esrosedotblog

They are trying to revive the Lone Ranger.

They even got Johnny Depp to do his kind of twist on the role of Tonto.

I love Johnny, god knows, but there is no way he is Tonto.

I don't know Armie Hammer very well. They have him as the Lone Ranger. I can't say whether he fits or not.

The fact is, no one can really play these roles if we have to watch them and take the mental image from listening to the radio voices at the same time.

That is the thing about radio drama. Everyone who listened formed their own pictures. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month.

Look.

Let's back up a minute.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto were radio characters. They played for years until radio drama went belly up. They were among the last to go. But when the top forty and the canned formats came on, to say nothing of television where you got to see the people, for chrissake, They disappeared into the ether. Forever.

The first visual representation of these characters was in comics which actually did a fairly good job in reproducing the feel of the dramas.

Remember, comics are rather nonspecific. They are just lines on paper. They use benday dots. Close, close up they are all space.

Then, television. Jay Silverheels played Tonto and he was a dead ringer for my mind view of Tonto. Maybe because I had seen him early on and he was the only visual indian I knew about and so I put him in the mental role before he had the one on teevee.

The Lone Ranger guy? No way. Impossible.

There are a lot of problems when you try to make the Lone Ranger "real" on television or anywhere else.

The first problem is the mask. My mental image of the mask was actually not reproducible in fabric or other material. It was a face mask which melded with my hero's being. Seamless. I remember they used to use this for suspense. Bad guys would talk about removing the mask. Horror. They might as well have talked about taking down his pants and looking at his ass.

A great drama device.

No man is able to wear that mask.

If you remembered this at all, you will remember that no one could ever tell you what the Lone Ranger looked like. My mind could handle this.

But after a minute one could always tell you what the Lone Ranger on television looked like. He looked like a wimp.

The other thing is the voice.

From the beginning, the role was played on radio by several guys but the one I heard, the one that counts was Brace Beemer. A deep baritone with a slight nasal twang. He personified the Lone Ranger the only way that we ever knew him. They were smart enough never to allow his face to be shown in publicity or anywhere else. I once sent for an autographed picture (I did that a lot in those days) and got back an 8x10 glossy with a funny kind of shadow on the man's face. They had finessed it. Good for them.

At that time there were a host of programs on radio, no television yet, which had the same impact. Many could not make the transition to television because the voice actors didn't fit the image. Soap operas, other dramas aimed at kids, kids only shows. All the same. Even well known stars were at risk. Jack Benny made it. Fred Allen (ugly as hell, a prune) didn't.

They have resisted using the Lone Ranger in the super movie. Or any other kind except for serials and B movies. Awful.

The review of the film, today in the Times, is not kind.

Good.

I hope the fucker flops.

I don't want a world where they do "the treatment" on my Lone Ranger and I will not see it. Johhny or not.

It is a butcher job from the first minute they project a picture. And I will have no part of it.

Listen to this. I didn't hear the first episode which was presented the year I was born but I am sure that I joined them 6-7 years later.

There is a lot of music at the beginning. Imagine. I have never been able to listen to the William Tell Overture without seeing them again. Hi-Yo Silver, Away.

You will first hear him at about 12:00 minutes. Well, when he rides in for the first time.

Labels: films, radio