"The Lone Ranger" television series that aired on ABC-TV during the early 1950s suffered from its bare-bones budgets. Indeed, virtually every episode featured obvious cuts from exterior scenes to medium shots lensed on obvious studio sound stages. For example, the Lone Ranger and Tonto are shown in long shot as they ride along a trail and then rein up for an exchange of dialogue. The producers cut to a medium shot of our protagonists as they swap lines, but the setting is clearly photographed against a studio. Nevertheless, despite their conspicuous budgetary constraints, producers Jack Wrather and George W. Trendle were shrewd enough to either hire good writers or use Fran Striker's original radio show scripts. The episode entitled "Matter of Courage" exemplifies this dictum. Indeed, the theme of this episode is that the meek shall inherit the earth. In other words, the character who claims that he is the most cowardly of them all in the story winds up exhibiting the greatest bravery and is rewarded for his gallantry. Meantime, one of the pleasures of watching some of these early television shows is that you can catch either a famous actor or actress before either got their big break and went onto super stardom. As it turns out, James Arness of "Gunsmoke" fame appears here as a boisterous deputy.
Although the production values are nothing to brag about, the depth of the story overshadows the lackluster sets. Aside from the exterior prologue when Tonto rides up to the Lone Ranger near their camp in the wilderness, "Matter of Courage" takes place primarily on three interior sets: a lawman's office in the town of Samsung, the main street of the frontier town, and in a one-room barbershop. The Masked Man appears in another of his ingenious disguises. He masquerades as a bewhiskered old prospector with an eye-patch who has just struck the mother lode. He brags about his fifteen pokes of gold dust, and each poke weighs in at a whopping thirty-two ounces! The Lone Ranger's plan is to make his gold strike one of "the worst kept secrets in the history of gold mining." He knows that two murderous ruffians, Dimple Henshaw (Don Haggerty of "Go for Broke!") and Toby Farrell (Dick Curtis of "Rawhide"), are making a desperate bid for the border. Moreover, the cash-strapped dastardly duo needs money. The only way to the border where they will neither be spotted nor stopped lies through the town of Sampson. Our hero hopes Henshaw and Farrell will try to rob the Rancher's Bank when they hear about the prospector's deposit. Not surprisingly, pusillanimous banker Martin Simpson (Raymond Largay of "Four Faces West") opposes the Lone Ranger's clever subterfuge. He argues that Henshaw and Farrell be allowed to escape. "Forget the children they've orphaned, the widows they've made?" The Masked Man disagrees, "Justice demands that these men be made to pay for their crimes." Simpson reacts with incredulity and horror. "You mean you want me use me as bait? You want me to stand there in my bank and invite them in for a gunfight?" Our hero shames Simpson into helping them by calling on his good citizenship prerogatives.
When the Lone Ranger asks what help Marshal Jim Waylon (Edmund Cobb of "Zorro's Fighting Legion") can provide in case Henshaw and Farrell show up, Simpson is openly contemptuous of the town's only deputy. According to Simpson, Bud Titus (James Arness of "Them!") wastes most of his time at the barber shop as getting "slicked up and daydreaming." Waylon has more faith in Bud than Simpson. Nevertheless, he has warned the deputy about goofing off at the barbershop. Titus claims he can keep an eye on everybody from the barber's chair. Titus and barber shop owner, a humble Mexican named Tony (Juan Duval of "The Black Coin"), watch enviously as the Masked Man regales an audience on main street about his good fortune. Titus complains about the paltry $50-a-month that he makes, while Tony dreams that he made such a fortune. Not only does Tony lack luck but also he lacks bravery. Dimple and Farrell interrupt Titus and Tony, and Titus runs them off. Later, when the marshal asks about the two desperadoes, Titus claims he hasn't seen them. Titus' eyes bulge at the $5000 reward on both gunmen. He gives the marshal his deputy's badge; as a lawman, Titus is not allowed to collect bounty money.
Later, when Tonto uses the barber shop to watch the bank, Henshaw and Farrell burst in and club him unconscious. Farrell uses Tony as a hostage to rob the bank. Farrell trades gunfire with the Ranger and the marshal. Henshaw returns with Tony and the bogus gold. When the marshal tries to sneak in the back door, they wound him with a lucky shot. The vengeful Henshaw wants to kill the Masked Man because he creased his chin in a fight and gave him his new nickname. Farrell tries to reason with his pugnacious partner; they have the gold and they need to clear out. Henshaw tells the Lone Ranger that the marshal and Farrell are dead and he wants to surrender. He refuses to walk out into the open for fear that some trigger happy citizen might plug him so he pitches his six-gun into the street and lures our hero into the barber shop. No sooner does the Lone Ranger enter the barbershop than Farrell, playing possum on the floor, attacks the Masked Man. When Farrell threatens to slug Tonto again, Tony wields his straight razor, and the Lone Ranger catches the outlaws by surprise. Moments later Titus barrels into the barbershop. He tries to claim the reward for capturing Henshaw and Farrell. Instead, Tony receives the reward because he tried to thwart Toby. Of course, the Lone Ranger and Tonto make no claim for the reward money.
"Matter of Courage" must have been an early example of a positive image of Mexicans in the media.
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