Der weisse Reiter (1956)

Der weisse Reiter: Directed by Stuart Heisler. With Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger, Bonita Granville. Wealthy rancher Reese Kilgore aims to grab silver-rich Indian land by skilfully pitting Indians against settlers but the suspicious territorial governor sends The Lone Ranger to investigate.

“If anyone had told me Iu0026#39;d look at, let alone write a review for a u0026#39;Lone Rangeru0026#39; film Iu0026#39;d have laughed at them Big Time! Here is a film from 1956, based on a TV series that I fully expected to look and sound as bad as they could come….was I surprised to find this had elements you might usually expect to find in a major work.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTechnically, it doesnu0026#39;t get too much better than this curious show. If you can get your head around a masked vigilante leading a two man fight against all forms of corruption, then you could be on you way to an exciting ride, and ride they do! Some of the horse work is of the more spectacular type with several scenes where the horses actually run off with the honors.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s all odd, and at odds with an America of the 50s where Afro Americans and Native Indians were treated as second (and third) class citizens ~ then along comes a hero of the highest degree, who with his trusted u0026#39;Red Indianu0026#39; confident and u0026#39;friendu0026#39;, takes on the whole American political system! The production values were the biggest surprise for me. Firstly, an above average script credited to u0026#39;Have Gun Will Travelu0026#39; creator: Herb Meadow (based on the original characters created by Francis Striker and George Trendle in 1932) this kicks things off to a good start, then you notice the great cinematography by special effects man Edwin B. Du Par. The action sequences are so well staged that you almost feel the pain being inflicted on the characters, who by the way, put up with unexpected levels of violence for this era and genre.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStrong direction is given by Stuart Heisler who keeps the thrills flowing. The music score by Vienese David Buttolph blends in well with the strange choice of an Italian opera for the main and end titles! Those with a trained ear for 50s/60s TV themes will pick up the u0026#39;Sugarfootu0026#39; theme within the incidental music (I had wondered where that theme came from, now we know) The two main leads work very well together turning in sincere performances for their curious characters – I canu0026#39;t help but feel they had a genuine fondness for them, this all helps carry it thorough the shaky bits. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe bulk of the supporting cast supply strong performances and lift this near unbelievable story to a quite believable level. This was to be award nominated Bonita Granvilleu0026#39;s final major screen role, she married the films producer Jack Wrather and retired. Iu0026#39;m now looking forward to the follow up theatrical feature: u0026#39;The Lost City of Goldu0026#39; Hope itu0026#39;s as well done. If you enjoy this type of 50s western movie you may have fun with this, give it a go….u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFootnote Up-Date: Have since caught up with the u0026#39;Lost City of Goldu0026#39;, somewhat of a let down. Review posted also.”