THE LONE RANGER
(1938) on
DVD
Featuring Lee Powell, Herman Brix and Victor "Chief Thunder
Cloud" Daniels -- Complete, Unsubtitled, and in English
Hallelujah, "Llanero Solo" is no more. The Lone Ranger is
excellent. Watched it over 2 days, and enjoyed the heck out
of it. -- Felix Lynx
What a hoot! I have to say it's, perhaps, the best serial
I've ever seen, and I'm a huge fan of Flash Gordon! And
your restoration is topnotch. --
Todd VanSlyke, IL
I recieved my copy of the restored Edition of the original
Lone Ranger serial and I loved it . . . one of the best
serials I have ever seen. Your crew did a great job piecing
together this lost treasure and I highly recommend it to
anybody interested in classic cliffhangers. --
Herb Dierking
I
received my LONE RANGER serial today; I have thus far
viewed the first 3 chapters. All I can say to this is WOW!
It is exactly as you promised it----flawed in places, but
definitely intact, and very viewable . . . your efforts in
restoring this serial for us fans deserve a standing
ovation. BTW, you may be interested in knowing I viewed
these 3 chapters on my computer 22 inch HDMI monitor---and
I still found them extremely viewable. You cannot help what
wasn't there but thank God I now have this complete
edition. Once word gets out, you should sell plenty of this
set. Great job, Eric. I doubt anyone else could have done
any better. . . I hope all you guys will get a chance to
see a remarkable adventure and I do mean SEE IT as complete
now as it can possibly be. --
Dr. Tobor
it
is exactly as Doc wrote. I did watch it on a large screen
TV, and it still looked good. While it isn't close to being
like a studio release print, it is miles ahead of what we
have seen before.
-- Pa Stark
Received my copy today and am VERY pleased, a great
improvement over what we've had for so many years . . .
It's so good that I can now see which actor is playing the
Lone Ranger, as well as Yak's saggy rear end. What fun.
--
Kane Richmond
HI
folks~ Thanks very much Doc!!!! I've only watched 4
chapters so far, and I have not experienced any
disappointment at all seeing it on a 36" TV . . . Great
fun. I felt like I was 10 years old again. Thanks again for
a job well done. I'm going to take my time with this one
and savor every moment. --
WillieJG
WOW ! ! What a difference ! I can finally see clearly
what's going on. I just finished watching the first three
chapters, because I had to control myself. Although I
watched it on my 52" HD TV, I was not disappointed with the
quality, and noticed there was not any annoying artifacts
or distractions to really complain about. Considering this
is made up of pieces of the only existing elements, it is
AWESOME ! Doc, you once again outdid yourself. On behalf of
all serialdom, Thank you for your efforts on this exciting
serial, and keep up the good work. --
The Lightning
Dr.
Grood has once again delivered the goods. Looks great. Many
thanks! --ADCHIMP
Very
nice job -- Chuck
Anderson, B-Westerns.com
Yes, you read that right, and no, we aren't fooling.
And since there is such high collector and fan interest in this title, we'll skip the usual plot summary and blurb and instead give you a FAQ on what this edition is all about.
Q: Is this the first LONE RANGER serial, the one with the 5 Texas Rangers, including Lee Powell and Herman Brix and Hal Taliaferro, and in which the Lone Ranger's identity is only revealed at the very end? The Republic Pictures version of the Lone Ranger's origin?
A: Yes, this is it.
Q: The one that is supposed to have been destroyed after its initial release, and which has been lost ever since?
A: Yes, that's it. Republic was apparently under contract to destroy the existing prints of the serial after their license on the character lapsed, and, according to Clayton Moore and others, were burned on the Republic back lot. But some partially altered foreign-language release versions did survive.
Q: You mean like that version with the Spanish subtitles I saw? Is that what this is?
A: No, almost none of the picture element for this restoration comes from that print; there are no subtitles in the Squadron edition.
Q: You mean it says "The Lone Ranger" at the beginning, not "El Llanero Solitario?"
A: Yes.
Q: Does it have the
opening credits in English?
A: Yes.
Q: How about recaps, are
they also in English and complete?
A: Yes.
Q: And "next week" cards
and closing credits as in the original also?
A: Yes.
Q: You mean you didn't
have to use the pasteover technique as you did in THE LONE
RANGER RIDES AGAIN to remove subtitles?
A: No, it wasn't
necessary. The source material for this edition was never
subtitled to begin with, so you see the full unsubtitled
original frame at all times. No cropping or frame
enlargement was employed in the restoration.
Q: So this is a perfect,
pristine edition of THE LONE RANGER serial with no flaws?
A: Nope. The
original serial is still lost and portions of it may be
gone forever. What you have here may be the closest
approximation possible, however, of what the complete
original looked and sounded like. And all together, it's
pretty close.
Q: What did you do, go
out and shoot the missing parts with new actors as you did
with MASKED RIDER?
A: No. There's
no original picture content missing from this DVD. All the
original scenes and shots here are present in their
original US release form, or as close as we can tell to
what that would have been. There is, however, some
variation in picture and sound quality in spots according
to what sound and picture elements were used, which was
determined by what has survived.
Q: Did you "change"
anything, or re-edit anything to suit yourself, or add any
additional sound that wasn't on the "original?"
A: No. It would
be impossible to do that anyway because the serial does not
exist in complete original form to begin with to be
"changed." So if someone starts up in saying something like
that he won't be telling the truth. This project is an
assembly of all the best-quality existing sound and picture
elements from the original serial with replacement only of
elements which are entirely missing today, from the
original script where possible, and from clues in foreign
prints at points where material in the film differs from
the script. Every shot is in the proper original sequence
as far as that is possible to know and all original sound
is included, with dubbing used only in spots where no
original sound exists at all any more. The goal of this
project was to assemble the closest thing to the original
release possible from what exists, not to rework that
material in any way.
Q: OK, how's the picture
quality then?
A: It ranges from
excellent and sharp to what might be termed decent 1980s
Goodtimes Home Video quality, with virtually no scratches,
very few splices, and good contrast. The transfer is stable
and basically very clean. Chapter openings, recaps, and
closings all look spectacular. The only negative here is
that the transfer used for most of the chapter content is
rather dated and low-resolution which makes the edition
appropriate for watching on a smaller-size TV or computer
and less appropriate for big-screen TV viewing.
Q: But the picture is
complete, tho? And no subtitles? Really?
A: Yes, it's
complete. And no, no subtitles.
Q: Is it in black and
white?
A: Yes, standard
black and white.
Q. Can I see a sample?
A: Yes, click
MOVIE THEATER at left to watch a promo trailer on YouTube
(note: the stunt sequence in that trailer has not yet been
adjusted for contrast so looks a little grey. The titles,
you will see, are finished and look pretty damn good). Here
are a few small frame-grab samples showing the range of
picture quality that's present, which ranges from fair to
very good. Because of the lower resolution of part of the
original transfer, the smaller a screen this is watched on
the better it will look.
Q: OK, how about the
sound? Is it all there?
A: Yes, all but 8
minutes of Chapter 10, which have been accurately
re-created by professional actors who have dubbed the
missing lines for those scenes (you can see a clip from
this section on YouTube). A few additional lines missing
due to splices and damage in Chapters 13 and 15 have also
been re-created from clues in the original script and/or
foreign prints.
Q: What about sound
quality?
A: It varies from
very good to "damaged but restored," meaning hiss is
present sometimes, though not to a degree that it damages
the viewing experience. Some lines exist only in one
poor-condition and difficult-to-restore source element and
were included from that original source wherever possible.
Q: Is this a new digital
transfer?
A: No. In fact
for that reason you can consider this release "LONE RANGER
1.0" if you want to because someday if we are able to
acquire higher-quality material we will upgrade this
edition. But we thought people might like to have this
version in the meantime, or in case nothing better ever
surfaces, because it's much better than anything that's
ever been circulated or seen before.
Q: Can I watch this on
my new flat-panel digital TV?
This DVD was
formatted for viewing and looks best on a small to medium
size analog TV. You can watch it on a digital TV if you
want to but they tend sometimes to oversharpen the picture
and artificially digitally increase contrast sometimes,
which in the case of this presentation will not enhance it
but instead may exaggerate existing flaws. If you intend to
watch it on a digital TV, turn off auto-contrast adjustment
settings and sharpness enhancement, and set the picture to
"soft" or "noise reduction."
Q: This isn't the
version of the serial that you put out on VHS years ago, is
it? The one with the enlarged and stretched footage that's
now sold on the budget Mill Creek DVD release?
A: No. That
restoration was done by Nolan Kenner from VHS material, not
by the Squadron, is rather dated now, and it has nothing to
do with this edition which was prepared by Dr. Grood from
different elements and basically from scratch.
Q: Is it better than the
Mill Creek DVD release?
A: Yes, a great deal better in both sound and picture
quality, as well as content.
Q: Is this just some
kind of repackaging of HI YO SILVER?
A: Not at all. HI
YO SILVER is a heavily edited feature version of the
original serial with linking segments and at least one
scene that weren't included in the original serial release,
and is not much more than an hour long. It is also edited
differently than the serial and includes different scoring
in most scenes. This is the original edit of the original
serial, with the original serial's picture and sound
element combination, and original music, which runs almost
5 hours and all 15 chapters worth of content are present
and accounted for.
Q: How were you able to
create this? Where did this come from?
A: That's for us
to know and you to reap the benefits of.
Q: You mean if I order
this I will really get the original LONE RANGER serial in
watchable condition, with all the shots full frame, all the
dialogue in English, no subtitles, no pasteovers, no
re-created footage, all the cliffhanger endings and recaps
intact? I'll really have THE LONE RANGER serial on DVD?
A: Yes, with
minor qualifications. Some bits and pieces of sound a
second or so long just don't exist and so sometimes brief
silences or a repeat of a second of music will appear on
the soundtrack. As mentioned before, sometimes a little
hiss is present, and though sometimes it looks great the
picture element will sometime have a soft focus to it and
is not always full digital transfer quality. It is,
however, not scratchy or splicy, and has good contrast
which makes it look especially good on a smaller TV. The
picture content is essentially complete. With the exception
of the 8-minute dubbed section, the original audio content
is complete also and if you just sat down to watch the
serial without the intention to pick it apart technically
with a fine tooth comb, it will be very enjoyable. That is
not to say it couldn't be improved on in the future, and we
will do so if we can, because we have pretty high standards
around here we like to keep up. Which is why we're trying
to be openly picky and specific about the condition of this
restoration -- maybe too picky. This isn't perfect, but
what is here is far and above the overall quality and
presentation of any version of this serial that has ever
been seen before, anywhere and should please pretty much
anyone who has any desire to be pleased in the first place!
Q: Hey, I'm a longtime
collector that considers everything that isn't a "pristine
mint condition original" junk. Should I order
this?
A: No, because this serial is for watching, not sealing in
mylar. But if you can get your head out of the
stratosphere, though, and back enough into reality to
realize that the original version of this serial was BURNED
and DOESN'T EXIST and look at this work for what it is, not
what it isn't, and are more interested in having fun
watching a great serial you thought you might never see
than simply going about "owning" things, you should be
delighted with it.
Q: How long did it take
to do this restoration? Is it complete now?
A: About 400
hours of restoration work has been put into the project.
Q: When are you going to
ship it?
A: The DVDs are
now complete and begin shipping Nov. 16.
Q: Are there going to be
any extras on the DVD?
A: A small still
gallery with pictures of material directly related to the
Republic release, but that's all. The goal of this edition
was to produce a clean, accurate, complete edition of the
serial as possible, since as yet no such thing exists, and
that's all, not to try and dress it up with bells and
whistles to make it seem like it's more than it is. This is
just a good solid complete collector's copy of the serial
that we put a lot of work into making watchable again, and
that's all it's supposed to be.
Q: So if I order this,
I'll really have the whole original LONE RANGER serial in
watchable form at last?
A: Yes. Not
absolutely perfect, a little rough in spots, and sometimes
in lower resolution than we might like, but certainly
decent in quality and sometimes excellent, and most
important, with content that is COMPLETE and almost all
ORIGINAL or if not, exactly like what the original looked
like to the point where you can't tell restoration was
performed. When you receive this you'll have your own copy
of one of the greatest serials of all time which can still
be enjoyed by young and old, and we heartily encourage you
to get a copy to watch with your grandkids over the
holidays.
Q: This is great. How do
I order?
A: Click the
PayPal link below or use the mail order form by clicking
ORDER at left and printing one out for yourself.
Q: Can I make a quantity discount order and sell some copies to friends or others?
A: Yes, even if you are only a private individual and not a company or website owner. Contact Prince Barin at princebarin@serialsquadron.com for discount rates.
Q: I own a magazine which reviews DVDs. Can I request a review copy?
A: Yes, contact Prince Barin and he will send you one.
Q: Is this really the
original LONE RANGER complete on DVD and in English?
Really?
A: That's right,
it really is.
Q: And I can have a
copy?
A: Unless you're a dealer in or promoter of unlicensed DVDs
(in which case you ought to clean up your act), yes you
can. Hi Yo Silver, Away!
More Customer reviews of THE LONE RANGER:
I
received my LONE RANGER serial today; I have thus far
viewed the first 3 chapters. All I can say to this is WOW!
It is exactly as you promised it----flawed in places, but
definitely intact, and very viewable . . . your efforts in
restoring this serial for us fans deserve a standing
ovation. BTW, you may be interested in knowing I viewed
these 3 chapters on my computer 22 inch HDMI monitor---and
I still found them extremely viewable. You cannot help what
wasn't there but thank God I now have this complete
edition. Once word gets out, you should sell plenty of this
set. Great job, Eric. I doubt anyone else could have done
any better. . . I hope all you guys will get a chance to
see a remarkable adventure and I do mean SEE IT as complete
now as it can possibly be. --
Dr. Tobor
it is exactly as Doc wrote. I did watch it on a large
screen TV, and it still looked good. While it isn't close
to being like a studio release print, it is miles ahead of
what we have seen before.
-- Pa Stark
Received my copy today and am VERY pleased, a great
improvement over what we've had for so many years . . .
It's so good that I can now see which actor is playing the
Lone Ranger, as well as Yak's saggy rear end. What fun.
--
Kane Richmond
HI folks~ Thanks very much Doc!!!! I've only watched 4
chapters so far, and I have not experienced any
disappointment at all seeing it on a 36" TV . . . Great
fun. I felt like I was 10 years old again. Thanks again for
a job well done. I'm going to take my time with this one
and savor every moment. --
WillieJG
WOW ! ! What a difference ! I can finally see clearly
what's going on. I just finished watching the first three
chapters, because I had to control myself. Although I
watched it on my 52" HD TV, I was not disappointed with the
quality, and noticed there was not any annoying artifacts
or distractions to really complain about. Considering this
is made up of pieces of the only existing elements, it is
AWESOME ! Doc, you once again outdid yourself. On behalf of
all serialdom, Thank you for your efforts on this exciting
serial, and keep up the good work. -- The Lightning
Dr. Grood has once again delivered the goods. Looks great.
Many thanks! --ADCHIMP
Very
nice job -- Chuck
Anderson, B-Westerns.com
THE LONE RANGER RIDES
AGAIN on
DVD
THE LOST REPUBLIC SERIAL NOW AVAILABLE COMPLETE
AND VIEWABLE WITHOUT SUBTITLES FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE
1939!
"Thought you'd like to know that "The Lone Ranger Rides
Again" arrived and is excellent. Thanks for restoring
a lost treasure. You are going to make an old man
very happy." -- Customer Bob
Johnston
"The Lone Ranger Rides Again [is] a
triumph!!" --John Brooker, Wranglers Roost, the UK western
film magazine
"I
just wanted to let you know "The Lone Ranger Rides Again"
arrived in the mail yesterday. Even though the serial
itself can't be compared with the first one, the Serial
Squadron restoration is top-notch. I thought it was a great
job." -- Customer Craig Thomas
"Impressive
restoration, Very pleased with quality. Super fast
shipping; A+" "Good and fast
service. Item was every thing that it was advertised to
be." -- eBay customer reviews
"Thank you for the great job on the LONE RANGER DVD. I
enjoyed it so much." -- customer Emmit
Austin
"Howdy...I recently bought a copy of this serial from you,
and I just had to write because I really wanted you to know
what absolute, unmitigated JOY the thing has given me. What
a thrill to see this rarity...I've longed to for years, but
have only been able to find plainly unwatchable copies.
THANK YOU for doing it right! I'm off to buy some more
right now. Cheers" -- customer
Patbuttram
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
RESTORED
EDITION
REPUBLIC 1939
15 Chapters
Directed by
William Witney, John English
Music
by
William Lava
Robert
Livingston
as The Lone Ranger
Billy
Bletcher
as the voice of the Lone Ranger
Chief
Thunder Cloud
as Tonto
Duncan
Renaldo
as Juan Vasquez
Additional Cast:
Ralph Dunn as Bart Dolan, J. Farrell MacDonald as Craig
Dolan, Jinx Falken as Sue, William Gould as Jed Scott, Rex
Lease as Evans, Ted Mapes as Meritt, Henry Otho as Pa
Daniels, John Beach as Hardin, Glenn Strange as Thorne,
Stanley Blystone as Murdock, Edwin ParKer as Hank, Al
Taylor as Colt, Carleton Young as Logan, Ernie Adams as
Grover, Eddie Dean as Cooper, Forrest Taylor as judge,
Silver Chief as Silver
After linking up with a wagon train, the Lone Ranger finds
himself in the middle of a cattlemen/nesters struggle.
Assumed incorrectly to be the bully boys of all the
ranchers, but secretly under the command of Bart Dolan, a
rancher's nephew, are the Black Raiders. False accusations,
kidnaping, fake kidnaping, attempted lynching, ballot box
theft, and the like abound till the closing episodes, which
find the settlers gathered inside a fortress for a final
showdown. In this serial the Lone Ranger has a second
partner in Juan Valdez, who at first wrongly believes the
Lone Ranger to have murdered his brother, then fights
beside the Masked Rider of the Plains. Unusually, the Lone
Ranger appears frequently without a mask in this story,
using the alias Bill Andrews.
-- Restored chapter openings and beginnings in English
-- Reconstructed cliffhanger endings
-- Reconstructed chapter recaps
-- Reconstructed chapter opening sequences
-- Restored picture, including removal of ALL Spanish subtitles
-- Noise-reduced sound.
The digital transfer was created from the only known source print. This is the highest quality presentation of the existing film material and its first digital transfer and contrary to previous overly conservative reports, we now will be able to present this serial on DVD fully restored and ENTIRELY WITHOUT SUBTITLES.
In addition to the complete 15 chapter serial the DVD also contains the rare Lone Ranger home movie cartoon and 30 minutes of on-camera commentary by serial authors Len Kohl and Richard Hurst and Squadron members Zorro, HiYo Silver, Durango Kid, Brick Bradford, Barcroft, Dr. Satan, Daredevil, Ace Drummond, Red Racer, Dr. Grood and Pa Stark ( filmed at SerialFest 2007)!
DVD Contents
Chapter 1: The Lone Ranger Returns
Chapter 2: Masked Victory
Chapter 3: The Black Raiders Strike
Chapter 4: The Cavern of Doom
Chapter 5: Agents of Deceit
Chapter 6: The Trap
Chapter 7: Lone Ranger at Bay
Chapter 8: Ambush
Chapter 9: Wheels of Doom
Chapter 10: The Dangerous Captive
Chapter 11: Death Below
Chapter 12: Blazing Peril
Chapter 13: Exposed
Chapter 14: Besieged
Chapter 15: Frontier Justice
Lone Ranger Cartoon
Still/Memorabilia Gallery/Serial Author & Fan Commentary
The restoration is now complete & DVDs are shipping now.
Plot summary by R W Stedman
ORDER THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN USING PAYPAL
ORDER THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN DVD BY MAIL
MAIL ORDER FORM
WATCH CHAPTERS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW!
NOTE: These samples were heavily compressed in preparation for online viewing and are far inferior in quality to what you will see in the actual DVD.
View Chapter 1
(In three reels)
Go to the Movie Theater to see more chapters of THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN
VIEW RESTORED SCENES (higher quality quicktime files) / Discuss THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN
SAMPLE FRAMES FROM THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN DVD
This DVD has been painstakingly restored from the only existing master of THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN, which was fully subtitled in Spanish. Chapter openings, title cards, recaps, cliffhangers, and end titles have been fully restored or re-created for this edition. Subtitles have been removed using a technique which borrows visual information from existing unsubtitled film frames so some artifacts and letterboxing are sometimes present in repaired sequences (and sometimes they are completely invisible!).
Subtitles removed from the bottom fifth of this frame by pasting over image
information from succeeding frames. Sometimes the blend is perfect and
completely invisible, sometimes it is slightly noticeable (note the slightly dark
line above at the level of the actor's shoulder)
A frame before subtitle removal
The same frame successfully (and invisibly) restored with the pasteover technique.
The Lone Ranger rides again!
Another pasteover (at the level of just above the Ranger's elbow)
Some brief shots which originally included 3-line subtitles are sometimes presented slightly letterboxed. This technique is used very rarely, in perhaps 1% of subtitled scenes.
This restoration is designed to resemble the original theatrical release of THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN as much as possible using elements which still exist.
"Thank you for the great job on the LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN DVD. I enjoyed it so much." -- Customer Emmit Austin
"I didn't think we'd ever get to see a watchable print of this exciting 1939 serial, but thanks to the super-human efforts of the guys at the Serial Squadron there is now one available . . . They have spent several years now going through the only known source print to restore all the chapter openings and beginnings in English, reconstruct all the chapter recaps and chapter opening sequences and reduce the hissy sound. Most incredibly, through a variety of methods, they have removed all the Spanish subtitles that ruined the only copy previously available. At first they thought they would only be able to get rid of one and two line captions but with the use of some clever pasting over using untitled frames, they have removed the three liners as well. If you look closely you can sometimes see movement from the pasting over but it's not worth bothering about. At $24.95 it's an absolute steal considering the painstaking work that has gone into it -- a true labour of love." -- John Brooker, WRANGLER'S ROOST Magazine