"The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged. His skin is sun-dyed brown, The gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother-of-pearl, its handle unmarked. People call them both 'the Six Shooter'."
That's how announcer Hal Gibney imtroduced the NBC radio drama The Six Shooter, which featured Jimmy Stewart as drifting cowboy Britt Ponset, from September 20, 1953 to June 24, 1954. The show was an attempt to relive the pre-television days when radio drama ruled the airwaves, explaining the use of a major star such as Stewart. ( An interesting sidebar to the show: Chesterfield cigarettes really, really, really wanted to sponsor The Six Shooter but Stewart refused, believing that cigarettes were not compatable with his public persona.)
Predictably, the show did not last on the radio, but it made the transition to television, although somewhat tinkered. The star was now John Payne. His character was renamed Vint Bonner. And the title was now The Restless Gun. The Six Shooter creator Frank Burt remained as show consultant throughout the run of The Restless Gun.
The episode linked below, "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol," aired on December 20, 1953. this episode was the basis of a 1957 Christmas episode on G.E. Theater titled "The Trail to Christmas." Additionally, the original episode was syndicated (with other OTR Christmas shows) and was rebroadcast on a number of stations in December 1994.
Enjoy this holiday blast from the past.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMo8pRMhrHU
The Six-Shooter is one of my favorite radio westerns. Stewart was great on radio, and the show had a lot of variety in the kinds of stories it told.
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