Thank You Mask Man

1968 ""

Thank You Mask Man

6.5 | en | Animation

This short animation set to Lenny Bruce's live monologue tells how the Lone Ranger hooks up with Tonto. With Bruce doing all the voices, this animation begins with local folks upset at the Lone Ranger because he won't stay around to be thanked after a good deed. So, he stays and finds he likes hearing "Thank you mask man." When their attention starts to shift elsewhere, he shocks and disgusts the townspeople with a final request. According to the cartoon’s producer John Magnuson, at early showings of this, gay audiences were upset by its apparent “fag-bashing”. And it’s true, part of the fun of the piece is just crying out “Masked man’s a fag”, scandalising and defacing the image of this all-American hero. But it’s within the larger context of Bruce’s analysis of heroism, and that the towns people reject the Masked Man is because of their prejudices, not because Bruce is asking us to endorse them. (from: http://ukjarry.blogspot.de/2010/01/352-lenny-bruce-thank-you-mask-man.html)

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6.5 | en | Animation , Comedy , Western | More Info

Released: January. 01,1968 | Released Producted By: Columbus Productions , Imagination Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

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Cast

Lenny Bruce

Director

John Magnuson

Producted By

Columbus Productions , Imagination

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Trailers & Images

Cast

Lenny Bruce

as The Lone Ranger / Various (voice)

The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth Lenny Bruce: Without Tears Thank You Mask Man Lenny Bruce in 'Lenny Bruce' Dance Hall Racket

Reviews

MartinHafer It seems everyone that has so far reviewed this short film absolutely loved it and so my review is the odd-ball. It isn't that I found THANK YOU MASK MAN offensive that I only gave it a score of 2. Sure, the Lone Ranger in this short is into homosexuality and bestiality--and I am sure this will turn a few heads. My reasons for giving it a 2 are because I just didn't enjoy the cartoon--it wasn't that funny and the animation quality was poor. I think the reason I didn't find the cartoon funny or subversive is that times have changed. What was controversial in 1971 is passé today--or at least well on its way. With "South Park" and "Robot Chicken" on television (and not even pay cable), talking about these topics is a common thing. Since it no longer has shock value, I must look at the humor itself--is there anything about the film that is remotely funny other than shocking and dirty words? Well, in my opinion, no. Lenny Bruce's stream of consciousness rapid rambling just seemed deadly flat and uninteresting.Perhaps some might enjoy this because it's a stroll down memory lane. In other words, it either reminds them of Lenny Bruce or it reminds them of watching this "bad film" with friends. Well, that's fine. But if you simply look at it for what it is today, it just doesn't hold up over time.

Corey31398 This short comic is outright hilarious. My brothers and I saw it once about 15 years ago and recorded it on a cassette and passed it out to everyone we knew. We haven't stopped laughing about it or watching it since. We just ordered it on disc and can't wait until it arrives. My best friend is gay and could not stop laughing through the entire show.We have gotten dozens and dozens of people hooked on this short cartoon. We are trying to find other short cartoons like this one. I can't seem to find any more by this particular comedian.If anyone knows of any, please let me know. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

dmorris001 I first saw this Lenny Bruce skit on video when I was in college(20 years ago)....Actually never thought I'd see it again, but I was fortunate to get my hands on a VHS copy! Lenny was a pure genius and the Lone Ranger skit is so damn funny...Just thinking about the idea of the Lone Ranger being gay is enough to make you laugh..LOL.Too bad that people in the 60's were so uptight....They had the "Leave it to Beaver" family mentality....So of course, they couldn't accept outlandish humor like this! If Lenny were around doing comedy TODAY, he'd be a big hit!You can find this gem at the END of the Lenny Bruce Performance Film, which is hard, but not impossible to find.... Amazon.com has several sellers offering it as well.I think I better transfer this to DVD...just in case the VHS tape breaks!!

ibuck-2 Easily the best thing about the Lenny Bruce: Performance Film video. While the performance portion is one of Bruce's worst, this short shows him at his satirical best. The riff on homophobia isn't even the best part...the commentary on accepting thank-yous and the resultant egotism and self-aggrandizement are priceless, especially when the Mask Man goes to his mailbox only to discover that the Messiah has returned, and society has no need for him once evil has been eliminated.