The Lone Ranger on Radio, Film and Television

The Lone Ranger has endured as an iconic figure in American popular culture, from his 1933 premier as a radio serial hero through a highly-rated television series (1949–1957) to a 2013 feature film. Created by script writer Fran Striker and radio station owner George W. Trendle, the character was meant to embody courage, fair play and honesty, and writers had to adhere to specific guidelines: “he never smokes … he uses precise speech … he never shoots to kill.” The popularity of the Ranger and his companion Tonto inspired later crime fighting duos like Batman and Robin, and The Green Hornet and Kato. This book examines the franchise in detail, with summaries and production details of the original radio episodes.

Longtime Western film buff Ed Andreychuk is the author of several film books. He lives in Baltimore.

Ed Andreychuk
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 188
Bibliographic Info: 30 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9972-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2971-1
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Introduction 1

One 19th Century Texas Rangers 3

Two Radio History 10

Three The 1938 Serial The Lone Ranger 17

Four The 1939 Serial The Lone Ranger Rides Again 36

Five The 1949–1957 TV Series The Lone Ranger 50

Six The 1956 Film The Lone Ranger 96

Seven The 1958 Film The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold 109

Eight The Animated Cartoons 122

Nine The 1981 Film The Legend of the Lone Ranger 132

Ten The 2003 TV Movie The Lone Ranger 148

Eleven The 2013 Film The Lone Ranger 156

Epilogue 168

Bibliography 171

Index 173