Zorro's Black Whip (1944)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Directors:

Spencer Gordon Bennet
Wallace Grissell

Writers:

Johnston McCulley (character)
Basil Dickey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 November 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

MASK OF MYSTERY! Who is this daring figure who conquers villainy and evil with the crack of a blazing black whip!

Plot:

Hammond, owner of the town's stagecoach line and a leading citizen, is opposed to Idaho becoming a state...

Plot Keywords:

Whip | Mask | Idaho | Masked Heroine | Tied To Chair

Cast

George J. Lewis	...	Vic Gordon
Linda Stirling	...	Barbara Meredith (The Black Whip)
Lucien Littlefield	...	'Tenpoint' Jackson
Francis McDonald	...	Dan Hammond
Hal Taliaferro	...	Henchman Baxter
John Merton	...	Henchman Ed Harris
John Hamilton	...	Mr. Walsh (Banker) [Chs.1-3,10-12]
Tom Chatterton	...	Crescent City Councilman
Tom London	...	Commissioner James Bradley [Ch.1]
Jack Kirk	...	Marshal Wetherby
Jay Kirby	...	Randolph Meredith [Ch.1]
Si Jenks	...	Zeke Hayden [Chs. 6-7]
Stanley Price	...	Hedges, Hammond's Clerk-Henchman
Tom Steele	...	Henchman Ed [Chs. 1, 9, 12] / Rancher [Ch. 7]
Duke Green	...	Trail Heavy Evans [Chs. 1-2, 8] / Ranchhouse Heavy Brown [Ch. 9]

Runtime:

211 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #10135)

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Although this serial carries the credit "based on characters created by Johnston McCulley", none of the Zorro characters appears in this film. It was released as a Zorro film apparently so that the studio could be sure the moviegoers would come to watch the serial. Also, 'George J. Lewis, who plays the Black Whip's sidekick, usually played villainous roles - this was apparently the only serial in which he plays the hero. Someone in the casting department must have been off sick that day.

Quotes:

Dan Hammond: Looting, arson, murder - it's going on all over this territory. Immigrants crossing our borders are being attacked and slaughtered. My stages are beind held up almost every run. No man's life or property is safe and not a hand is being raised to put a stop to it!
Randolph Meredith [Ch.1]: It can't be stopped - as long as we have no organized law enforcement in this territory. That's why my paper has been hammering on the benefit that statehood would bring us.
Marshal Wetherby: Well, that's our answer. I'm marshal here, but my authority ends at the edge of town. There's no one to fight the outlaws outside the township unless he's got nerve enough to do it on his own hook - like the Black Whip!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The American Experience: Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (#17.11)" (2004)

A Female Zorro

This serial from Republic is one of a long line of Zorro epics. This one is different in that the the Zorro character is played by the lovely Linda Stirling and the hero by veteran character actor/villain George J Lewis. The chief baddies are played competently by Francis MacDonald and Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales). Roy Barcroft must have been busy.

The second unit direction is handled by Yakima Canutt so you know that

you will be treated to the best stunt work the industry had to offer.

With the usual narrow escapes, rides to the rescue, fisticuffs and explosions, this serial is one of the better efforts from the Republic thrill factory.