First published at 04:19 UTC on August 15th, 2019.
The Masked Rider of the Plains started out on radio in the early 1930s, went on to successful theatrical serials a few years later... In the mid '60s and early '80s he was featured in pretty good Saturday Morning cartoons. In 1981 Hollyw…
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The Masked Rider of the Plains started out on radio in the early 1930s, went on to successful theatrical serials a few years later... In the mid '60s and early '80s he was featured in pretty good Saturday Morning cartoons. In 1981 Hollywood tried to re-imagine him, only succeeding in pissing-off his fans with a dismal flop of a film. To prove that Hollywood has a collective, severe learning disability, they did the same thing again in 2013, only losing WAY more money this time around.
But the best remembered and loved version of THE LONE RANGER was from the 1949-1957 television series (which was followed by two theatrical films featuring the same stars). This was basically the first TV Western, and would be on the air in reruns for decades. The Ranger was an Absolute Good Guy in an era of popular culture when you could still have that sort of thing. When the BATMAN series came along in the mid-to-late 1960s, Adam West played the Caped Crusader in a close imitation of the Clayton Moore Lone Ranger's formal, polite speech patterns and unshakable moral standards. Only, in that more cynical era, it was considered cheesy and camp.
The villain of this introductory story arc is Butch Cavendish, played by Glenn Strange. By the time he played this role, he'd already tied Boris Karloff's record, putting on the neck-bolts as Frankenstein's Monster in three Universal horror films. He'd go on to become a familiar face on television as Sam the bartender on GUNSMOKE.
So return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, with a fiery horse, the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty HI-YO SILVER!
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