tension before violence:
  • “He doesn't say anything. He just looks like he's getting ready, maybe waiting for something.” – Chester (31:36)
• Matt’s hard reflection:
  • “You have to figure the odds of a man forgiving for what you do when a thing has to be done, then you split the difference... I had to do what I did because I had to find out about them. But it didn't help. Even if he was a gunman, I’d given no peace to a dying man.” – Matt Dillon (46:01)
• Final pursuit and moral ambiguity:
  • “I didn’t have any stomach for shooting a woman, even if she was a killer.” – Matt Dillon (49:47)
• Aftermath:
  • “...it wasn't until the wagon became a dust cloud out on the plain that she started to cry.” – Narration (55:24)

Timestamps

• Arrival at Texas Trail, introduction of strangers: 30:03–31:59
• The robbery and shootout: 35:26–39:27
• Interrogation of Acton: 42:36–45:20
• The pursuit across the plains: 47:12–50:07
• The train confrontation and shootout: 50:07–54:25
• Aftermath and reflection: 54:25–end

Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

| Time | Quote & Context | Speaker | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | 04:56 | “In the eyes of the law she's an innocent woman.” | Sergeant Jonathan| | 17:58 | “There's a great change coming, a great change in the ears of the world.” | Julietta | | 24:07 | “The law is a truly remarkable phenomena. ... for one word...you could be...waiting for the rope.” | Sergeant Jonathan| | 46:01 | “Even if he was a gunman, I’d given no peace to a dying man. For that, he had to die harder.” | Matt Dillon | | 55:24 | “...it wasn't until the wagon became a dust cloud out on the plain that she started to cry.” | Narrator |

Episode Takeaways

• Contrast in Morality: Both plays explore the messy boundaries between legal acquittal/guilt and the court of public opinion and inner conscience.
• Cultural Color: Distinctive Irish and Western American settings, humor, and dialects preserve the flavor and nuances of their times.
• Atmosphere: From rainy, gossipy Irish rails to the dusty, gun-toting American frontier, the episode encapsulates radio’s power to build a world from voice and sound.

For fans of vintage radio, “The Relic Radio Show” continues its mission to uncover and share storytelling from other eras—where character, community, and crisis collide in ways as resonant today as they were then.