| The Lone Ranger | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | |
| Developed by | Format Films |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Marvin Miller |
| Music by | Vic Schoen |
| Country of origin | United States United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 26 (78 segments) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Arthur A. Jacobs |
| Producer | Herbert Klynn |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Format Films Halas and Batchelor |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 10, 1966 (1966-09-10) – September 6, 1969 (1969-09-06) |
The Lone Ranger is ananimated television series that ran for 26 episodes Saturday mornings onCBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969.[1] The series was produced byHerb Klynn andJules Engel ofFormat Films, Hollywood, and designed and made at theHalas and Batchelor Cartoon Film studios inLondon,England &Artransa Park Film Studios in Australia.[2]
In 1980,Filmation produced anotherLone Ranger cartoon series.
The adventures in thisLone Ranger series were similar in tone and nature to CBS' prime-timeWeird Western,The Wild Wild West, in that some of the plots were bizarre and had elements ofscience fiction andsteampunk technology included in the story.[3] One of the Lone Ranger's archenemies in the animated series was a dwarf named Tiny Tom and his giant henchman named Goliath; an analogue toThe Wild Wild West'sDr. Miguelito Loveless and his giant companion Voltaire. Other supervillain-style foes in the series included the Fly, the Frog People, the Black Widow, the Queen Bee, the Iron Giant, Mephisto, Mr. Happy, Mr. Midas, the Rainmaker and Shandarr the Puppetmaster.[4]
The Lone Ranger's voice was provided byMichael Rye {r.n. John Michael Riorden Billsbury}, andShepard Menken provided that of Tonto. The narrator in the opening titles wasMarvin Miller, whose narration ran:
When the factories first began to send their pall of smoke over the cities, and farmlands of the East offered only the barest living, Americans turned their faces toward the West. They poured into the new territory by the thousands--fording the mighty rivers, climbing the mountains, fighting Indians and outlaws--praying...toiling...dying.
It was a hard land, a hostile land. Only the strong survived...a new American breed--the pioneer.
In this forge upon this anvil was hammered out a man who became a legend...a daring and resourceful man who hated thievery and oppression.
His face masked...his true name unknown...with his faithful Indian companion at his side, he thundered across the West on his great white stallion, appearing out of nowhere to strike down injustice and outlawry...and then, vanishing as mysteriously as he came.
His sign: a silver bullet.His name:The Lone Ranger!!!
Other guest voices were provided byPaul Winchell,Agnes Moorehead, andHans Conried.
The animation was limited. But the backgrounds had a dark style, with blocks of colorelided from the line, which visually set the show apart from many other cartoon TV series of the time. The distinct atmospheric music was composed byVic Schoen, who also provided the powerful arrangement ofGioachino Rossini'sWilliam Tell Overture for the show's memorable opening sequence. Along with the Halas and Batchelor animators, the background department, led by Tom Bailey, Ted Petengel and designer Chris Miles, were responsible for setting the graphic style. The drawings were produced by chinagraph pencil on cell. Colored papers were cut or torn under or against the lines of the background, producing a dramatic and rich textural effect.
| No. in season | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Trickster / The Crack of Doom / The Human Dynamo" | September 10, 1966 (1966-09-10) |
| 2 | "Ghost Riders / Wrath of the Sun God / Day of the Dragon" | September 17, 1966 (1966-09-17) |
| 3 | "The Secret Army of General X / The Cat People / Night of the Vampire" | September 24, 1966 (1966-09-24) |
| 4 | "Bear Claw / The Hunter and the Hunted / Mephisto" | October 1, 1966 (1966-10-01) |
| 5 | "Revenge of the Mole / The Frog People / Terror in Toyland" | October 8, 1966 (1966-10-08) |
| 6 | "Black Mask of Revenge / The Sacrifice / Puppetmaster" | October 15, 1966 (1966-10-15) |
| 7 | "Valley of the Dead / Forest of Death / The Fly" | October 22, 1966 (1966-10-22) |
| 8 | "A Time to Die / Ghost Tribe of Commanche Flat / Attack of the Lilliputians" | October 29, 1966 (1966-10-29) |
| 9 | "Circus of Death / The Brave / Cult of the Black Widow" | November 5, 1966 (1966-11-05) |
| 10 | "El Conquistador / Snow Creature / The Prairie Pirate" | November 12, 1966 (1966-11-12) |
| 11 | "Man of Silver / Nightmare in Whispering Pine / Sabotage" | November 19, 1966 (1966-11-19) |
| 12 | "Mastermind / The Lost Tribe of Golden Giants / Monster of Scavenger Crossing" | January 7, 1967 (1967-01-07) |
| 13 | "The Black Panther / Thomas the Great / Island of the Black Widow" | January 14, 1967 (1967-01-14) |
| 14 | "Paddle Wheeling Pirates / A Day at Death's Head Pass / The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist" | September 9, 1967 (1967-09-09) |
| 15 | "The Kid / Stone Hawk / Sky Raiders" | September 16, 1967 (1967-09-16) |
| 16 | "The Man from Pinkerton / Tonto and the Devil Spirits / The Deadly Glassman" | September 23, 1967 (1967-09-23) |
| 17 | "The Black Knight of Death / Taka / Fire Rain" | September 30, 1967 (1967-09-30) |
| 18 | "The Secret of Warlock / Wolfmaster / Death Hunt" | October 7, 1967 (1967-10-07) |
| 19 | "The Terrible Tiny Tom / Fire Monster / The Iron Giant" | October 14, 1967 (1967-10-14) |
| 20 | "Town Tamers, Inc. / Curse of the Devil Dolls / It Came from Below" | October 21, 1967 (1967-10-21) |
| 21 | "Black Arrow / The Rainmaker / Flight of the Hawk" | October 28, 1967 (1967-10-28) |
| 22 | "The Avenger / Battle at Barnaby's Bend / Puppetmaster's Revenge" | November 4, 1967 (1967-11-04) |
| 23 | "Reign of the Queen Bee / Kingdom of Terror / Quicksilver" | November 11, 1967 (1967-11-11) |
| 24 | "The Legend of Cherokee Smith / The Day the West Stood Still / Border Rats" | November 18, 1967 (1967-11-18) |
| 25 | "Lash and the Arrow / Spectre of Death / Mr. Happy" | January 6, 1968 (1968-01-06) |
| 26 | "Mr. Midas / unknown / unknown" | January 13, 1968 (1968-01-13) |