1930's 'The Lone Ranger' Remake

[katiemakeup]

Jerry Bruckheimer and the writers of Pirates of the Caribbean are remaking The Lone Ranger. It is a Disney production.

 

[Jedburgh OSS]

Let's hope this one works

The forgettable 1981 flick starring an unknown with the unforgettable name of Klinton Spilsbury flopped something fierce. As good as Christopher Lloyd is (Reverend Jim, Dr. Emmett Brown) he wasn't right for Butch Cavendish. With a budget of $18 million (quite a bit 27 years ago) it had a lot going for it. Spilsbury's voice was even redubbed by James Keach, Stacy's brother and Jane Seymour's husband. BTW, when I was a kid I got to meet Clayton Moore, THE Lone Ranger like Sean Connery is THE James Bond. He came to a shopping center in Indy for an autograph and photo session. He was a straight-arrow upstanding guy just like the character he portrayed. A nay vote for Adam Beach as Tonto.

 

[Doh!]

I hope they cast somebody who's at least in the their 30s. The Lone Ranger should be a man, not some refugee from The WB (or the CW or whatever they call themselves these days).

This time, at least cast somebody who can record their own voice!

 

[dhermann1]

The key to the whole thing is sincerity. Clayton Moore totally believed in what the Lone Ranger stood for. From what I read and heard (I didn't see it) the 1981 flick made fun of the image. I'd love to hear some of the original RADIO episodes. The Lone Ranger was already a legend before TV ever came along. And on radio he didn't say "Hi Ho, Silver"! According to my mother, who was a huge fan, he said "Up and away, you big white fellow!" when he galloped off into the sunset. And Tonto would follow with "Get 'em up, Scout!" Boy was I a big Lone Ranger fan in 1956!

 

[The Wolf]

I wasn't a big fan of the radio series. It is amazing how many episodes had Tonto just saying "Ughh". [doh!]
I enjoy the television series very much.
I own the Spillsbury version on tape but there are too many things wrong with it (in my opinion) to list.
A newer version was made for the WB recently, written by a writer I like, that I simply could not watch.
I also believe sincerity is the way to go.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Twitch]

I can't think of one guy in Hollywood today that would fill our bill of being a true sincere gentleman and man amongst men as Clayton Moore was.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Leave it up to Hollywood...

They will have to cast Ben Stiller as LR and Owen Wilson as Tonto. I have had enought of the post-modern, revisionist, sarcasm that producers feel every remake needs to have. It was funny for the first Brady Bunch movie but enough is enough already!

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Clayton Moore story

This is a little long. A few years back, I attended a presentation (I think at Dragon Con), and the guy giving the lecture had been a DJ when he was a young man. He did the typical local radio promotions, including live broadcasts from car dealerships. At one of those promotions, the dealer had hired Clayton Moore as well. Afterwards, the driver who was supposed to take Clayton to the airport was a no show, so the radio guys (self described as pot head hippies) volunteered to give Clayton a ride in their clunker. Clayton accepted. So, there they all are driving down the road, when bam, they get hit by a guy in a Cadillac. No damage to the caddy, but the little car got banged up pretty good. The hippie DJs get out of their car, talk things over with the other driver, and eventually the Caddy driver tells them to go away, because it isn't like the police are going to believe the story of a couple of hippies. That (according to the guy telling the story) is when Clayton Moore gets out of the car, still in costume, and says "They'll believe me".

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Clayton Moore story

I should have asked my wife. She was with me when I heard that story, and it was not at Dragon Con. It came from the actor/DJ Jay Thomas, and she believes it was at a fund raiser or benefit here in NOLA that we heard the story. She also added a few things about why I didn't ask her in the first place (I don't know), did I take the trash to the curb this morning (yes), did I get the trash form the kitchen first (no, which means I get no credit for taking the trash to the curb), etc.

 

[Haversack]

I seem to recall that George MacDonald Fraser, (Flashman, The 3/4 Musketeers, et. al.) wrote in his book, _The Lights on at Signpost_, that he had written a screenplay for a Lone Ranger Movie back in the 1970-80s. If I remember rightly, there was some problem with some of the historic detail in it that Fraser used as plot devices. "Not acceptable to the modern audience" or words to that effect. I rather doubt Disney will be using it...

Haversack.

 

[Doh!]

Here's that Jay Thomas story, told by the man himself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhB4kDwZu7M

 

[Twitch]

Lee Majors woulda made a good Ranger back in his day. The difficult thing we have here is not only on-screen visual personna but Moore's had that commanding voice. Gott have the whole package.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

They have to have that deep, bass voice. Brace Beemer, who played the role on radio and Clayton Moore had deep, throaty voices. For one year during the TV run, an actor named John Hart got the role and he had the wrong voice.

I listened to the radio program religiously and read all the comics until the uniform changed.

I date so far back on Lone Ranger stuff that I also despised the change in outfits. Until sometime in 1951, the Long Ranger wore a red shirt with black pants. I was not thrilled when I saw the TV program and there he was, my favorite childhood hero wearing some twinky powder blue outfit. Or, at least I figured it was powder blue glaring at it from our old B&W Admiral TV set.

karol

 

[dhermann1]

I've seen early pics with that livery. I found it very strange. I always thought the greyish outfit added to his sort of ghostly persona. Anyone ever read any of the novels? They were after the radio show, but before the TV show. They gave him a much grittier personality.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Yes, I read one of the novels when I was a kid, I think it was The Lone Ranger and the Mystery Ranch.

There were also some early movie serials starring one of those B western cowboys (Robert Livingston and George Montgomery) and Tonto was played by a real Native American named Chief Thundercloud. I've never seen them, I understand they are extremely rare, some only existing in foreign languages.

If you go back far enough into Lone Ranger history (late 1930's), the books portray him wearing a vest and I've even seen him in chaps, and also a full mask, so the blue or gray uniform was the most recent and seems to have lasted the longest.

There was even a short time, when he wore yellow and black, a rather ugly outfit, I thought.

I much preferred (and still do) the red and black as in the older comics. You can still buy Lone Ranger action figures with that color. I have a Captain America Lone Ranger in red and black, also a small metal figure.

There are some new Lone Ranger comics out and from the looks of the covers, I have to discern he has gone over to the dark side, vengeful and angry looking, like the Batman movies.

I wonder if the new movie will portray him like that?

karol

 

[Custom79]

Not again!

I was a fan of Starsky and Hutch as a kid growing up and was thoroughly disgusted with the so-called tongue-in-cheek remake that Stiller and Wilson did.

If they are going to remake a classic western hero, it should be done with respect to the many kids who grew on the legend.

C79

Leave it up to Hollywood...

They will have to cast Ben Stiller as LR and Owen Wilson as Tonto. I have had enought of the post-modern, revisionist, sarcasm that producers feel every remake needs to have. It was funny for the first Brady Bunch movie but enough is enough already!

 

[jake_fink]

Isn't the Lone Ranger supposed to be the great grandfather of the Green Hornet or some such? Is the Lone Ranger Movie in any way going to be related to the Green Hornet movie that Seth Rogan is supposed to be making?
:eusa_doh:

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Yes, the Green Hornet is a descedent of The Lone Ranger or at least his family. I never heard that he married anyone, but he did have a brother, whose name may have been Dan Reid, who was killed in the Butch Cavendish ambush.

His brother had a young son, also named Dan Reid; later in the comics and also in the TV series, the young nephew joins the Lone Ranger and Tonto on some of their adventures.

The Green Hornet's grandfather was, I believe, the LR's nephew, Dan Reid.

The Lone Ranger really never had a first name, although I heard once it was Bill. He was given the first name of John in the ill-fated 1981 film, Legend of the Lone Ranger, but that is the only time that name was used. I have no idea where I heard the name Bill.

I have no idea or information on the Green Hornet movie.

karol

 

[Custom79]

John Reid

I believe the real identity of the original Lone Ranger is John Reid.

C79

 

[K.D. Lightner]

John Reid is used today; I believe I read that it was the name used in the 1981 film, but nowhere else.

John is OK with me, the poor guy has to have a first name.

karol