Clayton Moore is the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels is Tonto and this time their mission is to halt hostilities between the whites and Indians in Texas territory, near the town of Brazada.
Big-time rancher and local power broker Reece Kilgore (Lyle Bettger) is tired of Indians slipping across the reservation to butcher and steal cattle. He’d like nothing better than to exterminate the Indians. He’d also like to lay claim to Spirit Mountain, their sacred place, for reasons no one’s quite sure of.
Cheif Red Hawk is trying to keep his Indians peaceful, but a younger, stronger brave named Angry Horse is itching for war. And after kidnapping Reece’s young daughter Lila … well, he just might get one. Frustrated by his wife’s inability to give him a son, Reece has been molding the young girl in his image.
Reece says he wants to bring peace to the territory so it can become a state. The Lone Ranger and Tonto suspect Reece has ulterior motives, especially after a young cowhand named Ramirez goes missing at the end of a cattle drive to Abilene.
Review:
This was definitely aimed at a pretty young audience. But if you keep that in mind, it’s better than you might expect. Particularly adult is the subplot of villain Reece Kilgore being dissatisfied with wife’s failure to deliver him a son and claiming their only child as his own as a result.
Not that there aren’t a couple of corny moments … OK, maybe more than a couple. At one point, the Lone Ranger smashes a rock and, presto, discovers the secret of Spirit Mountain. In another scene, Tonto is fighting an entire mob. He tells his horse Scout to go for help. Scout dashes to the Lone Ranger’s camp and fetches him back to town just as the street scuffle is ending and Tonto is about to be hanged. Hey, I try to avoid spoilers in these reviews. But I don’t even consider that one. What? You expected Tonto to be lynched.
The Lone Ranger TV series debuted in 1949 and continued until 1957. Moore sat out the 1953 season of the show after a salary dispute, was temporarily replaced by John Hart, but was back a year later. The show ran for 217 episodes; Moore appeared in 169. And in this film, he slips into his old prospector persona twice to get information that wouldn’t be available to a masked avenger.
Directed by:
Stuart Heisler
Cast:
Clayton Moore … The Lone Ranger
Jay Silverheels … Tonto
Lyle Bettger … Reece Kilgore
Bonita Granville … Welcome Kilgore
Beverly Washburn … Lila Kilgore
Perry Lopez … Pete Ramirez
Robert Wilke … Cassidy
John Pickard … Sheriff Sam Kimberley
Michael Ansara … Angry Horse
Frank DeKova … Chief Red Hawk
Charles Meredith … Governor
Mickey Simpson … Powder
Zon Murray … Goss
Lane Chandler … Chip Walker
Runtime: 80 min.
Memorable lines:
Governor: “I expected to find you a much older man, Mr. Kilgore.”
Kilgore: “Oh. Why?”
Governor: “I supposed because of your position in these parts. Your wealth and influence.”
Kilgore: “Well, our here, governor, you have to get a pretty fast start. You see in these parts, your chances of growing old might not always be too good.”
Lone Ranger, after rescuing Tonto from a hanging: “How’s your throat, Tonto?”
Tonto: “It feeling better. That plenty close call, kemosabe.”
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