The Mark of Zorro (1940 film)
| The Mark of Zorro | |
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 Original 1940 movie poster |
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| Directed by | Rouben Mamoulian |
| Written by | screenplay by John Taintor Foote adaptation by Garrett Fort Bess Meredyth from the story by Johnston McCulley |
| Starring | Tyrone Power Linda Darnell Basil Rathbone George Regas |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 1940 (USA) |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Language | English Spanish |
The Mark of Zorro is a 1940 feature motion picture directed by Rouben Mamoulian and produced by 20th Century Fox. It starred Tyrone Power as Don Diego Vega (Zorro), Linda Darnell as his love interest, Lolita Quintero, Montagu Love as Don Alejandro Vega, Gale Sondergaard as the naughty Inez Quintero, Eugene Pallette as Father Felipe, and Basil Rathbone as the villainous Captain Pasquale. J. Edward Bromberg was the corrupt governor. (Rathbone and Pallette both played similar roles in the Errol Flynn The Adventures of Robin Hood, the former as Sir Guy of Gisborn, and the latter as Friar Tuck.) The movie was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and produced by Raymond Griffith and Darryl F. Zanuck. Don Diego's mute assistant Bernardo is absent from the 1920 silent film. George Regas starred in this movie as Sergeant Gonzales at the time of his unexpected death.
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Synopsis
Based on the Johnston McCulley story The Curse of Capistrano, originally published in 1919, which introduced the masked hero Zorro, the movie's story is set in Southern California during the early 19th century. It deals with the foppish son of a wealthy ranchero who returns to California after a sojourn at school in Spain, only to be horrified at the way the common people are being mistreated by Governor Quintero. Don Diego adopts the guise of Zorro ("the Fox"), a Robin Hood-like outlaw who becomes a defender of the people. In the meanwhile, he romances the governor's beautiful niece, Lolita, and fends off the governor's ablest henchman, the malevolent Captain Pasquale.
The hero's calling card is the letter "Z" slashed with a saber into whatever surface is handy. In one gag out-take, Power cuts the letters "DZ" into the upholstery of a stagecoach while a terrified onlooker exclaims, "The Mark of Zanuck!"
This film is essentially a remake of the 1920 United Artists silent version, The Mark of Zorro, which starred Douglas Fairbanks. Its largest claim to fame is the climactic duel toward the end between Zorro (Power) and Captain Pasquale (Rathbone). Rathbone was known already in hollywood as an outstanding Classical fencer, but moviegoers were treated to the surprise of Power being excellent in his own right. The fight duel is extremely ornate and full of finesse, as opposed to Rathbone's more famous duel with Errol Flynn in Robin Hood, and the duel in The Mark of Zorro is considered by many movie buffs to be the finest swordfight in cinema. Rathbone suffered two scratches on his forehead during its filming, and later said of Power, "He could fence Errol Flynn into a cocked hat."
Batman connection
In the DC Comics continuity it is established that The Mark of Zorro was the film which the young Bruce Wayne had seen with his parents at the cinema, moments before they were killed in front of his eyes by an armed thug. Zorro is often portrayed as Bruce's childhood hero and an influence on his Batman persona. There are discrepancies regarding which version Bruce saw, The Dark Knight Returns claims it was the Tyrone Power version whereas a story by Alan Grant claimed it to be the silent Douglas Fairbanks original.
In the animated series Justice League Unlimited, a flashback of the fateful night establishes that for DCAU continuity, the young Bruce and his parents also were attending The Mark of Zorro, though there is nothing to indicate which version.
In the 'new' Warner Bros. movie continuity established by Batman Begins (which ignores the events of the previous four Warner Bros. Batman movies) events are changed so that young Bruce and his parents were watching the opera Faust, and not The Mark Of Zorro.
DVD
This version of Zorro has come out twice on DVD. The first was released on Oct 7, 2003 and featured the movie in its original Black+White form, as part of 20th Century Fox Studio Classics Collection. The second was released on Oct 18 2005 as a Special Edition, and featured both a new restored Black+White version as well as a colorized one, prepared by Legend Films. Both versions contain "Tyrone Power: The Last Idol" as seen on Biography on the A&E Network, and a Commentary by film critic Richard Schickel. A trailer for the Special edition can be seen at http://www.legendfilms.net under Family Classics.
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| Notable Books | |
| The Curse of Capistrano • Zorro • Tales of Zorro • Zorro | |
| Notable Films | |
| Douglas Fairbanks: The Mark of Zorro • Don Q, Son of Zorro | |
| Robert Livingston: The Bold Caballero | |
| John Carroll: Zorro Rides Again | |
| Reed Hadley: Zorro's Fighting Legion | |
| Tyrone Power: The Mark of Zorro | |
| Linda Stirling: Zorro's Black Whip | |
| George Turner: Son of Zorro | |
| Clayton Moore: Ghost of Zorro | |
| Guy Williams: Zorro, the Avenger • The Sign of Zorro | |
| Rodolfo de Anda: La Gran Aventura Del Zorro | |
| Frank Langella: The Mark of Zorro | |
| Alain Delon: Zorro | |
| George Hamilton: Zorro, The Gay Blade | |
| Anthony Hopkins / Antonio Banderas: The Mask of Zorro | |
| Antonio Banderas: The Legend of Zorro | |
| Television | |
| Zorro • The New Adventures of Zorro • Zorro and Son • Zorro • Kaiketsu Zorro • The New Adventures of Zorro • Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa • Zorro: Generation Z |
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| Notable Stage Productions | |
| Zorro in Hell (2006) • Zorro (2008) |
External links
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