The Lone Ranger (1938)

CHAP. 1, HI YO SILVER: An outlaw leader planning to take conrol of Texas after the Civil War kills Colonel Jeffries, a man empowered to levy taxes, and assumes his identity. His men then ... See full summary »

Directors:

John English, William Witney

Writers:

Barry Shipman (original screenplay), George Worthing Yates (original screenplay),

Stars:

Silver King the Horse, Chief Thundercloud, Lynne Roberts

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Silver King the Horse	...	Silver, the Lone Ranger's Horse
Chief Thundercloud	...	Tonto (as Chief Thunder-Cloud)
Lynne Roberts	...	Joan Blanchard (as Lynn Roberts)
Stanley Andrews	...	Captain Smith aka Colonel Jeffries
George Cleveland	...	George Blanchard
William Farnum	...	Father McKim
Hal Taliaferro	...	Bob Stuart
Bruce Bennett	...	Bert Rogers (as Herman Brix)
Lee Powell	...	Allen King
Lane Chandler	...	Dick Forrest
George Montgomery	...	Jim Clark (as George Letz)
John Merton	...	Henchman Kester
Sammy McKim	...	Sammy [Chs. 11-15]
Tom London	...	Henchman Felton
Ray Bennett	...	Henchman Taggart (as Raphael Bennet)

Storyline

CHAP. 1, HI YO SILVER: An outlaw leader planning to take conrol of Texas after the Civil War kills Colonel Jeffries, a man empowered to levy taxes, and assumes his identity. His men then murder a troop of Rangers. Tonto finds one Ranger still alive and he becomes the Lone Ranger. A Jeffries spy thinks one of five men is the Lone Ranger and to eliminate his enemy, Jeffries has all five captured and sentenced to death. CHAP. 2, THUNDERING EARTH: Jeffries' men plan to wipe out a wagon train of Texans. CHAP. 3, PITFALL: Jeffries forces Blanchard to send a recommendation that he be made Governor. The Lone Ranger chases the courier but a spiked pit awaits him. CHAP. 4, AGENT OF TREACHERY: Jeffries prepares another trap for the Lone Ranger. CHAP. 5, STEAMING CALDRON: Catching one of Jeffries' men who trailed a wounded Jim Clark to their secret caved, there is a fight and the Lone Ranger ends up trapped in a pit with a steaming caldron. CHAP. 6, RED MAN'S COURAGE: Clark dies from his wounds. ...

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Plot Keywords:

ranger | silver | texan | cave | treachery | 

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Taglines:

Fantasia y adventuras del deste (original poster-Mexico)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Caverna dos Demónios Negros

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

264 min 264 min (15 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of George Montgomery.

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Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Amerikai filmtípusok - A western (1989)

User Reviews

A Film That Cries Out for Restoration

"The Lone Ranger" is yet another classic from the Republic thrill factory, one of the best serials ever. It has fine acting (for a serial, anyway), exciting action, thrilling music, and a clever and intelligent plot. Part of the fun is that, unlike most films of this genre, the villain is well-known; the characters (and audience) have to figure out which of the five male leads is the masked Lone Ranger.

I wish I could say "The Lone Ranger" was as exciting to watch as other classic serials as "Spy Smasher" or "Adventures of Captain Marvel," but... unfortunately, due to the serial's divergence from the official Lone Ranger image, most copies were apparently destroyed. My public-domain copy is pieced together from Mexican and French copies, and rendered almost unwatchable by poor picture quality, Spanish subtitles from the Mexican prints, and horrible dubbing in the French prints. The overall effect of the film's state makes it almost unwatchable, but the sheer quality of the movie itself somehow manages to shine through.

If ever there were a film that richly deserves all the benefits of a full restoration, this is it: digital remastering, a new audio track, this serial needs it all!

Somebody needs to come to the Lone Ranger's rescue!