Le justicier solitaire

Although its script is strictly utilitarian and a bit dull at times, this movie is a worthy companion to the beloved TV series, with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels in their most familiar roles. This time the virtuous duo is out to stop a war from starting between ranchers and Indians. There are a couple good action sequences and some admirable horsemanship to help out the rather formulaic script.

If that really is Moore playing the Ranger in disguise as an old prospector, then it's a treat to see him in something other than his one-note performance as the masked man. Also, it sure looked to me like, contrary to legend, the Lone Ranger shot and killed a man! Rest assured, it was necessary to keep from being killed himself. And if you're a fan of Bill Cosby's classic comedy routines, you'll love it when Tonto goes into town to get information and is set upon by the bad guys.

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.

The Lone Ranger is directed by Stuart Heisler and written by Herb Meadow and George W. Trendle. It stars Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger, Bonita Granville, Perry Lopez, Robert J. Wilke and John Pickard. Music is by David Buttolph and cinematography by Edwin B. DuPar.

Wealthy rancher Reese Kilgore (Bettger) aims to grab silver-rich Indian land by skilfully pitting Indians against settlers, but the suspicious territorial governor sends The Lone Ranger (Moore) to investigate.

I think most of us Western fans of a certain age remember fondly The Lone Ranger TV series, and with that we obviously remember it as being child friendly. So it's reasonable to expect this filmic version as being more of the same? Yet although it is of course safe for the kiddies to enjoy, it's very mature in narrative terms.

It's not an origin movie, though the screenplay allows space for us to get the birth of the masked man as it were. Naturally we are in the realm of the good versus the bad, but as we deal with bile strewn racial prejudices, we also get the flip side in the form of the strong friendship between Lone Ranger and Tonto (Silverheels).

Pic is crammed full of lush locations, fast paced action, plenty of fights - both with fists and weaponry - stock genre characters, and two of the coolest horses in genre lore. All that and the signature William Tell Overture music that brings simultaneously a smile to the face and a tingle to the youthful spine in all of us. Hooray! 7/10

Enjoyable Lone Ranger western film about the Masked Man and his faithful Indian sidekick . All new and a brand new thrills , the story of desperado riders in the Old West and the silver bullet that stopped the most savage Indian uprising ever to menace America's vast frontiers . The legend of the Lone Ranger is ¨the untold story of the man behind the mask and the legend behind the man¨ . This flick follows the adventures of the Ranger , his white stallion Silver and his American Indian pal Tonto, as they attempt to bring local criminals to justice once again. This cinematic adaptation deals with the Lone Ranger , here he comes , thundering up the West's deadliest silver mines trail , blasting his way and confronting baddies . The Ranger accompanied by the Indian Tonto who rides with him, on Silver and Scout, throughout the West, doing good deeds and they dedicate their life to combat the evil that Reece Kilgore -Lyle Bettger- represents. As they must prevent a war between Indians and nasty ranchers disguised as Indian riders in a dangerous adventure . The Kilgore's start a mining company on Indian territory, and the Indians aren't glad about it. The Lone Ranger must fight the savages and find away to make peace between Red Skins and White Men . The two heroes ride off in a cloud of dust under classic musical background composed by Rossini and shouting ¨Hi-Yo silver¨.

¨The Legend Of The Lone Ranger¨ is crusader's first silver screen outing . The film contains action , thrills , great scenery with spectacular outdoors magnificently photographed in Warnercolor . This shows a campy and entertaining glimpse at nostalgic television series . It packs some fine action , adequate musical score and emotion ; as children as well as adults will undoubtedly love this film . Clayton Moore is good as the mysterious and righteous gunslinger, yet he shows have an endearing innocent charm , while Jay Silverheels is acceptable as his faithful sidekick Tonto. Jay Silverheels played as Tonto in the long series and two films , he also played Geronimo in ¨Broken Arrow¨(1950) . ¨The battle of Apache Pass¨(1951) and ¨Walk to proud land¨(56) . He performed about 30 Western from 1957 to 1973 in important roles such as ¨Brave warrior¨, 'The pathfinder¨, ¨Drums across the river¨, ¨Indian Paint and ¨Santee¨ . In addition , he played a cameo as Tonto in the parody ¨Alias Jesse James¨ with Bob Hope . Furthermore , there appears Bonita Granville , she married producer Jack Wrather in 1947, who became the longtime producer of the "Lone Ranger" TV series and films. Following this movie, Granville retired from acting to become a producer on the long running "Lassie" TV series ; her final film appearance was a cameo in ¨The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)¨, also produced by Wrather . Atmospheric as well as thrilling musical score by David Buttolph . In the scene where the Ranger meets the governor with his mask on, the music in the background is the soon to be "Maverick" theme , both this film and Maverick credit David Buttolph with the music. The motion picture was professionally directed by Stuart Heisler . His movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow directors lacked . He also filmed detective thrillers , action and dramas . Stuart started his directorial career at Paramount in 1940 and turning out mostly "B"-grade films but was occasionally given an "A" picture. The majority of his output was routine but he did turn out several first-rate films, his best-known probably being the sleeper hit The Biscuit Eater (1940), garnering the best reviews of his career. He realized his first Western titled ¨Along Came Jones¨ (1945). After leaving Paramount he free-lanced. He directed Bette Davis in The star (1952) and directed Ginger Rogers and Ronald Reagan in the hard-hitting anti-Klan drama Storm warning (1951). He made his last film, the underwhelming Hitler (1962).

¨The Lone Ranger¨ was originally created as a radio play in 1933 by George W. Trendle and well developed by Fran Striker . The Lone Ranger started off as an America radio show started in the 1930s and finally ended in 1954 . It began in a ¨Lone Ranger¨ serial (1938) , a program burdened by noisy action and starred by Lee Powell , being directed by William Witney and John English . It later expanded on to the big screen with 1938's "The Lone Ranger," 1939's "The Lone Ranger Rides Again" , a Republic serial in 15 whirlwind chapters with Robert Livingstone , Chief Thundercloud and Duncan Renaldo . The Lone Ranger was also a television series from 1948 through 1957 in which gained widespread notoriety on ABC television, as Clayton Moore donned the mask each week to fight crime and corruption in the old west and of course Jay Silverheels as Tonto . The second film was co-starred by Douglas Kennedy , Charles Watts and Ralph Morris . Furthermore , new version by Willam A Fraker titled ¨The legend of the Lone Ranger¨ that wavers between irony and seriousness , starred by Klinton Spilbury and Michael Horse ; but the film bombed so badly at the box office , as the movie's star Klinton Spilsbury never worked in Hollywood again. The last appearance of The Lone Ranger was in 2003 for a two-hour special on WB Network starring Chad Michael Murray and Nathaniel Arcand . Jerry Bruckheimer Films has debuted a logo for the upcoming adaptation of The Lone Ranger , this is the last big screen iteration of the famous character . The tagline on the site reads, "The Legend Returns." Gore Verbinski has been contracted to filmmaking the classic TV show film , a blockbuster retelling for the big screen, and Johnny Depp is attached to play Tonto .

"The Lone Ranger" was the first of two feature films made in the 50s starring Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. It was of course, based on the long running TV series that began in 1949 and ended in 1957. It was produced by Jack Wrather who also produced the TV series.

Essentially a "B+" western it is nonetheless a well mounted production. It was made by Warner Brothers and is as good as any of the Randolph Scott westerns made by the studio at that time. Being a major studio production, it was filmed in color and Wrather was able to hire an above average supporting cast.

The story briefly, involves big time rancher Reese Kilgore (Lyle Bettger) trying to incite a war with the local Indian tribe on whose reservation a mountain of silver is located. The Masked Man and his faithful Indian companion ride in to try and prevent the conflict.

Moore and Silverheels, who had been around the "B" movie scene since the late 30s, play their parts pretty much the way they did on TV but with a little more edge. Moore has a knock down drag out fight with the Indian warrior Angry Horse (Michael Ansara) who is trying to take control of the tribe from sickly Chief Red Hawk (Frank DeKova). Tonto meanwhile, is beaten up by Kilgore's thugs (Robert J. Wilke, Mickey Simpson, Zon Murray). And the boys even get to gun down a couple of the bad guys. And, The Lone Ranger even gets wounded only to make a remarkable recovery. And oh yes, Moore also gets don the disguise of the old prospector again as he did several times in the TV series.

In addition to those mentioned, the supporting cast also includes Bonita Granville (wife of Producer Wrather) as Bettger's wife, Beverly Washburn as their daughter, John Pickard as the Sheriff, Perry Lopez as Pete Ramerez and Kermit Maynard and William Schallert in smaller parts.

The movie is not as corny as the TV series and turns out to be an entertaining western.