Strong and Moving!

Let's be realistic.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

Near the end of his famous TV show of the 1950s, "The Lone Ranger," Clayton Moore made this feature film with costar Jay Silverheels as "Tonto." The main plot revolves around Lyle Bettger, who has plans of running the Indians off their land, so he can claim it and the silver mountain they revere. Lyle of course has his field hands who do his dirty work, which includes posing as Indians and causing trouble around in their name, so as to get the town folk on his side and against them. In turn, they will come to insist on the Indians leaving. Robert Wilke is memorable as the meanest guy under Bettger's pay, who looks like he enjoys every minute of it. What Bettger and Wilke don't plan on is the presence of "The Lone Ranger," who has gotten a bandit/outlaw reputation with the town folk, even though he seems to only help those in peril and is always on the right side of the law. Enough of the plot, the star of the film is Clayton Moore as the bigger-than-life Lone Ranger. Throughout the film we find out how he became The Lone Ranger. Some may think this film, his and Silverheels' performances and his duds of a blue skin-tight suit and black mask are all kind of corny and/or campy. But all of it is the heart of the film, which makes us feel like we the viewer are The Lone Ranger. (He wears his disguise until injustice has come to an end and there is no further need for his alter-ego.) And, this film really delivers the goods. It contains the realistic dangers of the people's lives in jeopardy (who know too much and have to be dealt with,) while embracing the outrageousness of this mysterious ranger and his sidekick. It entertains without being too silly or too violent. Little boys today and of future generations would love it still. It is reported that Clayton Moore loved this chance to be The Lone Ranger, because, as a boy, he dreamed of being a cowboy or a policeman. With this role, he was able to be both. The Johnny Depp remake, which I have no desire to see, can't touch this nostalgic and captivating (with its iconic and timeless trademark scene thrown in at the end) bigger-than-life film.

"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.

One of the things that amazes me about this film is its surprisingly modern attitude towards Native Americans (no, seriously!) The Indians in this movie are portrayed with dignity and respect, similar to the way "Dances With Wolves" would portray the Lakota years later. Naturally, the Lone Ranger and Tonto are good friends and partners (Clayton Moore always said he loved Jay Silverheels like a brother), but the way the Ranger in which treats the Indian chief, Red Hawk, is touching. No wonder this man is a hero.In an era when Hollywood more often than not used Indians as stereotypical savages and moving targets, "The Lone Ranger" makes a surprising plea for mutual respect and tolerance.