The Lone Ranger (serial)

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The Lone Ranger
Poster for Chapter 3 of The Lone Ranger
Directed by	William Witney John English
Produced by	Sol C. Siegel
Written by	Franklin Adreon Ronald Davidson Lois Eby Barry Shipman Fran Striker George Worthing Yates
Starring	Lee Powell Chief Thundercloud Lynne Roberts Stanley Andrews George Cleveland William Farnum Hal Taliaferro Herman Brix Lane Chandler
Music by	Alberto Colombo
Cinematography	William Nobles
Editing by	Edward Todd Helene Turner
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date(s)	12 February 1938 (serial) 10 April 1940 (film)
Running time	15 chapters (264 min)
Country	United States
Language	English language
Budget	$160,315 (negative cost: $168,117)
Followed by	The Lone Ranger Rides Again
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Lone Ranger (1938) is a Republic Movie serial. It was the ninth of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic, the fourth western (a third of Republic's serials were westerns) and the first of 1938. The serial was lost of a long time but decent versions have been assembled from discovered footage (particularly a Spanish version, in English with subtitles).

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Supporting Cast 2.2 Additional 3 Production 4 Chapter Titles 5 Cliffhangers 5.1 Cliffhangers 5.2 Resolutions 6 Stunts & Effects 7 References 8 External Links

[edit] Plot

In 1865, Captain Mark Smith of the Confederate Army leads a band of deserters to conquer Texas and rule it as a dictator. In one their first actions, they ambush and apparently wipe out a contingent of Texas Rangers, although they leave one injured survivor. The survivor, nursed back to health by Tonto, swears to avenge the massacre and defeat Captain Smith (who has assumed the identity of Texas' new Finance Commissioner, Colonel Marcus Jefferies, after having the real man murdered).

[edit] Cast

The Lone Ranger
Silver King (or Silver Chief) as Silver
Tonto
Lynne Roberts as Joan Blanchard, George Blanchard's daughter
Stanley Andrews as Mark Smith, former Captain in the Confederate Army working under the identity of the murdered Colonel Marcus Jefferies, State Finance Commissioner
George Cleveland as George Blanchard, emissary from Washington
William Farnum as Father McKim, local priest and ally of the Lone Ranger who sends messages via carrier pigeon

[edit] Supporting Cast

Chief Thundercloud as Tonto
Hal Taliaferro as Bob Stuart, possibly the Lone Ranger
Herman Brix as Bert Rogers, possibly the Lone Ranger
Lee Powell as Allen King, possibly the Lone Ranger
Lane Chandler as Dick Forrest, possibly the Lone Ranger
George Letz as Jim Clark, possibly the Lone Ranger
John Merton as Kester, one of Smith's henchmen, a deserter and former captain in the Confederate Army
Sammy McKim as Sammy
Tom London as Felton, one of Smith's henchmen, a deserter and former sargeant in the Confederate Army
Raphael Bennet as Black Taggart, one of Smith's henchmen
Maston Williams as Joe Snead, one of Smith's henchmen
Frank McGlynn Sr. as Abraham Lincoln, assasinated President of the United States

[edit] Additional

Billy Bletcher as voice of The Lone Ranger
Earle W. Graser as the voice of The Lone Ranger when calling "Hi-Yo Silver!", Graser was the voice of the Lone Ranger on the initial radio series.

[edit] Production

A contract between Republic and George W. Trendle for a Lone Ranger serial, and the right to release a condensed version, was signed in June 1937. Trendle and The Lone Ranger Inc. were paid $18,750 plus 10% of any rental share above a $390,000 minimum.

There was some disagreement between Republic and Trendle but the contract gave Republic authority over the script and characters. Republic planned that the Lone Ranger would unmask in the last chapter, revealing himself as Allen King (Lee Powell). Prior to this the issue was confused by two voices for the Lone Ranger (mainly Billy Bletcher but with Earle Graser from the radio series providing the signature cry of "Hi-Yo Silver") and his stunt double (Dave Sharpe). Trendle was not happy with this development but could not prevent it. The dispute was solved by Republic giving Trendle the rights to the serial's music, which was later used on the radio.^[1]

The serial was filmed between 28 November and 31 December 1937. At nineteen days, this was the shortest production for a Republic serial until Zombies of the Stratosphere in 1952. The seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges on 12 February 1938, in common with other serials this is now considered the release date for the entire serial. The serial was re-edited into a 69-minute feature film, under the working title Return of the Ranger, but released as Hi-Yo-Silver on 10 April 1940.

The production budget was $160,315 but filming went overbudget with the negative cost reaching $168,117. At 4.9% ($7,802) this compares favourably with all serials up to this point, all of which had gone over budget and only Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island being any better at 4.7% over. The following serial, The Fighting Devil Dogs, was the first to come in under budget.

The Lone Ranger was a huge financial success for both Republic and Trendle. The serial also created new interest in the radio version and an additional hundred or so stations picked up the show. King Features even came out with a comic strip.^[2]

[edit] Chapter Titles

1. Hi-Yo Silver (30 min 17s)
2. Thundering Earth (18 min 22s)
3. The Pitfall (16 min 43s)
4. Agent of Treachery (16 min 39s)
5. The Steaming Cauldron (16 min 17s)
6. Red Man's Courage (16 min 28s)
7. Wheels of Disaster (15 min 58s)
8. Fatal Treasure (16 min 54s)
9. The Missing Spur (16 min 35s)
10. Flaming Fury (16 min 33s)
11. The Silver Bullet (16 min 18s)
12. Escape (16 min 22s)
13. The Fatal Plunge (16 min 37s) -- Re-Cap Chapter
14. Messengers of Doom (16 min 49s)
15. The Last of the Rangers (17 min 03s)

[edit] Cliffhangers

[edit] Cliffhangers

1. Hi-Yo Silver: The Lone Ranger is trampled by the Confederate deserters.
2. Thundering Earth: The Lone Ranger, Joan and George Blanchard are caught in a landslide casued by an explosion.
3. The Pitfall: The Lone Ranger falls into a spiked pit trap.
4. Agent of Treachery: With the Lone Ranger knocked unconscious, one of Smith's henchmen attempts to remove his mask.
5. The Steaming Cauldron: Rescuing Smith's ungrateful henchman, Taggart, the Lone Ranger is caught in the eruption of a geyser.
6. Red Man's Courage: Attempting to rescue Tonto, being burned at the stake by Comanches who have found silver bullets at the scene of a killing, the Lone Ranger is thrown from Silver and attacked.
7. Wheels of Disaster: The Loan Ranger and Joan are blown up while aboard a wagon full of gunpowder.
8. Fatal Treasure: Bob Stuart and Dick Forrest, both potentially the Lone Ranger, are caught in a well as Kester fires on it with a cannon.
9. The Missing Spur: Kester rips off one of the Lone Ranger's spurs and notices it's abscence on one of his captives.
10. Flaming Fury: The Lone Ranger and Tonto barricade themselves inside a barn, which catches fire and collapses.
11. The Silver Bullet: Bob Stuart is badly wounded in a gun fight and about to be finished off by one of Smith's henchmen.
12. Escape: Losing control of the reins of a stagecoach, the Lone Ranger (with Joan and George Blanchard), fall over an cliff.
13. The Fatal Plunge: Dick Forrest tackles Felton from a cave ledge and both fall to the floor below.
14. Messengers of Doom: The Lone Ranger is caught in a cave-in caused by gunfire.

[edit] Resolutions

1. Thundering Earth: The Lone Ranger distrupts the oncoming stampede with gunfire.
2. The Pitfall: The Lone Ranger takes cover under a ledge. Joan and George Blanchard outrace the landslide in their coach.
3. Agent of Treachery: The Lone Ranger escapes by clinging to the walls of the trap and climbing out.
4. The Steaming Cauldron: Tonto rescues the Lone Ranger.
5. Red Man's Courage: Silver rears, puching Taggart into the geyser, while the Lone Ranger pulls himself the safety by lassoing Silver's saddle.
6. Wheels of Disaster: The chief Dark Cloud releases both as ordinary lead bullets have been found in the bodies.
7. Fatal Treasure: The team of horses breaks free, taking Joan and the Loan Ranger with them.
8. The Missing Spur: Bob Stuart and Dick Forrest crawl through a pipe to another well and escape.
9. Flaming Fury: All four captives (Bob, Bert Allen and Dick) are missing a spur each.
10. The Silver Bullet: Both take cover in a pit and then escape on horseback.
11. Escape: The henchman menancing Bob Stuart is shot by the Lone Ranger.
12. The Fatal Plunge: The Lone Ranger, Joan and George jump clear.
13. Messengers of Doom: Felton is killed but Dick survives with a back injury.
14. The Last of the Rangers: The Lone Ranger takes cover but Dick Forrest is buried alive.

[edit] Stunts & Effects

Stunts by:
David Sharpe as The Lone Ranger
Yakima Canutt
Ken Cooper
Duke Green
Eddie Juaregui
George Magrill
Loren Riebe
Duke Taylor
Bill Yrigoyen
Joe Yrigoyen

[edit] References

• Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement; Mathis, Jack, 1995, ISBN 0-9632878-1-8
• The Lone Ranger at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] External Links

• The Lone Ranger at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lone Ranger serials at B-Westerns
• In The Balcony
• The Serial Squadron

Preceded by Zorro Rides Again (1937)

Republic Serial The Lone Ranger (1938)

Succeeded by The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938)