The Legend of the Lone Ranger

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Original movie poster for The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)

The title The Legend of the Lone Ranger has been used for at least two motion picture treatments of the story of The Lone Ranger, a Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. This article is concerned about the 1981 version of the story.

For several years there had been stories that a major studio would be making a big-budget, full length feature film based on the story of the Lone Ranger. There was apparently an assumption that many older baby boomers would be interested in seeing a big-screen treatment of their small-screen hero of the 1950s, a trend which was really at the time just getting started. After several false starts and rumors, such a film was actually made. Word filtered out that in this "new" version, some of the stereotypical elements which had been in past versions, such as Tonto's pidgin English, would be removed and the story, always rather stilted in the past (the primary audience for earlier versions had always been children), would be updated to be more "realistic". The film got off to a bad start in the area of public relations when one of the first things that its producers became noted for doing was attempting to constrain Clayton Moore, star of the old television series, from appearing anywhere as the Ranger, or in public wearing a mask. Moore's response was to adopt the wearing of wraparound sunglasses resembling his former mask. The public reaction to this was overwhelmingly negative, as it seemed an attempt to remove a source of income from an elderly man who had played a beloved character and seemed to have little else going for him.

After this misstep, the film was released to massive publicity in 1981 and soon sank like a stone. Box office receipts were far short of the amount needed to recoup the costs of the film, and critical reviews were almost unanimous in their condemnation. In attempting to update aspects of the story yet leave it basically intact, the producers succeeding in pleasing almost no one. Despite the presence of renowned actors in cameo roles, including Christopher Lloyd and Jason Robards as villain Butch Cavendish and President Ulysses S. Grant respectively, the film vanished from theaters rapidly. The actor playing the Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury) has never appeared in another film, while the actor portraying Tonto, Michael Horse, has done somewhat better, appearing in many minor films and as a regular on the Canadian television series North of 60 as well as the American series Twin Peaks.

[edit] Trivia

The events surrounding the release of this movie would be satirized in the episode "Who was that mashed man" of the TV sitcom Night Court, where a case comes through the courtroom involving an elderly man who played the "Red Ranger", a famous cowboy of yesteryear that was popular with children, and the producers of a movie that is modernized remake of the character turning him into a swearing, womanizing modern action hero over the elderly man appearing in public as his old persona.

Humorist Russell Baker satirized the producers legal action against Clayton Moore in his newspaper column. The piece (titled "Bye Bye Silver Bullets") had the Lone Ranger in a swank attorney's office being forced to hand over Silver, his mask and his silver bullets.

Klinton Spilsbury's dialogue was overdubbed for the entire movie by actor James Keach.

Two of the movie's four screenwriters, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, previously created the hit TV series Charlie's Angels.

The movie's ballad-narration, The Man In The Mask, was composed by Dean Pitchford of Footloose and Sing fame.

Here is The Man In The Mask, as sung by Merle Haggard, in its entirety:

(FIRST VERSE, prologue) The legend started simply, just a boy without a home; Taken in by Indians, but still pretty much alone; He had to struggle with strange customs, and his own fears from within; He learned the wisdom of the forest, he learned the ways of the wind

(FIRST CHORUS, opening credits) The legends tell of men who died to open up the West; They rode through Hell to find their Promised Land; The legends tell of One who tried to fight for all the rest; His name unknown, a stranger alone, The Man In The Mask...

...The legends tell of One Brave Man who rode to meet the test; His name unknown, a stranger alone, The Man In The Mask

(SECOND VERSE) Del Rio was a town in trouble, a town with a gun in its back; Plagued by crime that just wouldn't stop, and cursed with a Sheriff that wore Black; So you'd think they'd be suspicious, but certain folks rarely are; They're willing to trust their law to just about any man who wears a star

(THIRD VERSE) Butch Cavendish lived undisturbed, waging his private war; And men who made mistakes were simply men he could not afford; Some say he was a monster, and others called him mad; Let's just say Butch Cavendish was everything that's bad

(FOURTH VERSE, following the ambush) One thing about that Cavendish, he knew how to set a trap; And he finished off the Rangers that day in Bryant's Gap; And Collins had to check them all 'till Butch was satisfied; Dead men lying everywhere, and bloody brothers side by side

(FIFTH VERSE) And Tonto recognized John Reid by the amulet he wore; But John had once saved Tonto's life, so this evened up the score; Tonto had to hide his friend and keep him out of town; 'Cause if Butch had known that one Ranger lived, he was sure to hunt John down

(SIXTH VERSE) What is it that brings two friends together, or sends the waves to the sand? And what is it that drives a creature of nature to reach out to the world of Man? Just such a creature was this Great White Horse, as wise and as wild as a runaway; And the moment John first laid eyes on it, he swore he'd ride it someday

(SEVENTH VERSE) Now John Reid was just a memory; the Masked Man had taken his place; But that didn't mean his heart wasn't touched when he saw Amy Striker's face; Amy had stayed to do her uncle's work, and to keep his dreams alive; But unless the Masked Man could find Cavendish, true justice would never survive

(EIGHTH VERSE, after Tonto is arrested for Collins' murder) I don't guess anyone stopped to ask what Tonto was guilty of; That didn't stop them from wanting to see him swinging high above; But Tonto showed no sign of fear, and he held on to a fervent hope That the Masked Man wouldn't let his blood brother hang from the end of a rope

(NINTH VERSE) Those Cavendish Boys had been working real hard, going over each step of their plan; Meanwhile, ol' Butch was mighty disturbed by reports of a strange Masked Man; But he wouldn't let rumors mess up his scheme, so he set out on his final campaign; He and his Boys rode to their rendezvous with President Grant's private train

(TENTH VERSE) So Cavendish had pulled it off, vanished without firing a shot; The Masked Man and Tonto had to move fast, and ride while his trail was still hot; They didn't know what he intended to do, but the life at stake was President Grant's; Perhaps Butch would hold him, perhaps Butch would kill him...they just couldn't take that chance

(SECOND CHORUS, closing credits) A fiery horse across the plains and he was gone from sight; He changed the course of history as he rode; And folks would tell of one Lone Ranger turning wrong to right; They wondered who, but they never knew...The Man In The Mask