The Lone Ranger (1938) is a film serial by Republic Pictures, inspired by the radio show of the same name. It stars Lee Powell, Chief Thundercloud, Stanley Andrews, and Billy Bletcher. The fifteen chapters of the serial were later condensed into the film Hi-Yo Silver, released in 1940.
The year is 1865. When Captain Mark Smith of the Confederate Army leads a band of deserters to conquer Texas, his first act is to capture and kill Texas’s Finance Commissioner, Colonel Marcus Jeffries, and assume his identity. A group of Texas Rangers enters the territory, but is led into an ambush and apparently wiped out. However, a single man survived and was nursed back to health by Tonto, and swears vengeance on “Jeffries” and his men for the massacre, working under the identity of the Lone Ranger.
When he is not working as the Lone Ranger, he appears under an assumed identity as one of a group of five Texans resisting Smith’s rule; only Tonto and the other four know who the true Lone Ranger is
Chapters:
- Hi-Yo Silver
- Thundering Earth
- The Pitfall
- Agent of Treachery
- The Steaming Cauldron
- Red Man's Courage
- Wheels of Disaster
- Fatal Treasure
- The Missing Spur
- Flaming Fury
- The Silver Bullet
- Escape
- The Fatal Plunge — Re Cap Chapter
- Messengers of Doom
- The Last of the Rangers
This serial was followed by a sequel the following year, The Lone Ranger Rides Again, starring Robert Livingston, Chief Thundercloud, and Ralph Dunn.
Homesteaders attempting to settle in a valley in New Mexico are beset by the Black Raiders, led by the son of rancher Craig Dolan. The Lone Ranger’s attempts to help the homesteaders are stymied when he is framed as a member of the Black Raiders. He is forced at times to take on the civilian identity of Bill Andrews to help the homesteaders keep their land.
Chapters:
- The Lone Ranger Returns
- Masked Victory
- The Black Raiders Strike
- The Cavern of Doom
- Agents of Deceit
- The Trap
- Lone Ranger at Bay
- Ambush
- Wheels of Doom
- The Dangerous Captive
- Death Below
- Blazing Peril — Re Cap Chapter
- Exposed
- Besieged
- Frontier Justice
Tropes found in the serials:
- Canon Discontinuity: The Republic serials are largely ignored, although the full-face mask is sometimes used for a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo in The Green Hornet.
- Cliffhanger: As was typical with the film serials of the day.
- Compilation Movie: The first serial was later edited into the film Hi-Yo Silver and released in 1940.
- Determined Homesteader: The Lone Ranger Rides Again features homesteaders trying to settle land owned by a rancher who does not want them there.
- Film Serial: The sixth serial produced by Republic, and the first Republic serial of 1938.
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Missing Episode: The Lone Ranger Rides Again was believed to be lost for a long time, but copies with Spanish subtitles have recently been found and re-issued.
