Tail to the Wind: A Mild Man’s Justice

Originally Aired: November 25, 1956 In Gunsmoke #242, “Tail to the Wind,” mild-mannered homesteader Pessy Neller refuses to be bullied, even when the ruthless Burke Reese and his son Spike escalate their campaign of intimidation—burning property, sabotaging wagons, and terrorizing his wife. Marshal Matt Dillon steps in to confront the cowards in public, determined to shame them into retreat. But when the Reeses end up mysteriously hanged in Neller’s chicken yard—victims of a conveniently taut clothesline—the line between justice and accident grows humorously thin. A darkly comic tale of frontier comeuppance and quiet revenge. Cast: William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear, Parley Baer, Ralph Moody, John Dehner, Helen Kleeb Tags: western, justice, retribution, darkcomedy, accidentalhanging, homesteader, WilliamConrad, GeorgiaEllis, Gunsmoke, 1950sradio, oldtimeradio, classicwestern, lescrutchfield, marshalldillon, vengeance, frontierdrama, suspensepodcast