The Mark of Zorro (1940)

A young aristocrat must masquerade as a fop in order to maintain his secret identity of Zorro as he restores justice to early California.

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Writers:

John Taintor Foote (screenplay), Garrett Fort (adaptation),

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Don Diego Vega / Zorro
Linda Darnell	...	Lolita Quintero
Basil Rathbone	...	Capt. Esteban Pasquale
Gale Sondergaard	...	Inez Quintero
Eugene Pallette	...	Fray Felipe
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Don Luis Quintero
Montagu Love	...	Don Alejandro Vega
Janet Beecher	...	Senora Isabella Vega
George Regas	...	Sgt. Gonzales
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Turnkey
Robert Lowery	...	Rodrigo
Belle Mitchell	...	Maria
John Bleifer	...	Pedro
Frank Puglia	...	Propietor
Eugene Borden	...	Officer of the Day

Storyline

Around 1820 the son of a California nobleman comes home from Spain to find his native land under a villainous dictatorship. On the one hand he plays the useless fop, while on the other he is the masked avenger Zorro.

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Plot Keywords:

california | fop | swordsman | sword | secret identity | 

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Taglines:

Ride With Zorro . . . The Dashing Don Of California's Most Adventurous Era !

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 November 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Californian

Filming Locations:

Stage 6, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 90 min (censored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Mark of Zorro is the movie that plays in Monarch Theater in Gotham City the night Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce Wayne's parents, are murdered. Bob Kane, Batman's creator, based his dark knight on Zorro.

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Goofs

When the padre leaves the cell he has a pistol in his right hand. When he starts hitting the soldiers, he has a tree limb in his right hand. When the Alcade resigns, the padre escorts him the pistol is back in his right hand.

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Quotes

Don Diego Vega: I must please ask you to change the subject. His Excellency objects to talk of throat-cutting.
Captain Esteban Pasquale: Quiet, you Popinjay! I have no reason to letting you live either.
Don Diego Vega: What a pleasant coincidence. I feel exactly the same way about you Capitan.
Captain Esteban Pasquale: You wouldn't care to translate that feeling into action would you?
Don Diego Vega: I might be tempted. If I had a weapon.
Captain Esteban Pasquale: Would you.

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Connections

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003)

User Reviews

The Best Zorro of the Cinema History

In Madrid, the talented aristocratic military swordsman and rider Diego Vega (Tyrone Power) returns to the Mexican California to reunite with his father, the Alcalde Don Alejandro Vega (Montagu Love), and his mother. When he arrives in Los Angeles, he finds that his father has been replaced by the tyrannous Alcalde Don Luis Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg) that oppresses the people with soaring taxes and violent punishment for those that can not afford and supported by the corrupt Captain Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone) and his soldiers. Don Diego does not disclose his abilities with the sword and disguises pretending that he is a sophisticated fashionable gay, for the heartache of his father. However, when he secretly wears a mask and rides a black horse, he becomes the avenger Zorro that carves his mark for the fearfulness of his enemies.

"The Mark of Zorro" is the best Zorro of the cinema history in a time when the studios were concerned with the screenplay and acting and not CGI and sex scenes. The witty delightful story presents Tyrone Power as a fantastic the weak and fragile Don Diego Vega and the powerful Zorro, with totally different personalities. His ability as swordsman and rider is impressive in a perfect choreography of fights, recalling Errol Flynn in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" of two years before. Linda Darnell is so sweet and beautiful that seems to be the inspiration for the title of the novel of Vladimir Nabokov. J. Edward Bromberg and Basil Rathbone are the perfect villains, the first one coward and sleazy and the second arrogant and corrupt. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "A Marca do Zorro" ("The Mark of Zorro")