FORT LARAMIE
Over the first few decades of radio’s Golden Age, the medium gave its listeners some truly wonderful Western heroes. The Lone Ranger, of course, had a 21-year run. The Cisco Kid, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Tom Mix all spent time on the airwaves as well. All are great characters and they were the centerpieces for expertly told and highly entertaining stories, both on radio and on the movie screen during Saturday matinees.
But these characters occupied an Old West that never really existed—one in which moral issues were simplified; heroes and villains were easily identifiable; and supporting characters all fit into specific stereotypes. Pointing this out isn’t intended to be a criticism. Fiction isn’t obligated to be historically accurate and a world without the Lone Ranger or Hopalong would be a much poorer place.
But this did leave a lot of storytelling potential unfulfilled. A more realistic approach to the Old West, dealing with the brutality and moral complexities that existed there, could allow for anything from epic adventures to quiet character studies.
In 1952, radio finally got around to tapping into the idea of an “adult” Western. Producer/director Norm Macdonnell and writer John Meston brought Gunsmoke to CBS that year. Centered around the character of U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke was a superbly written and acted show, featuring three-dimensional characters, violent action, and a regular dose of tragedy mixed in with heroism and a real sense of humanity.
Gunsmoke’s critical and commercial success opened the gates for other adult Westerns on radio, though none had that show’s longevity.
Fort Laramie was another brainchild of Macdonnell and Meston. It was their idea to present a realistic portrayal of army life in the Old West during the19th Century. It would not be a show that depended on action alone to generate drama. Macdonnell would depend as much, if not more, on “the rugged, uncharted country, the heat, the cold, disease, boredom and, perhaps last of all, hostile Indians” to give his stories dramatic bite.1