The Lone Ranger Adventure Stories No. 2 (1958, UK)

Beginning in 1958, a total of four annual publications premiered on the bookshelves, known as The Lone Ranger Adventure Stories. Printed in England, these books contained prose stories adapted from the television and radio program, with original illustrations. Published in hardcover format, the prices for these four books wavers between $5 and $160, depending on their condition and where you buy them. While collectible condition means top dollar, reading condition can be found from $5 to $10 at conventions and fan gatherings where vendors sell collectibles.

Recently I was able to acquire Adventure Stories No. 2, from 1958, which featured illustrations by Don Lawrence, and six prose stories adapted by Richard Lewis, from television episodes. (It was easy to figure out which episodes since the titles of the short stories matched those of their television counterparts.) Reprinted below are some of the cool illustrations, along with a link for you to download a PDF of that book, which I scanned.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uc0t1lv3udxzsxp/Lone%20Ranger%20Adventure%20Stories%20No.%202%20%281958%2C%20UK%29.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uc0t1lv3udxzsxp/Lone%20Ranger%20Adventure%20Stories%20No.%202%20%281958%2C%20UK%29.pdf?dl=0

Top 100 Must-See Movie: It's a Gift (1934)

If I had to make a list of the 100 movies you must see before you die, It’s a Gift (1934) starring W.C. Fields would be on that list. The film concerns the trials and tribulations of a grocer as he battles a shrewish wife, an incompetent assistant, and assorted annoying children, customers, and salesmen. The film reprises routines honed by Fields from his stage career over the years (1915 to 1925 to be specific). Fields often tried to recapture sketches that led to his stage success onto film; skits such as “The Picnic,” “A Joy Ride,” and most famously, “The Back Porch” are all featured in It’s a Gift.

Having seen this wonderful delight the other week, I discovered many share the same sentiment. In 2010, the movie was added to the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress. It’s a Gift is included among the American Film Institute’s list of the “Top 100 Funniest American Movies.” When a compilation LP of W.C. Fields' best material was released in the 1970s, much of the material on that album came from this film.

 

Lesser known than some of Fields’ later works such as the hilarious The Bank Dick (1940), the film is perhaps the best example of the recurring theme of the Everyman battling against his domestic entrapment. 

Fields plays the owner of a general store who is hounded by his status-anxious wife. To get some sleep, he goes out on the porch where he is tormented by a little boy from the floor above and an insurance salesman down below. He uses an inheritance to buy an orange ranch through the mail, then drives off with his family for California. The orange grove consists of a withered tree, the ranch house is but a shack, and the car falls to pieces. At his lowest ebb, something wonderful happens and to provide more would be an injustice. 

 

Do yourself a favor and seek this movie out – you can thank me later.