The Lone Ranger is an American, long-running, old-time radio and early television show created by George W. Trendle (with considerable input from station staff members), and developed by writer Fran Striker.

The titular character is a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West, who gallops about righting injustices, usually with the aid of a clever and laconic American Indian sidekick called Tonto, and his horse Silver. He would famously say "Hi-yo Silver, away!" to get the horse to gallop.

On the radio and TV-series, the usual opening announcement was:

In later episodes the opening narration ended with the catch phrase "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.... The Lone Ranger Rides Again!" Episodes usually ended with one of the characters lamenting the fact that they never found out the hero's name ("Who was that masked man?"), only to be told, "Why, he's the Lone Ranger!" as he and Tonto ride away. The theme music was the "cavalry charge" finale of Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell Overture, now inseparably associated with the series, which also featured many other classical selections as incidental music including Wagner, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky. The theme was conducted by Daniel Perez Castaneda.

Inspiration for the name may have come from The Lone Star Ranger, a novel by Zane Grey. Karl May's tales of Old Shatterhand and Chief Winnetou may have influenced the creation of the concept; they in turn were influenced by The Leatherstocking Tales of James Fenimore Cooper. The legends of Robin Hood and the popular character Zorro were also a likely inspiration.

The Lone Ranger (1938) is a Republic Movie serial. It was the ninth of the sixty-six serials produced by Republic, the fourth western (a third of Republic's serials were westerns) and the first of 1938. The serial was lost of a long time but decent versions have been assembled from discovered footage (particularly a Spanish version, in English with subtitles).

The lone surviving Texas Ranger who was nursed back to health by the Indian Tonto rides with him, on Silver and Scout, throughout the West, doing good while living off a silver mine which supplies him with income and bullets. Written by Ed Stephan

This version takes a look at the character in the years before he became a legend. It all begins with the introduction of Luke Hartman, a 20-year old Boston law student who witnesses the murder of his brother, a Texas Ranger. He himself is wounded in the midst of the chaos, but is rescued by the Apache Tonto... and subsequently becomes smitten by Tonto's sister Alope. He then devotes his life to avenging the death of his brother and fighting injustice, and in the process becoming a worldwide legend. Written by Anonymous

CHAP. 1, HI YO SILVER: An outlaw leader planning to take conrol of Texas after the Civil War kills Colonel Jeffries, a man empowered to levy taxes, and assumes his identity. His men then murder a troop of Rangers. Tonto finds one Ranger still alive and he becomes the Lone Ranger. A Jeffries spy thinks one of five men is the Lone Ranger and to eliminate his enemy, Jeffries has all five captured and sentenced to death. CHAP. 2, THUNDERING EARTH: Jeffries' men plan to wipe out a wagon train of Texans. CHAP. 3, PITFALL: Jeffries forces Blanchard to send a recommendation that he be made Governor. The Lone Ranger chases the courier but a spiked pit awaits him. CHAP. 4, AGENT OF TREACHERY: Jeffries prepares another trap for the Lone Ranger. CHAP. 5, STEAMING CALDRON: Catching one of Jeffries' men who trailed a wounded Jim Clark to their secret caved, there is a fight and the Lone Ranger ends up trapped in a pit with a steaming caldron. CHAP. 6, RED MAN'S COURAGE: Clark dies from his wounds. Of the four remaining Rangers, the identity of the LOne Ranger is still unknown. When Jeffries' men kill two Indians and leave silver bullets, their tribesmen capture Tonto and prepare to kill him. CHAP. 7, WHEELS OF DISASTER: Joan has been placed in a wagon with gun powder and the Lone Ranger rides to save her. CHAP. 8, FATAL TREASURE: The Rangers get Jeffries' silver but retrieving it the next day, two of the Rangers get trapped in a well. CHAP. 9, MISSING SPUR: The Rangers are jailed for taking the silver. Kester has obtained the spur from the Lone Ranger and now says he will identify him. CHAP. 10, FLAMING FURY: The Lone Ranger and Tonto get trapped in a burning barn. CHAP. 11, SILVER BULLET: When Jeffries' men kill Bob Stuart's uncle, the maker of the silver bullets, Stuart trails them and ends up in a gunfight. CHAP. 12, ESCAPE: Stuart dies leaving three Rangers. Trying to save Joan and her father, they and the Lone Ranger are in a stage that goes over a cliff. CHAP. 13, FATAL PLUNGE: Chapter 1 flashback. CHAP. 14, MESSENGER OF DOOM: Kester uses the Rangers' pigeons to locate their secret cave. Greatly outnumbered, Forrest collapses the cave ceiling killing himself and the soldiers. CHAP. 15, LAST OF THE RANGERS: The two remaining Rangers try to escape from the rest of Jeffries' men but one is killed. The Lone Ranger organizes the Texans who then meet Jeffries and his men in a final shootout. With the Texans now in control the Lone Ranger finally unmasks. Written by Maurice VanAuken