Prior to the ambush, I was trying to figure out which of the rangers was Clayton Moore. (How can you not recognize that gravelly low baritone?) But I didn't recognize any of the voices (or faces). I was also wondering why Tonto rides Scout with a saddle. And he wears buckskins, an odd costume for an Apache.
However poor Tonto's English might be, it's better than the speech of the radio Tonto -- who was probably created (like Jimmy Olsen) to give TLR someone to talk with. His pidgin English wouldn't be so annoying if he used subject pronouns rather than object pronouns. By the way, Jay Silverheels (what a wonderful name!) was actually Harold J Smith. (Really!) His stage name came from a nickname received when he played lacrosse.
There are several origin stories, and the most-common -- in which Tonto is a friend from earlier years (in this case, Reid having saved Tonto's life) -- is used here. I've often wondered if this was an attempt (probably unconscious) to obscure the issue of the Tonto's and Reid's private relationship. (Friends are rarely intimate.) However, it's telling that, when the younger Tonto and Reid part, the former gives the latter a ring, which he puts on Reid's ring finger -- the /right/ one, "fortunately". But it's a symbolic marriage, nevertheless.
The script is amateurish, more-appropriate for an imageless radio show. (Later shows are more complex and polished, but still sometimes include unneeded dialog intended to tell the radio listener what's going on.) Cavendish's murder of the Rangers is drawn-out and verges on the sadistic. In later episodes, beatings, knifings, and killings are only rarely directly shown.
However poor Tonto's English might be, it's better than the speech of the radio Tonto -- who was probably created (like Jimmy Olsen) to give TLR someone to talk with. His pidgin English wouldn't be so annoying if he used subject pronouns rather than object pronouns. By the way, Jay Silverheels (what a wonderful name!) was actually Harold J Smith. (Really!) His stage name came from a nickname received when he played lacrosse.
There are several origin stories, and the most-common -- in which Tonto is a friend from earlier years (in this case, Reid having saved Tonto's life) -- is used here. I've often wondered if this was an attempt (probably unconscious) to obscure the issue of the Tonto's and Reid's private relationship. (Friends are rarely intimate.) However, it's telling that, when the younger Tonto and Reid part, the former gives the latter a ring, which he puts on Reid's ring finger -- the /right/ one, "fortunately". But it's a symbolic marriage, nevertheless.
The script is amateurish, more-appropriate for an imageless radio show. (Later shows are more complex and polished, but still sometimes include unneeded dialog intended to tell the radio listener what's going on.) Cavendish's murder of the Rangers is drawn-out and verges on the sadistic. In later episodes, beatings, knifings, and killings are only rarely directly shown.