LeonLouisRicci
A fitting and bravura end to the team of Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels as the West's most exciting vigilante team (Zorro worked alone). From the initial concept, the coupling of a White Man and an Indian as faithful companions set the stage for a coming together of the races and respect for the Native American.This Lone Ranger movie takes it to the logical and presents a story here that is provocative and ahead of its time, especially for the impressionable youth market. This cannot be overstated. Our Heroes are just that. They have a quality that is remarkable, commendable, and a Mythos that will endure forever.This movie is a wonderful experience. A colorful, action filled, Western that has an elevated script, some penetrating violence, and characters that are believable, with a depth of behavior found only in the better Westerns of the time. This final outing retires the beloved duo and is quite an accomplishment from all involved. This can proudly be revisited by generations to come as the Lone Ranger rides again and can exemplify the "better Angels of our nature" for all ages.
Neil Welch
As an older person, much childhood enjoyment was derived from the opening fanfare of the William Tell Overture heralding the monochrome appearance of the masked man and his Indian sidekick on the 9 inch cathode ray tube housed in the huge piece of furniture hogging the corner of the living room. The grey-clad vigilante in the black mask was my hero.I saw this film at the cinema when I was 6, but I remember nothing other than the shock of discovering that the Lone Ranger wore blue, not grey.And now it turns up on DVD. The noticeably low production values are, nonetheless, higher than those for the TV series. And despite a budget which is clearly somewhat meagre, the film is made with care. It looks good, it is well written, and it is well acted.And, by heck, it brought back some memories, Kemo Sabe!
bsmith5552
"The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold" was the second of two features made in the 50s starring Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. Based on the long running TV series, this film was also produced in color by Jack Wrather. As in the previous entry, there is an excellent cast of veteran western performers. The "lost city" of the title is an old Spanish city of gold hidden away on Indian tribal lands. There is a five piece amulet that when assembled, will show the location of the treasure. The holders of the various pieces begin to turn up murdered by a gang of hooded riders and its up to our heroes to save the day. The baddies are led by Fran Henderson (Noreen Nash) whose chief henchman Ross Brady (Douglas Kennedy) does all of the dirty work. Finally, there is only one missing piece. The Lone Ranger disguises himself as a southern gentleman bounty hunter in order to gain Henderson's confidence. The old Chief (John Miljan) laments for his missing grandson who turns out to be the town doctor (Norman Frederic). Finally, The Lone Ranger and Tonto sort things out and deal with the villains. In addition to those mentioned, Lisa Monteil appears as an Indian maiden, Ralph Moody as the Padre, Charles Watts as the corrupt sheriff and Lane Bradford and Bill Henry as Kennedy's henchmen. Clayton Moore had been around since the late 30s, appearing in many "B" westerns and starring in several serials. By the time this film was made, he had become so identified with the Lone Ranger, that he never made another feature film. Jay Silverheels similarly came up through the "B" movie ranks and appeared in several Universal westerns in the 50s and the Glenn Ford western "Santee" as late as 1973.
Allen J. Duffis (sataft-2)
Although beautifully shot, this United Artists feature is not quite as good as the first Lone Ranger big screen color outing of 1956 by Warner Brothers. But neither is it average, for the cinematic effort does go boldly where most westerns of the time dared not. Remarkably, this 1958 film takes on racial bigotry in a manner that was quite daring for a family western of this period. In point of fact, the writers of this feature should be applauded for going a step farther and making racial "passing" an integral part of an otherwise ordinary plot. How many dramatically significant family films of the time can one name that would dare to have dealt with such an emotionally explosive premise?It should also be noted, Jay Silverheels for the first time, has a much greater speaking role and acting function than normally allowed for his character, Tonto. All in all, with solid acting from most of it's participants, this is not a bad western. On the whole, the film is thoroughly enjoyable, on several levels, for all members of the family.
AD
