User Reviews

On a near-zero budget, this episode races through the story of Homer Potts, a lawyer from the East, out West to meet his family, ranchers who are in trouble thanks to their water supply running out. Potts likes nothing about the West and tells his niece that he heading back home by the next stage. The hotel keeper thinks up a plan to keep him in town, by having the niece's boyfriend, the sheriff, lock up Potts by claiming he is the notorious counterfeiter Doc Bogus. In jail already are the members of the Billy Be-Hung gang, who are planning a jailbreak. Times were tough in 1954 Hollywood. Jack Chertok, the producer of "The Lone Ranger," played hardball with Clayton Moore, actor playing the Lone Ranger. When Moore asked for a higher salary, Chertok replaced him in 1953 with actor John Hart for season three, which was an incredible 52 episodes long.Moore returned for season four, the network and the show's viewers did not take to Hart. Hopefully, they chastised Chetok for his cheapness. Tom Brown, the actor playing Billy Be-Hung, played the younger brother of Richard Barthelmess' daredevil aviator in 1933's "Central Airport," an overlooked pre-Code great from Warner Bros. What a difference 20 years makes. In this TV episode, Brown acts rings around everyone playing a mean hombre. Kathleen Crowley, a former Miss America contestant, lights up the TV screen as the niece of lawyer Potts. Chick Chandler is just Chick Chandler, even with a goatee and wearing a top hat. You can't go wrong watching this episode on YouTube.

Haughty Boston lawyer Homer Virgilius Potts arrives in Mordock City to visit and help his brother in law and his niece Cindy Powers. Their ranch has no water and they are in danger of losing it. But hotel owner Ma Hank argues with him over his eastern speech and high hat. Homer gets mad and threatens to return to the east. Ma conspires with Marshal Jim, Cindy's fiancé, to keep Homer in town by falsely arresting him as notorious counterfeiter Doc Bogus. Homer is tossed into a cell with outlaws Billy Be-Hung and his two henchmen. That night, they break jail and take Homer along, thinking he can melt down some stolen gold they have cached in an abandoned mine. The Ranger and Tonto give chase, along with Marshal Jim, Cindy, and a posse. Can our heroes save Homer and capture the outlaws? And will Homer ever get rid of that high hat? This episode is played completely for comedy and the change of pace is quite enjoyable for LR fans. Talented Chick Chandler is great as Homer with the high hat. And that's a young brunette Kathleen Crowley as Cindy. Her unique voice is unmistakeable. A good episode to sit back and enjoy.

When I was a child, I had a memory of the Lone Ranger episode in which "Doc Bogus" was described as having counterfeit money named after him. It didn't make sense to me, because I was then unfamiliar with the term "bogus." I never forgot that name though.

Many years later I adopted "Doc Bogus" as my Internet handle, but I could never find any verification that I had originally heard the name on a Lone Ranger episode.

I can now rest a little more easily, knowing when I had actually heard it.