SincereFinest
disgusting, overrated, pointless
Tayloriona
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
BA_Harrison
I'm not a big fan of 'classic' American westerns, usually preferring a little 'spaghetti' with my saddles, Stetsons and six-shooters, but I do have a fondness for the adventures of The Lone Ranger, which were a part of my childhood in the '70s (repeat showings aired during summer holidays and on Saturdays). Like an American Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger served up entertaining half hour slices of wholesome escapism and acts of derring do in which good always triumphed over evil.This, the first of two full length features to star Clayton Moore as the legendary masked vigilante, sees our dashing hero and his faithful sidekick Tonto (Jay Silverheels) coming to blows with dastardly rancher Reece Kilgore (Lyle Bettger) and his men, who have been stirring up trouble with the natives on a nearby reservation in an attempt to lay their hands on the silver lode within the Indians' sacred mountain.Plot-wise, it's a fairly routine and rather predictable escapade for the ranger, but one enlivened by strong performances from heroes and villains alike, enjoyable action (there are several impressive fist-fights featuring great stunt-work), glorious colour cinematography, a rousing score (including, of course, the show's signature theme, the William Tell Overture), and some welcome humour (as Moore dons the guise of an old prospector in order to investigate)—all of which adds up to a very enjoyable time.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the sake of nostalgia.
classicsoncall
For someone who's either seen or been aware of all the various Lone Ranger movies including the early serials, I was caught off guard by the presentation of this story on Turner Classics the other night. It aired in 1956 which would have placed it just before the TV series ended on June 6th, 1957 with the last half hour episode. The bonus for movie fans watching today is that it was done in WarnerColor, though the color rendition varies in scene to scene from rather drab to quite brightly saturated given the type of scene.For viewers unfamiliar with the origin of The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), his friend and sidekick Tonto (Jay Silverheels) does a nice job explaining it by telling the story of the box canyon ambush and how Silver was nursed back to health by the Ranger following a fight with a buffalo. There's also the explanation of Kemo Sabay translated as 'trusty scout', though attempting to understand the origin of that translation is an interesting exercise in detective work. It's easier just to take Tonto's word for it.The story here has the Ranger and Tonto trying to find out what's really going on in the town of Brasada as local rancher Reece Kilgore (Lyle Bettger) seems to be defying statehood for the territory against the wishes of the territorial governor (Charles Meredith). Kilgore has a hot headed foreman named Cassidy (Robert Wilke), who turns out to be a fiery enemy of the local Indian tribe and puts a number of henchmen to work disguised as Indians in a familiar ruse in any number of Westerns whereby their destructive raids are blamed on the local tribe.Fans of the TV series will recognize Clayton Moore underneath the old prospector disguise whenever he goes undercover trying to learn new information. There are a handful of scenes referring to Pilgrim Crossing as the site of an 1854 massacre which was a bit puzzling since the location marker was never explained, and if it had to do with the original Lone Ranger story, it remained a moot point. So introducing the concept was simply a head scratcher for this viewer.One thing you have to do with this film is give proper credit to Silver and Scout, both horses did an admirable job with some dramatic footwork coming down rocky hillsides. Silver also got some commendable screen time making the save for the Ranger when he got shot in the left arm by one of the bad guys. With the Ranger's good arm hooked into a stirrup, Silver dragged him over to a water hole until Tonto could come by. I guess we were supposed to overlook the fact that the masked man was dragged over on his wounded arm, which should have sent him to the moon in pain.We finally learn that the motivation for rancher Kilgore's determination to keep the Indians on the warpath had to do with sacred ground known as Spirit Mountain. Harboring a rich vein of silver, Kilgore meant to take the mountain for his own property after eliminating the Indian tribe in the area. However when the Cavalry arrives to arrest Kilgore and his top henchman for the murder of one of his own hands, Cassidy shoots his boss in front of a dozen witnesses, setting up the final fisticuffs between himself and The Lone Ranger. That tussle was actually a pretty good one, the stunt men for their respective characters earning their pay by staging a wild fight while rolling down the side of a hill.With all the neat work by the supporting players, I was curious to see how many of them appeared in the Lone Ranger TV show, and was surprised to learn that Bettger didn't appear in a single one. Of the others, Wilke and Michael Ansara (Angry Horse) both appeared in two episodes, while Lane Chandler (Chip Walker) showed up in four. The champion here though was John Pickard, who had the role of Sheriff and later Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Kimberley. Pickard had a role in seven of the Lone Ranger TV episodes, including the very last one in a series that ran for two hundred and twenty one shows.
krocheav
If anyone had told me I'd look at, let alone write a review for a 'Lone Ranger' film I'd have laughed at them Big Time! Here is a film from 1956, based on a TV series that I fully expected to look and sound as bad as they could come....was I surprised to find this had elements you might usually expect to find in a major work.Technically, it doesn't get too much better than this curious show. If you can get your head around a masked vigilante leading a two man fight against all forms of corruption, then you could be on you way to an exciting ride, and ride they do! Some of the horse work is of the more spectacular type with several scenes where the horses actually run off with the honors.It's all odd, and at odds with an America of the 50s where Afro Americans and Native Indians were treated as second (and third) class citizens ~ then along comes a hero of the highest degree, who with his trusted 'Red Indian' confident and 'friend', takes on the whole American political system! The production values were the biggest surprise for me. Firstly, an above average script credited to 'Have Gun Will Travel' creator: Herb Meadow (based on the original characters created by Francis Striker and George Trendle in 1932) this kicks things off to a good start, then you notice the great cinematography by special effects man Edwin B. Du Par. The action sequences are so well staged that you almost feel the pain being inflicted on the characters, who by the way, put up with unexpected levels of violence for this era and genre.Strong direction is given by Stuart Heisler who keeps the thrills flowing. The music score by Vienese David Buttolph blends in well with the strange choice of an Italian opera for the main and end titles! Those with a trained ear for 50s/60s TV themes will pick up the 'Sugarfoot' theme within the incidental music (I had wondered where that theme came from, now we know) The two main leads work very well together turning in sincere performances for their curious characters - I can't help but feel they had a genuine fondness for them, this all helps carry it thorough the shaky bits. The bulk of the supporting cast supply strong performances and lift this near unbelievable story to a quite believable level. This was to be award nominated Bonita Granville's final major screen role, she married the films producer Jack Wrather and retired. I'm now looking forward to the follow up theatrical feature: 'The Lost City of Gold' Hope it's as well done. If you enjoy this type of 50s western movie you may have fun with this, give it a go....Footnote Up-Date: Have since caught up with the 'Lost City of Gold', somewhat of a let down. Review posted also.
flapdoodle64
It's a shame that this film is not more widely known and available, because it represents the pinnacle of the Lone Ranger, at least the on-screen version. In addition to being the Lone Ranger's zenith, it also ranks among the Greatest Super-Hero Films of All Time, and is very good Western in its own right.The TV series (which, BTW, I loved) was always hampered by shooting schedule and budget, so location filming, riding scenes, fight scenes, etc., were always kept to a minimum. And usually the sets always looked as if they were constructed in 3 hours by the technicians at a local TV station in Cleveland, Ohio.But in this film, besides being in color and having lots of outdoors scenes, there are plenty of great riding and fight scenes, including a full blown stampede. Best of all, both the Masked Man and Tonto each get to do a full-blown, knock-down, drag out fist fight. (Tonto's fight sequence is the more impressive one, since he ends up holding his own against an entire mob, until the sheer numbers inevitably overpower him. I won't spoil it how that situation resolves…) Additional treats include the Lone Ranger donning the Old Geezer disguise he often used in the TV series, and Silver doing some memorable work (similar to Lassie or Flipper, yet amazingly, this does not come off as corny).Certainly there were no other actors, at least on screen, who ever did or ever could portray the Masked Man and Tonto as good as Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Considering the material they had to work with, it would have been extremely easy for them to overdo it, or to be corny or campy. But no, they each had an almost magical ability to make these potentially ludicrous characters believable and likable.I am especially impressed by Silverheels, whose dialog for some inexplicable reason was always written as Johnny Weismueller-style broken English, always delivered his lines with credibility. Tonto was never ridiculous, rather the opposite. In this film, unfortunately, all the Native Americans have to speak in this idiotic way, and you can see how hard it is to be take these guys seriously. Yet Silverheels' Tonto always projects intelligence and valor, despite horrible lines. I attribute this to Silverheels' ability as an actor.It's undeniable that the Lone Ranger's target audience was mostly kids, and that his appeal to adults draws its strength from the well of our childhood. Yet it is a mistake to classify this film as being strictly for kids; there are in fact, many adult themes. For instance, in one very effective sequence, a racially-motivated mob attempts to lynch Tonto. I don't think there is anything on the Disney channel today, with our supposedly uncensored media, that deals with the American tradition of lynching (which was never formally outlawed until the 1960's).The plot itself is concerned with a very adult theme, something that is perhaps more timely now even than in 1956. The main action is concerned with the activities of a wealthy white man and his vicious second-in-command who engineer a series of 'false flag' attacks and incidents so as to cause a group of darker-skinned persons to be blamed. (No, this is not the story of the Bush Administration, except as allegory.) The false flag attacks are intended to promote a war between whites, who have greater wealth and weaponry, and the Indians, so that the small group of whites can seize control of the natives' valuable mineral resources.This film has a view of Pioneer/Indian conflicts that, besides being historically accurate, is surprising to find in 1956. The Lone Ranger himself says outright that in all the fights between Whites and Indians, it's the Whites who have always started the trouble. There are anti-war as well as anti-racism messages that seem ahead of their time.The Masked Man and Tonto, as unequivocal representatives of Good, channel their energies into a desperate campaign to prevent a destructive war. These two heroes have no super-powers or abilities, but appear to draw their strength from a respect for human life and a sense of fairness. They remind us of what we knew to be right when we were children, and inspire us to believe in those things again.
