The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)

The sole surviving Texas Ranger of an ambush arranged by Butch Cavandish returns to fight back as a masked hero.

Director:

William A. Fraker

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay), Ben Roberts (screenplay)

Stars:

Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Klinton Spilsbury	...	The Lone Ranger / John Reid
Michael Horse	...	Tonto
Christopher Lloyd	...	Maj. Bartholomew 'Butch' Cavendish
Matt Clark	...	Sheriff Wiatt
Juanin Clay	...	Amy Striker
Jason Robards	...	President Ulysses S. Grant
John Bennett Perry	...	Ranger Captain Dan Reid
David Hayward	...	Ranger Collins
John Hart	...	Lucas Striker
Richard Farnsworth	...	Wild Bill Hickok
Lincoln Tate	...	Gen. George A. Custer
Ted Flicker	...	Buffalo Bill Cody
Marc Gilpin	...	Young John Reid
Patrick Montoya	...	Young Tonto
David Bennett	...	Gen. Aurelio Rodriguez

Storyline

When the young Texas Ranger, John Reid, is the sole survivor of an ambush arranged by the militaristic outlaw leader, Butch Cavendich, he is rescued by an old childhood Comanche friend, Tonto. When he recovers from his wounds, he dedicates his life to fighting the evil that Cavendich represents. To this end, John Reid becomes the great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger. With the help of Tonto, the pair go to rescue the President Grant when Cavendich takes him hostage.

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Plot Keywords:

ambush | hero | texas ranger | outlaw | masked hero | 

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Taglines:

The loyal friend that he trusted. The woman that fate denied him. The great silver stallion he rode. And his consuming love of justice.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

La leyenda del Llanero Solitario

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$8,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Wrather Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the time of production, Clayton Moore was still making personal appearances as The Lone Ranger. The Wrather Company, owner of The Lone Ranger character, sued the actor to prevent him from wearing the mask, saying an elderly man didn't represent the character the way he should. Moore continued making personal appearances in costume, wearing oversized sunglasses instead of the mask. After the film's extremely poor showing at the box office, Moore was allowed to make appearances as The Lone Ranger, mask and all.

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Goofs

Early in the movie, John Reid gives Amy Striker a copy of the book "A Century of Dishonor" by Helen Hunt Jackson, written in 1881.

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Quotes

[first lines]
First Scalphunter: You got him! You got him!
Young John Reid: Shh, sit down. Get down!
Young Tonto: Leave me alone!
First Scalphunter: You ain't never gonna find that little redskin.
Second Scalphunter: When I do, I'm gonna scalp him.
Young John Reid: [whispering] Go. It's alright. Come on.
Second Scalphunter: The little injun's somewhere.
Young John Reid: [whispering] Get down.
First Scalphunter: They're at the Reid place. Come on, we're missin' it.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (2005)

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Soundtracks

Relampago
(uncredited)
Written by Silvestre Vargas

User Reviews

Where have all the heroes gone?

The well-deserved negative comments about this beautifully-filmed fiasco have all but obscured one important good deed: the attempt to update the Lone Ranger on the wide screen, in all his majestic conservatism. Where the studio, in my mind, failed, was in treating the Ranger as "someone we know." For anyone who grew up in the late '40's or early '50's, and remembers Brace Beemer's voice [one God would have envied], or even his predecessor's [Earle Graser], or remembers how naturally Clayton Moore assumed the role for television, the expensive exposure of Klinton Spilsbury was cruelly unnecessary. Why trifle with the Masked Man's origins? He was perfect as we knew him! The Ranger, for all you out there in cyberspace, was NEVER named John; that his last name was Reid was well-known, but to give him a first name [and an unremarkable one at that], was to snatch away some of the mystery and aura surrounding the character. The Wrather Corporation, which bought the rights to the Lone Ranger from George W. Trendle, made this foolish mistake, and they robbed the Masked Man of any heroic pretense by making him, in essence, one of us. If someone bought the rights to the Superman character, changed his planet from Krypton to some other location, and did away with his earthly name of Clark Kent, can you imagine the reaction? The Wrather Corporation robbed themselves of a valuable property by re-tooling the Lone Ranger, and the result was this cinematic fiasco. It could have worked well, even without a "name" actor. The film was shot through with admirable creative strokes. Two come to mind. First, the racist attack on the young Tonto, second, the planned gang-rape of Amy Striker on the hijacked stagecoach, neither of which could have been broadcast nor televised in the '40's or '50's. Even the scene in the confessional could have proved a brilliant stroke [indeed, we saw it imitated in the 1998 "The Mask of Zorro" to wonderful effect]. The point is that it all could have worked! The sadistic ambush of the Texas Rangers at Bryant's Gap was realistic and moving, but could have been dealt with far more effectively by means of flashbacks. The film failed because the studio didn't care enough to probe the reasons for the Ranger's motivation [the superficial one of revenge for the massacre at Bryant's Gap wasn't enough] and Tonto's reasons for his remarkable and deeply humane devotion to his friend. A re-orchestration of the Republic and classical overtures would have heightened the film [as expensive as this might have been] from an ordinary Western into something else; a retelling of a classic myth and cultural icon. We Ranger fanatics are much the poorer because a rich corporation bought the rights to a character without understanding caring] about the emotional underpinnings of the legend. American audiences were ready for a "modern" Lone Ranger in 1981; I'm not certain that anyone cares anymore, and that's the tragedy.