The Lone Ranger (1966 TV series)
The Lone Ranger is an American animated television series that ran 26 episodes on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969.[1] The series was produced by Herb Klynn and Jules Engel of Format Films, Hollywood, and designed and made at the Halas and Batchelor Cartoon Film studios in London, England & Artransa Park Studios in Australia.[2]
| The Lone Ranger | |
|---|---|
An example of an episode, "Day of the Dragon". | |
| Genre | Western |
| Created by | George W. Trendle Fran Striker |
| Developed by | Format Films |
| Written by | Tom Dagenais L.L. Goldman Ken Sobol |
| Directed by | Rudy Larriva Bill Tytla Art Babbitt John Halas Stan Green Mike Mills Tom Halley Cam Ford Harold Whitaker Jackie Huie Raymond Leach |
| Starring | Michael Rye Shepard Menken |
| Narrated by | Marvin Miller |
| Music by | Vic Schoen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Arthur P. Jacobs |
| Producer(s) | Herbert Klynn |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Format Films, Halas and Batchelor |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 10, 1966 – September 6, 1969 |
In 1980, Filmation produced another Lone Ranger cartoon series.
Overview
The adventures in this Lone Ranger series were similar in tone and nature to CBS' prime-time Weird Western, The Wild Wild West, in that some of the plots were bizarre and had elements of science fiction and steampunk technology included in the story.[3] One of the Lone Ranger's archenemies in the animated series was a dwarf named Terrible Tiny Tom; an analogue to The Wild Wild West's Dr. Miguelito Loveless. Other supervillain-style foes in the series included the Fly, Frogman, Black Widow, Iron Giant, Mephisto, Mr. Happy and the Puppetmaster.[4]
Cast
- Michael Rye — Lone Ranger
- Shepard Menken — Tonto
- Dick Beals — Tiny Tom
- Agnes Moorehead — Black Widow
- Hans Conried — Mephisto
- Paul Winchell — The Rain Maker
Production
The Lone Ranger's voice was provided by Michael Rye {r.n. John Michael Riorden Billsbury}, and Shepard Menken provided that of Tonto. The narrator in the opening titles was Marvin 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 by Paul Winchell, Agnes Moorehead, and Hans Conried.
The animation was limited. But the backgrounds had a dark style, with blocks of color elided from the line, which visually set the show apart from many other cartoon TV series of the time. The distinct atmospheric music was composed by Vic Schoen, who also provided the powerful arrangement of Gioachino Rossini's William 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.
Episodes
| Nº | Cartoons | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Trickster / The Crack of Doom / The Human Dynamo" | September 10, 1966 |
| 2 | "Ghost Riders / Wrath of the Sun God / Day of the Dragon" | September 17, 1966 |
| 3 | "The Secret Army of General X / The Cat People / Night of the Vampire" | September 24, 1966 |
| 4 | "Bear Claw / The Hunter and the Hunted / Mephisto" | October 1, 1966 |
| 5 | "Revenge of the Mole / The Frog People / Terror in Toyland" | October 8, 1966 |
| 6 | "Black Mask of Revenge / The Sacrifice / Puppetmaster" | October 15, 1966 |
| 7 | "Valley of the Dead / Forest of Death / The Fly" | October 22, 1966 |
| 8 | "A Time to Die / Ghost Tribe of Commanche Flat / Attack of the Lilliputians" | October 29, 1966 |
| 9 | "Circus of Death / The Brave / Cult of the Black Widow" | November 5, 1966 |
| 10 | "El Conquistador / Snow Creature / The Prairie Pirate" | November 12, 1966 |
| 11 | "Man of Silver / Nightmare in Whispering Pine / Sabotage" | November 19, 1966 |
| 12 | "Mastermind / The Lost Tribe of Golden Giants / Monster of Scavenger Crossing" | January 7, 1967 |
| 13 | "The Black Panther / Thomas the Great / Island of the Black Widow" | January 14, 1967 |
| 14 | "Paddle Wheeling Pirates / A Day at Death's Head Pass / The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist" | September 9, 1967 |
| 15 | "The Kid / Stone Hawk / Sky Raiders" | September 16, 1967 |
| 16 | "The Man from Pinkerton / Tonto and the Devil Spirits / The Deadly Glassman" | September 23, 1967 |
| 17 | "The Black Knight of Death / Taka / Fire Rain" | September 30, 1967 |
| 18 | "The Secret of Warlock / Wolfmaster / Death Hunt" | October 7, 1967 |
| 19 | "The Terrible Tiny Tom / Fire Monster / The Iron Giant" | October 14, 1967 |
| 20 | "Town Tamers, Inc. / Curse of the Devil Doll / It Came from Below" | October 21, 1967 |
| 21 | "Black Arrow / The Rainmaker / Flight of the Hawk" | October 28, 1967 |
| 22 | "The Avenger / Battle at Barnaby's Bend / Puppetmaster's Revenge" | November 4, 1967 |
| 23 | "Reign of the Queen Bee / Kingdom of Terror / Quicksilver" | November 11, 1967 |
| 24 | "The Legend of Cherokee Smith / The Day the West Stood Still / Border Rats" | November 18, 1967 |
| 25 | "Lash and the Arrow / Spectre of Death / Mr. Happy" | January 6, 1968 |
| 26 | "Mr. Midas / Unknown / Unknown" | January 13, 1968 |
Home video availability
The 1960s animated cartoon TV series version of The Lone Ranger was not available on home video as of the middle of January 2017. This was partially explainable as a result of confusion over the ownership of the copyright to it. However, Universal Television, which had been partially responsible for the show's production in the sense of having commissioned Format Films and Halas and Batchelor Animation to work on it with the permission of Jack Wrather Productions, then owners of the Lone Ranger copyright, could be said to have a legitimate copyright-ownership claim.
References
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present (4 ed.). Penguin Books. p. 489. ISBN 978-0-14-024916-3.
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 513–515. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 369–370. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.