The Crimson Ghost by Dave Goode

 

Something that I've found very gratifying over the last couple of years is that fans of the band The Misfits now know who the Crimson Ghost is. Remember years ago you would see someone wearing a Misfits T-shirt and you would mention the Republic movie serial villain and they would have no idea what you were talking about ? Well now they do.

 

 

THE CRIMSON GHOST (1946) was one of the best of Republic's movie serials. Directed by Fred C. Bannon and William Witney the screenplay was credited to Albert De Mond , Basil Dickey , Jesse Duffy and Sol Shor.

 

 

 

The 12 chapter serial has the Crimson Ghost , a mysterious , masked criminal mastermind out to steal the cyclotrode ,a device that can short-circuit electric currents. With this device he plans to conquer the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cast is great. You have a pre-Lone Ranger Clayton Moore as Louis Ashe , the villain's chief henchman. In his fedora and pinstriped suit he looks like a gangster from a Batman comic book of the era. Charles Quigley a veteran Republic hero plays stalwart hero Duncan Richards. Lovely Linda Sterling , Republic's B-movie and serial queen portrays heroine Diana Farnsworth. I always thought Republic should have purchased the rights for the Golden Age comic book heroine the Black Cat as a vehicle for Miss Sterling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course there was the Crimson Ghost himself. One of the best serial villains ever ,the Crimson Ghost was visually striking. At first glance you're looking at what appears to be an adult Halloween costume. But it's truly frightening. I can see the character starring in a villain-driven pulp or comic book.

THE ICONIC HERO by Dave Goode

Art by Vance Capley - 11x17 posters are available for $15 - Vance Capley Arts

 

"With his faithful Indian companion Tonto , the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice." I sometimes wonder if Fran Striker was creating The Lone Ranger for George W. Trendle and WXYZ Radio back in 1933 that he was creating one of America's iconic pop culture heroes.

 

The hero's origin is as much a part of Americana as real-life western legends of the Siege of the Alamo and the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Six Texas Rangers in pursuit of the Butch Cavendash gang are led into an ambush. Only one man survived. The younger brother of ranger captain Dan Reid. Found and nursed back to health by Tonto , a Native-American the surviving ranger makes a mask from his murdered brother's vest to hide his identity and the fact that one man had survived the massacre. He makes a vow to bring a hundred outlaws to justice for each one of his fallen comrades. As he begins his new life as a masked crime-fighter he adopts the silver bullet as his sign.The Lone Ranger is much like the masked wrestling heroes of Mexican cinema in that once he dons his mask he ceases to have any other identity than that of the Lone Ranger. No changing in phone booths for this character.

 Many actors have portrayed the Lone Ranger over the years. On the radio the most notable were George Seaton ,Earle Graser and Brace Beemer. Lee Powell played the character in Republic's 1938 serial THE LONE RANGER. Republic followed that up with the 1939 serial THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN starring Robert Livingston. On television from 1949 to1957 the character was portrayed by two actors. Clayton Moore began playing the role in 1949. John Hart took over the role for one season while Moore sat out the year in a contract dispute. On television Tonto, the Ranger's faithful Indian companion was portrayed by Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk Indian born in Ontario, Canada. Moore is considered by many to be the definitive Lone Ranger. And aside from his playing the character on television he portrayed him in two feature movies THE LONE RANGER (1956) and THE LONE RANGER AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD (1958). Both of these movies are pretty entertaining B-westerns. And if you haven't seen them you should search them out.