The Lone Avenger

I hate to use the term, but I can only describe "The Lone Avenger" as vanilla. I hate to say it's vanilla derogatorily because I love that flavor: ice cream, protein shakes, and Tootsie Rolls.

The main character, Cal Weston (Ken Maynard), was a stiff, clean cut choir boy of a character who was more Clark Kent than he was Superman. He came back to his hometown after his father was murdered. It was made to look like a suicide, but Cal knew better. He only needed to find out who wanted him dead, then he could find out whodunit.

One of the drawbacks of westerns pre-1960's is that they were too bland. The good guys were so good they didn't even make grammatical errors and the bad guys were slobs with the exception of their boss. "The Lone Avenger" was really basic and it didn't help that Cal's horse was an equine version of Lassie. He could untie knots and even give advanced warning to Cal if danger was approaching; proving that if a good guy is righteous even the animals will help him.

Give me something grittier and less pristine.

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Ken Maynard comes to visit his banker father, only to find him dead of an apparent suicide and his bank looted. However, the suicide weapon is in the right-hand of a left-handed man. Maynard vows to bring the killers to justice, recover the town's money, and clear his father's good name.

The Lone Avenger is fast-paced fun, with loads of action and gun-play. However, the title is a bit of a misnomer, as Ken has a lot of help by the end of the picture, a neat, atmospheric final act in which Maynard and pals psyche out the villains in the midst of a driving nighttime thunderstorm.

One of the few real cowboys to get a picture contract, the salt-of-the-earth Maynard was the first singing western star (1929's The Wagon Master) and allegedly a mean SOB as well! Early on in the movie, he actually seems to be enjoying himself a little too much in a scene where his character orders a man to be dunked repeatedly into a water trough, until he apologizes for insulting his deceased dad!