The Legend of the Lone Ranger Original movie poster for The Legend of the Lone Ranger ( 1981 ) The title The Legend of the Lone Ranger has been used for at least two motion picture treatments of the story of The Lone Ranger , a Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker . This article is concerned about the 1981 version of the story . For several years there had been stories that a major studio would be making a big-budget , full length feature film based on the story of the Lone Ranger . There was apparently an assumption that many older baby boomers would be interested in seeing a big-screen treatment of their small-screen hero of the 1950s , a trend which was really at the time just getting started . After several false starts and rumors , such a film was actually made . Word filtered out that in this `` new '' version , some of the stereotypical elements which had been in past versions , such as Tonto 's pidgin English , would be removed and the story , always rather stilted in the past ( the primary audience for earlier versions had always been children ) , would be updated to be more `` realistic '' . The film got off to a bad start in the area of public relations when one of the first things that its producers became noted for doing was attempting to constrain Clayton Moore , star of the old television series , from appearing anywhere as the Ranger , or in public wearing a mask . Moore 's response was to adopt the wearing of wraparound sunglasses resembling his former mask . The public reaction to this was overwhelmingly negative , as it seemed an attempt to remove a source of income from an elderly man who had played a beloved character and seemed to have little else going for him . After this misstep , the film was released to massive publicity in 1981 and soon sank like a stone . Box office receipts were far short of the amount needed to recoup the costs of the film , and critical reviews were almost unanimous in their condemnation . In attempting to update aspects of the story yet leave it basically intact , the producers succeeding in pleasing almost no one . Despite the presence of renowned actors in cameo roles , including Christopher Lloyd and Jason Robards as villain Butch Cavendish and President Ulysses S. Grant respectively , the film vanished from theaters rapidly . The actor playing the Ranger ( Klinton Spilsbury ) has never appeared in another film , while the actor portraying Tonto , Michael Horse , has done somewhat better , appearing in many minor films and as a regular on the Canadian television series North of 60 as well as the American series Twin Peaks . Trivia The events surrounding the release of this movie would be satirized in the episode `` Who was that mashed man '' of the TV sitcom Night Court , where a case comes through the courtroom involving an elderly man who played the `` Red Ranger '' , a famous cowboy of yesteryear that was popular with children , and the producers of a movie that is modernized remake of the character turning him into a swearing , womanizing modern action hero over the elderly man appearing in public as his old persona . Humorist Russell Baker satirized the producers legal action against Clayton Moore in his newspaper column . The piece ( titled `` Bye Bye Silver Bullets '' ) had the Lone Ranger in a swank attorney 's office being forced to hand over Silver , his mask and his silver bullets . Klinton Spilsbury 's dialogue was overdubbed for the entire movie by actor James Keach . Two of the movie 's four screenwriters , Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts , previously created the hit TV series Charlie 's Angels . The movie 's ballad-narration , The Man In The Mask , was composed by Dean Pitchford of Footloose and Sing fame . Here is The Man In The Mask , as sung by Merle Haggard , in its entirety : ( FIRST VERSE , prologue ) The legend started simply , just a boy without a home ; Taken in by Indians , but still pretty much alone ; He had to struggle with strange customs , and his own fears from within ; He learned the wisdom of the forest , he learned the ways of the wind ( FIRST CHORUS , opening credits ) The legends tell of men who died to open up the West ; They rode through Hell to find their Promised Land ; The legends tell of One who tried to fight for all the rest ; His name unknown , a stranger alone , The Man In The Mask ... ... The legends tell of One Brave Man who rode to meet the test ; His name unknown , a stranger alone , The Man In The Mask ( SECOND VERSE ) Del Rio was a town in trouble , a town with a gun in its back ; Plagued by crime that just would n't stop , and cursed with a Sheriff that wore Black ; So you 'd think they 'd be suspicious , but certain folks rarely are ; They 're willing to trust their law to just about any man who wears a star ( THIRD VERSE ) Butch Cavendish lived undisturbed , waging his private war ; And men who made mistakes were simply men he could not afford ; Some say he was a monster , and others called him mad ; Let 's just say Butch Cavendish was everything that 's bad ( FOURTH VERSE , following the ambush ) One thing about that Cavendish , he knew how to set a trap ; And he finished off the Rangers that day in Bryant 's Gap ; And Collins had to check them all 'till Butch was satisfied ; Dead men lying everywhere , and bloody brothers side by side ( FIFTH VERSE ) And Tonto recognized John Reid by the amulet he wore ; But John had once saved Tonto 's life , so this evened up the score ; Tonto had to hide his friend and keep him out of town ; 'Cause if Butch had known that one Ranger lived , he was sure to hunt John down ( SIXTH VERSE ) What is it that brings two friends together , or sends the waves to the sand ? And what is it that drives a creature of nature to reach out to the world of Man ? Just such a creature was this Great White Horse , as wise and as wild as a runaway ; And the moment John first laid eyes on it , he swore he 'd ride it someday ( SEVENTH VERSE ) Now John Reid was just a memory ; the Masked Man had taken his place ; But that did n't mean his heart was n't touched when he saw Amy Striker 's face ; Amy had stayed to do her uncle 's work , and to keep his dreams alive ; But unless the Masked Man could find Cavendish , true justice would never survive ( EIGHTH VERSE , after Tonto is arrested for Collins ' murder ) I do n't guess anyone stopped to ask what Tonto was guilty of ; That did n't stop them from wanting to see him swinging high above ; But Tonto showed no sign of fear , and he held on to a fervent hope That the Masked Man would n't let his blood brother hang from the end of a rope ( NINTH VERSE ) Those Cavendish Boys had been working real hard , going over each step of their plan ; Meanwhile , ol ' Butch was mighty disturbed by reports of a strange Masked Man ; But he would n't let rumors mess up his scheme , so he set out on his final campaign ; He and his Boys rode to their rendezvous with President Grant 's private train ( TENTH VERSE ) So Cavendish had pulled it off , vanished without firing a shot ; The Masked Man and Tonto had to move fast , and ride while his trail was still hot ; They did n't know what he intended to do , but the life at stake was President Grant's ; Perhaps Butch would hold him , perhaps Butch would kill him ... they just could n't take that chance ( SECOND CHORUS , closing credits ) A fiery horse across the plains and he was gone from sight ; He changed the course of history as he rode ; And folks would tell of one Lone Ranger turning wrong to right ; They wondered who , but they never knew ... The Man In The Mask Awards and nominations Golden Raspberry Awards Won : Worst Actor ( Klinton Spilsbury ) Won : Worst New Star ( Klinton Spilsbury ) Won : Worst Musical Score Nominated : Worst Picture Nominated : Worst `` Original '' Song ( The Man in the Mask ) External links The Legend of the Lone Ranger at the Internet Movie Database Categories : 1981 films | Western films | Worst Picture Razzie Nominee 0082648 The Legend of the Lone Ranger 