Originally Aired: July 22, 1956

In Gunsmoke #224, “Lynching Man,” Marshal Matt Dillon investigates the hanging of a newcomer named Hank Blennis, apparently lynched for horse theft. But what begins as a search for justice soon uncovers a tangle of revenge and misplaced hatred. A man named Charlie Drain, still haunted by his father’s wrongful lynching, becomes obsessed with punishing the guilty—only to make a fatal mistake of his own. As tempers rise and the truth unravels, Matt must confront not only the killers but the corrosive power of vengeance. A dark, tragic episode about the blurred lines between justice and obsession.

Cast: William Conrad, Vic Perron, Harry Weaver, John Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, John Dehner, Jack Moyles, James Nusser, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Georgia Ellis

Tags:

Western, lynching, justice, vengeance, morality, WilliamConrad, horse theft, mistaken identity, oldtimeradio, 1950sradio, classicwestern, mattdillon, frontierjustice, suspensepodcast, retribution, tragicdrama