Doc Quits: A Fraud’s Cure and a Town’s Wake-Up Call

Gunsmoke: Old West Stories

Originally Aired: August 27, 1955

Doc Quits: A Fraud’s Cure and a Town’s Wake-Up Call
After a heartbreaking failure to save a dying man, Doc Adams decides to hang up his shingle for good—just as a new doctor, Jameson Betchell, rolls into Dodge with flashy promises and a greedy price tag. While Doc sinks into quiet retirement, Betchell charms the town and begins practicing dangerous, outdated treatments. But when a young boy nearly dies from Betchell’s cruelty and an elderly woman succumbs to a reckless bleeding, the townsfolk start to see the truth. In a dramatic showdown, Matt Dillon and a humbled community urge Doc to return—just in time to stop Betchell from doing more harm.

Keywords: “Gunsmoke Doc Quits episode,” “Dr. Jameson Betchell fraud,” “Doc Adams retires Dodge,” “Matt Dillon medical conman,” “1955 Gunsmoke radio drama,” “Crumley case death,” “frontier medicine ethics,” “Doc Adams returns”

Cast: William Conrad (Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Chester), Howard McNear (Doc), Georgia Ellis (Kitty), Lawrence Dobkin (Jameson Betchell), James Nusser (Jake Worth), Frank Cady, Ann Morrison