The Lone Avenger

I hate to use the term, but I can only describe "The Lone Avenger" as vanilla. I hate to say it's vanilla derogatorily because I love that flavor: ice cream, protein shakes, and Tootsie Rolls.

The main character, Cal Weston (Ken Maynard), was a stiff, clean cut choir boy of a character who was more Clark Kent than he was Superman. He came back to his hometown after his father was murdered. It was made to look like a suicide, but Cal knew better. He only needed to find out who wanted him dead, then he could find out whodunit.

One of the drawbacks of westerns pre-1960's is that they were too bland. The good guys were so good they didn't even make grammatical errors and the bad guys were slobs with the exception of their boss. "The Lone Avenger" was really basic and it didn't help that Cal's horse was an equine version of Lassie. He could untie knots and even give advanced warning to Cal if danger was approaching; proving that if a good guy is righteous even the animals will help him.

Give me something grittier and less pristine.

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