El llanero solitario y la ciudad perdida de oro

This second full-length Lone Ranger feature doesn't measure up to the 1956 classic but is a fine film with enough rough and tumble action and moves along at a good clip. The Ranger looks into a series of mysterious murders which have a sinister pattern to them with peaceful Indians being the victims of a gang of hooded killers. There are more killings and violence usually associated with Lone Ranger adventures and the film has an undercurrent of racial insensitivity, the comments of which are sprinkled throughout the screenplay. The Ranger uses disguises as only he can to piece together clues and expose the outlaw band and bring them to justice. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels star in a colorful presentation that shows the desert and cactus country of old Tucson to good advantage. The music score is good but the familiar William Tell Overture theme is nudged aside by vocals that are interesting but lack the flourish and beauty of the Ranger's traditional theme.

Although beautifully shot, this United Artists feature is not quite as good as the first Lone Ranger big screen color outing of 1956 by Warner Brothers. But neither is it average, for the cinematic effort does go boldly where most westerns of the time dared not. Remarkably, this 1958 film takes on racial bigotry in a manner that was quite daring for a family western of this period. In point of fact, the writers of this feature should be applauded for going a step farther and making racial "passing" an integral part of an otherwise ordinary plot. How many dramatically significant family films of the time can one name that would dare to have dealt with such an emotionally explosive premise?

It should also be noted, Jay Silverheels for the first time, has a much greater speaking role and acting function than normally allowed for his character, Tonto. All in all, with solid acting from most of it's participants, this is not a bad western. On the whole, the film is thoroughly enjoyable, on several levels, for all members of the family.

A wounded Tonto standing alone to protect three innocent lives. A devious woman masterminding a deadly plot. Racial tension. Smart Indians.

These are things we rarely if ever saw in the TV series, but this movie adds them all into the mix. While this is most certainly a Lone Ranger movie, it mixes up the formula just enough that those who grew tired of the series would probably still enjoy it. Definitely recommended for any fan.

Clayton Moore returns for one last big screen adventure as legendary vigilante The Lone Ranger, who attempts to uncover who is behind a series of murders and figure out why the villains are only interested in the medallions worn around the victims' necks.

As a fan of The Lone Ranger, and of movies that feature long lost civilisations and legendary cities, I figured I couldn't really go wrong with The Lone Ranger and The Lost City of Gold; sadly, the film fails to live up to its promise, thanks to a weak script that gives our masked hero very little to do except to gallop from one location to another (accompanied by faithful sidekick Tonto, played by Jay Silverheels), occasionally taking time out to pose as a Southern gentlemen in order to fool femme fatale Frances Henderson (Noreen Nash) into revealing her plans. Meanwhile, respectable town physician Dr. James Rolfe (Dean Fredericks), who wears one of the much sought after medallions, struggles to choose between his job and his sweetheart, redskin Paviva (exotic beauty Lisa Montell).

As for the fabled city of gold, it stays lost until the very end of the movie, when we are treated to a few seconds of a disappointing matte painting.

5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for the surprisingly nasty demise (for a family film) of Henderson's partner in crime Ross Brady (Douglas Kennedy).

The Lone Ranger and Tonto have a long, complex history on the screen, but Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels became forever identified with the roles thanks to the hugely popular "Lone Ranger" TV series, which ran from 1949 to 1957. That series inspired two full-length feature films, of which this is the second.

A stretched-out version of a typical "Lone Ranger" episode would have been unbearably cornball, but this movie avoids that trap. Shot in color at some beautiful desert locations, it has a reasonably intelligent plot, plus action that's a bit more adult (i.e. violent) than in the TV series. It even has a theme: prejudice against American Indians.

The story is about a series of killings of Indians by a gang known as the "Hooded Raiders." As in the TV series, the identities of the villains are clear to the audience fairly early, but in this movie their ultimate motive is not obvious at first. That allows the two heroes to do a bit of sleuthing, and the Lone Ranger gets a chance to doff his mask and don one of his trademark "disguises." (Even as a kid, I could see through these disguises easily, but the bad guys were always fooled.)

Considering that this film was intended mostly for youngsters, its treatment of racial prejudice is pretty powerful for the 1950s. Two of the characters are especially interesting -- a bigoted lawman who abuses the people he's supposed to protect, and a doctor who conceals his partial Indian heritage in an attempt to "pass" as white. The Hooded Raiders are probably meant to suggest the Ku Klux Klan, though they don't really wear their hoods that much. (Their lax attitude toward their disguises strains credibility at times, but it's a forgivable flaw.)

This is a better Western than I expected, and it's a fitting farewell for the Moore-Silverheels team. Though they later appeared in character for personal appearances and at least one commercial, this was the last time they played the Lone Ranger and Tonto in a real screen production.

To cap it all off, "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold" has two of the great Hollywood beauties of the 1950s: Noreen Nash, as a wealthy schemer, and Lisa Montell, as an Indian maiden. For a lot of dads who were dragged to the theater in the 1950s, the sight of these two ladies must have been a pleasant surprise.