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IMDbPro

The Legend of the Lone Ranger

  • 1981
  • PG
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
4.9/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:33
2 Videos
38 Photos
ActionAdventureDrama

The sole surviving Texas Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury) of an ambush arranged by outlaw leader Major Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish (Christopher Lloyd) returns to fight back as a great masked wes... Read allThe sole surviving Texas Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury) of an ambush arranged by outlaw leader Major Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish (Christopher Lloyd) returns to fight back as a great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger.The sole surviving Texas Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury) of an ambush arranged by outlaw leader Major Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish (Christopher Lloyd) returns to fight back as a great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger.

  • Director
    • William A. Fraker
  • Writers
    • Ivan Goff
    • Ben Roberts
    • Michael Kane
  • Stars
    • Klinton Spilsbury
    • Michael Horse
    • Christopher Lloyd
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    4.9/10
    2.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • William A. Fraker
    • Writers
      • Ivan Goff
      • Ben Roberts
      • Michael Kane
    • Stars
      • Klinton Spilsbury
      • Michael Horse
      • Christopher Lloyd
    • 74User reviews
    • 39Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 4 nominations

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:33
    Watch Official Trailer
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 31
    Video 28:45
    Watch Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 31

    Photos38

    The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Klinton Spilsbury in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Klinton Spilsbury in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Clayton Moore and Silver in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Klinton Spilsbury in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Juanin Clay in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Juanin Clay in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    David Hayward in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    Christopher Lloyd, Matt Clark, and Bob Hoy in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
    The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Klinton Spilsbury
    Klinton Spilsbury
    • The Lone Ranger…
    Michael Horse
    Michael Horse
    • Tonto
    Christopher Lloyd
    Christopher Lloyd
    • Cavendish
    Matt Clark
    Matt Clark
    • Sheriff Wiatt
    Juanin Clay
    Juanin Clay
    • Amy Striker
    Jason Robards
    Jason Robards
    • President Grant
    John Bennett Perry
    John Bennett Perry
    • Dan Reid
    David Hayward
    David Hayward
    • Ranger Collins
    John Hart
    John Hart
    • Lucas Striker
    Richard Farnsworth
    Richard Farnsworth
    • Wild Bill Hickok
    Lincoln Tate
    • General Custer
    Theodore J. Flicker
    • Buffalo Bill Cody
    Marc Gilpin
    Marc Gilpin
    • Young John Reid
    Patrick Montoya
    • Young Tonto
    David Bennett
    • General Rodriguez
    Rick Traeger
    • German passenger
    James Bowman
    • The Gambler
    Kit Wong
    • Chinese passenger
    • Director
      • William A. Fraker
    • Writers
      • Ivan Goff
      • Ben Roberts
      • Michael Kane
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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 this movie flopped, Moore was allowed to make appearances as The Lone Ranger, mask and all. This was parodied in season five of Night Court (1984).
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      President Ulysses S. Grant: Who is that masked man?

      The Lone Ranger: Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!

    • Alternate versions
      UK versions are cut by 5 secs to remove horse-falls.
    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: The Legend of the Lone Ranger, Outland, Death Hunt, Take This Job And Shove It (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      The Man in the Mask
      Written by John Barry and Dean Pitchford

      Sung by Merle Haggard

    User reviews74

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    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 [or 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.
    helpful•58
    15
    • witch king
    • May 5, 1999

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 22, 1981 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die Legende vom einsamen Ranger
    • Filming locations
      • Monument Valley, Arizona, USA
    • Production companies
      • Eaves Movie Ranch
      • Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
      • Wrather Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $12,617,845
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $2,945,600
      • May 25, 1981
    • Gross worldwide
      • $12,617,845
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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