I happened to catch The Legend of the Lone Ranger on cable today and as I was watching it I thought to myself, "What if - instead of casting an unknown actor like Klinton Spilsbury - that the studio had gone for someone like Christopher Reeve, who was coming off of Superman I and II. Do you like think that would have made a difference in the public and critics' perception of the film?
shareI think Reeve would have been a fine choice, though I'm not dead sure his voice would have been quite right. Sure would like to see a screen test of him trying the role, though.
Some stuff, though, just shouldn't be screwed with, and perhaps this old classic production is one of them. Trying to give Tonto a less wooden role is fine, but turning him into some modern idea of an Indian activist was simply annoying and phony. Times were what they were, deal with it. I'm surprised the Hollywood freaks didn't rewrite the Ranger's character into some granola-chomping advocate of holistic medicine and aromatherapy.
Trying to give Tonto a less wooden role is fine, but turning him into some modern idea of an Indian activist was simply annoying and phony.
It would have been better but there's not much that can be dome with an uninspired script and an insipid production.
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The Eyes of the City are Mine! Mother Pressman / Anguish (1987)
I just read an informative article about the movie that said the producers were inspired by the Superman creators casting an unknown (Chris Reeve) & thought they could duplicate that success with Klinton Spilsbury. But unlike Reeve, he had much less acting experience & also didn't get much help from the film's director who was more concerned with the look of the film than guiding his actors.
shareI think it would have been interesting. Perhaps there may have even been a sequel had Reeve been cast.
Reeve would've been superb. Imagine what a rush that would be to play Superman and The Lone Ranger. That would be like a dream come true for anyone.
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Reeve would've been superb. Imagine what a rush that would be to play Superman and The Lone Ranger. That would be like a dream come true for anyone.
https://lebeauleblog.com/2015/10/08/golden-raspberry-awards-1981/
You’re probably asking yourself “Who the hell is Klinton Spilsbury?” If you are, you’re not alone. Spilsbury has only one credit to his name. He was cast as the Lone Ranger based purely on his striking good looks. Producer Martin Starger explained the casting process:share
He looked great in the mask, which seems like an odd thing to say. But that was important because we had to find an actor whose eyes were not close together. The mask doesn’t look good if the eyes are too close.
Unfortunately, Spilsbury was a lousy actor by all accounts. Making matters worse, when the movie was released it turned into a PR nightmare. Actor Clayton Moore had played the character on the popular TV show. By this point, he was in his mid-60’s, but Moore still made appearances as the Lone Ranger signing autographs at local events. The producers of the new movie sued Moore to prevent the actor from making appearances in the mask thus pissing off legions of Lone Ranger fans.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger was a debacle. Much worse than the failure of the Johnny Depp version. Spilsbury went into an early retirement. His one and only movie role was rewarded with multiple Golden Raspberry Awards. Yeah, we’re not done with poor Klinton Spilsbury yet.
Interesting.
shareI think Reeve would have done a great job as the Lone Ranger.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger would have done better at the box office based on Reeve's name being on the marquee, but the movie still would have suffered somewhat because of the studio's treatment of Clayton Moore behind-the-scenes. Moore is a beloved figure, and I think a lot of the public boycotted the movie based on the lawsuit against Moore by the studio.
There was apparently a lot of production problems on-set because of Klinton Spilsbury. I doubt they would have had the same problems with Reeve on board. From what I've read about Reeve, he was a consummate professional.
As well, they had post-production problems that delayed the release date to May the following year, which basically meant a death sentence against heavyweights like Raiders of the Lost Ark during Memorial Day weekend. With Reeve in the role, there would not have been the post-production problems which means the movie would have fared better if it had been released months earlier as planned.
It was no doubt that Klinton Spilsbury was problem on the set. He even started getting drunk and getting into fights at night (not exactly good publicity for the film either).
I an't afraid of no ghosts!
Yeah, that's too bad if all those rumours are true. With a star who drinks and gets into fights, crazy unwarranted lawsuits, post-production problems, delayed release dates...It just seems like some movies are destined to fail.
shareIt could have worked with Christopher Reeve. Maybe have him be The Lone Ranger most of the time but when he goes after criminals, he turns into Superman. This could have been the first superhero western movie
shareActually not a bad casting choice.
shareI think it would have led to too many Lone Ranger/Superman comparisons.
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