The Lone Ranger (serial)
| The Lone Ranger | |
|---|---|
Poster for Chapter 13 of The Lone Ranger
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| 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 |
| Edited by |
Edward Todd Helene Turner |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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15 chapters (264 minutes) (serial) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $160,315 (negative cost: $168,117) |
15 chapters (264 minutes) (serial)
The Lone Ranger is a 1938 American Republic Movie serial based on the radio program of the same name. 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 Republic serial release of 1938. The following year a sequel serial The Lone Ranger Rides Again was released.
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 of his first actions, he captures and assumes the identity of Texas' new Finance Commissioner, Colonel Marcus Jeffries, after having the real man murdered. When a contingent of Texas Rangers enters the territory, Snead, one of Smith's men, leads them into an ambush by Smith's "troopers". The Rangers are apparently wiped out, although one injured survivor is left. The survivor, nursed back to health by Tonto, swears to avenge the massacre and defeat "Colonel Jeffries" and his men.
When he is not operating as the Ranger, he appears under an assumed identity as one of a group of Texans resisting Smith's rule. Smith, through a henchman, has narrowed the field of suspects down to five specific members of the resistance. One of these five, Allen King, Bob Stuart, Bert Rogers, Dick Forrest, and Jim Clark, actually is the Ranger, but only Tonto, and the other four Texans, know which one it is. Together, they operate as an effective team attempting to end Smith's rule.
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 to Joan Blanchard (Lynn Roberts) 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 objected to Republic's plans for the serial. However, he could not prevent it as the contract gave Republic Pictures the right to do whatever it pleased with the character. Republic was notorious for making changes in its adaptations, the worst case of which was Captain America (1944), Prior to the reveal, the audience had been presented with several candidates who may have been the Lone Ranger but only one survived to the end. A similar approach was taken with The Masked Marvel (1943).
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