Lone Ranger lilves again...

[ricksegers]

Another attempt at a Lone Ranger movie. The last one was a disaster.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/18/johnny.depp.lone.ranger.ew/index.html

 

[azumanga]

Though this time around, you can't take the mask away from Clayton Moore -- he's dead.

 

[therealjm12]

This has been in the works for a while now. The Ranger part still has not been cast. George Clooney has been mentioned. I just hope they don't make a joke of it. I don't mind Tonto having a bigger part but not destroy the story. I met Jay Silverheels once.
He was full blooded Mohawk. He was very proud of the part he played as Tonto.

 

[flashback]

there was also a tv movie i think around 2000.i have up when tonto jumped off a roof and made like bruce lee beating up bullies threatening his sister ,i think ,and the ranger before he became the ranger.

 

[MattParker]

The TV series wasn't much either - especially after Trendle sold out to Wrather.

The Lone Ranger is, was and always will be a radio program. None of the adaptations (Republic serials, TV, cartoons, movies) measured up. And Clooney is completely wrong. The Lone Ranger's personality is dark and heavy; Clooney is too light-weight. And the Lone Ranger is masked, so even in a movie, the voice is of paramount importance in creating the character. Somebody like Kevin Conroy, although he is probably too old at this point. Or like Clancy Brown, who has also probably aged out of the role.

 

[Limp73]

I grew up with the 1950s TV series...for what it's worth it was kid-freindly and enjoyed years of reruns...all the way up to the 80s. The only drawback I thought was the orchestrated background music being very much lo-fi..practically Victrola-like quality.

Clayton Moore will always be the Lone Ranger to us baby boomers....but I think George Clooney should do some research to make the character believeable in this era...mind you the last Western I saw was Shanghai Noon about ten years ago....and before that Back to The Future Part 3.

We also lost its legendary announcer Fred Foy this past year. The Ranger will have to be re-invented,yet stay true to its original character.

 

[flashback]

I grew up with the 1950s TV series...for what it's worth it was kid-freindly and enjoyed years of reruns...all the way up to the 80s. The only drawback I thought was the orchestrated background music being very much lo-fi..practically Victrola-like quality.

Clayton Moore will always be the Lone Ranger to us baby boomers....but I think George Clooney should do some research to make the character believeable in this era...mind you the last Western I saw was Shanghai Noon about ten years ago....and before that Back to The Future Part 3.

We also lost its legendary announcer Fred Foy this past year. The Ranger will have to be re-invented,yet stay true to its original character.

i liked how on the 50`s tv series the fight at the end had to be exactly the same length every episode cause it had to be done durring the exact same music each week.

 

[MattParker]

Fred Foy was the announcer of the radio show from 1948 to 1954. Gerald Mohr was the announcer of the TV show. When Wrather put the show into syndication, they used Foy doing a truncated version of the opening but his voice was never used for narration in the program.

Moore was not true to the character. Especially when they had him smile so much. TV screwed up the Ranger in the 50s, like it screwed up Batman in the 60s.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

The TV series with Clayton Moore is my favorite of any in the history of the medium. To me, Clayton Moore was The Lone Ranger. That he may have smiled or showed kindness had nothing to do with any weakness. Remember, the series was aimed at young people although there were certainly many adults watching as well. To have the character as dark and otherwise inhospitable would not have worked in early TV or, quite frankly, in later years in re-runs. There was at that time, The Lone Ranger Creed. While some may laugh or otherwide deride it now, read it some time and see if the character as portrayed by Clayton Moore didn't live up to it.

 

[therealjm12]

I agree Clayton Moore will always be the true Lone Ranger. His Ranger handled the situations as needed. Even though John Reed had a crappy life he was still a "nice guy". As the series progressed I noticed so did the character of Tonto. Early episodes had Tonto going into town and getting the sh*t kicked out of him. Later episodes if a bad guy tried that he would end up with a knife between his ribs. That character development of Tonto may have been out of necessity during the year that Clayton Moore sat out. Sorta like Larry during the Shemp & Joe Besser years.

 

[landtuna]

You all need to remember that the westerns of the early 50's were in large part morality plays and the change in Lone Ranger's TV persona reflected that.

Not sure what the reference to the Three Stooges meant. I didn't follow them closely after Shemp died and couldn't stand the two 'Curly' replacements. But I don't remember Larry's role as being significantly different. I've always thought they could have done a lot more with his talents than they did.

 

[RadioStarOne]

Why did Clayton Moore sit a year out? What?

 

[landtuna]

Pay dispute.

 

[therealjm12]

Why did Clayton Moore sit a year out? What?

It's never really been explained. Supposedly it was a contract dispute. Moore was holding out for $$ but that may not be true. Maybe the producers were jealous of Moore's popularity and figured they could put an end to it. John Hart just didn't work out in the part. He was very stiff and really wasn't good enough of an actor to have a lead part. Probably the viewers noticed and demanded Clayton Moore back.

My reference to Larry Fine came from watching The Stooges this morning. It was a Shemp episode (hold hands you love birds). I have always noticed Larry really didn't do much during the Curly years. Made faces and mostly stayed in the background. Starting with the Shemp years he had more lines and actually had some good gags. No matter what, I agree Larry Fine was a great Stooge.

 

[landtuna]

Why did Clayton Moore sit a year out? What?

It's never really been explained. Supposedly it was a contract dispute. Moore was holding out for $$ but that may not be true. Maybe the producers were jealous of Moore's popularity and figured they could put an end to it. John Hart just didn't work out in the part. He was very stiff and really wasn't good enough of an actor to have a lead part. Probably the viewers noticed and demanded Clayton Moore back.

Bear in mind that by the end of the first season (52 episodes) the program had already won an Emmy nomination and was the most popular show on the new ABC network. It is difficult for me to understand how a producer would want to jeopardize that record.

My reference to Larry Fine came from watching The Stooges this morning. It was a Shemp episode (hold hands you love birds). I have always noticed Larry really didn't do much during the Curly years. Made faces and mostly stayed in the background. Starting with the Shemp years he had more lines and actually had some good gags. No matter what, I agree Larry Fine was a great Stooge.

From the earliest days with Ted Healy Larry was the "background" Stooge and this was amplified during the Curly years (1933-1946). Shemp came back into the act after Curly's stroke in '46 but he wasn't the center of attention that Curly had been so Larry became more recognizable. But, as Moe once explained "Larry's great love was the horses. He'd do his sessions then head for the track." It was pretty clear Larry Fine wasn't interested in expanding his Stooge role and that's a shame because he was reportedly one of the best dancers in Hollywood at one time and there is only one short I can remember where he got the chance to show his stuff.

 

[ixnay]

Fred Foy was the announcer of the radio show from 1948 to 1954. Gerald Mohr was the announcer of the TV show. When Wrather put the show into syndication, they used Foy doing a truncated version of the opening but his voice was never used for narration in the program.

Moore was not true to the character. Especially when they had him smile so much. TV screwed up the Ranger in the 50s, like it screwed up Batman in the 60s.

Yeah, Greenway Prods. made you believe Gotham City was the sunniest place or earth!

ixnay