Don Diego Vega (Tyrone Power) returns home to California to discover his home under the thumb of a corrupt magistrate Don Luis Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg) and his violent enforcer Captain Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone).
Disturbed by the plight of the people, Don Diego adopts the masked moniker of Zorro to strike back and bring down the regime…
A week or so ago, I finally watched The Adventures of Robin Hood. The movie is great, I will probably scribble something about it, but more importantly it reintroduced me to a genre I had not watched since I was a child:
The swashbuckler.
Robin Hood aside, most swashbucklers involve pirates and sailing ships. One of the other exceptions is Mark of Zorro.
Like Adventures of Robin Hood, Mark of Zorro is technically a remake of a silent original, starring the original American action star Douglas Fairbanks.
Despite its origins, The Mark of Zorro is a movie with a long shadow. Well-regarded since its release, it is often held up as one of the finest adventure films ever made.
It has been referenced both overtly - The Mask of Zorro feels like a loving sequel - and in more subtle ways (Batman fans will recognise it as the movie that young Bruce Wayne watches the night his parents died).
With its story of a nobleman moonlighting as a masked avenger, righting wrongs, it is easy to see the inspiration for the caped crusader. It also feels a lot like Robin Hood.
Watching this movie after The Adventures of Robin Hood made the viewing experience slightly surreal as it shares that film’s villain (Basil Rathbone) and Friar Tuck (Eugene Palette). It was like going into the remake right after watching the original.
Tyrone Power was an idol of the 40s and 50s. I have heard of him but this is the first movie of his I have seen.
Like Errol Flynn, he made a name for himself in swashbucklers, but then made the transition to the stage and more dramatic roles. He famously passed away of a heart attack while filming a sword fight for Solomon and Sheba.
He is an interesting contrast to Flynn.
Flynn feels chaotic, with a devil-may-care attitude and sexual charisma to burn.
Power is positively conservative by comparison. He is equally athletic, but comes with a pedigree. If Flynn feels like a man of the people, Power feels more blue blood.
He may romance Linda Darnell but his intentions seem completely wholesome.
When Flynn’s Robin Hood whisks Olivia De Havilland’s Maid Marion away at the end, it feels like they are about to have a different kind of climax.
Power is a joy, playing up the foppishness of his public persona but without going too broad. He appears more as a disconnected nepo baby, uncomfortable with even the vaguest inconvenience. It is totally believable that his foes dismiss him.
Earlier, I referenced the familiarity of the supporting cast.
It is a good example of how the studio system worked, taking character actors known for playing a specific type and plugging them into similar roles. Hence why you have Eugene Palette essentially playing Friar Tuck (completely with sword fight) and why you have Basil Rathbone playing a variation of Guy of Gisborne.
Rathbone also came with the pedigree of being a trained swordsman.
Something I have picked up on in my own enjoyment of action movies (or movies driven by action, like musicals) is when characters show physical ability through casual behaviour: Rathbone’s stretch as he prepares to duel Power is not a subtle example but conveys experience and the character’s casual sadism - this is a man who sees death as a sport.
While Rathbone is great, J. Edward Bromberg is the most interesting of Zorro’s antagonists as Don Luis Quintero, the corrupt mayor of Los Angeles.
Self-serving and cowardly, he is willing to throw anyone under the bus. He is also one of the comic highlights of the movie. His final speech, in which he informs the townsfolk that he intends to retire, is a delightful series of increasingly morose proclamations as the audience voices their displeasure with jeers and laughter.
While I have loved diving into the swashbucklers, one recurring issue is how poor the women’s’ roles are in these movies.
And that extends to The Mark of Zorro. While the other elements of the film feel like they are punching above their weight, the romance is a bit prosaic.
Linda Darnell does not get much to do but look beautiful and provide a reason for our hero to realise living in California is not so bad after all. Her one real scene - confessing her desires to Zorro, disguised as a priest - is a comic highlight, but she is basically serving as an unknowing straight man
While watching Robin Hood and the other swashbucklers, I was struck by the unity of their underlying disdain for the greed of the landed gentry. Even the heroes come from the same class, they recognise the inequalities of the world around them, and the films are about our heroes finding various ways to redistribute their wealthy victims’ resources.
Most of these movies were made during the Great Depression, and it feels a part of the text in Mark of Zorro.
One of the most striking elements is how grim Los Angeles county is in the eraly parts of the movie. Maybe it is the effect of being shot in black and white, but the movie takes its time to show the brutality of the new regime.
This sequence starts as a case of mistaken identity - Don Diego introduces himself as the son of the Alcalde (magistrate) of the county, ignorant of the fact that his father has been forced from office.
He learns of the new state of the people as a stranger. While coming from a high status background, the film positions Don Diego as an outsider, and someone that everyone underestimates.
What is fascinating about the movie from a contemporary perspective is how unfussy the movie is about its title character. We get motivation for why Diego becomes Zorro, and that is it. We do not get any sweaty scenes showing our hero putting together his vigilante persona and costume.
Zorro is introduced with speed - riding on his horse and publicising his goal with a poster (like Batman, he understands the power of branding).
The final sword fight in The Adventures of Robin Hood is fantastic - this one is even better.
It helps that the characters in-movie are trained swordsmen (there is a great bear where Rathbone actually stretches before the duel).
Trading barbs and blades around an office, the pair’s battle is also one over the privileges afforded by the landed gentry.
There are few action sequences in the picture but it moves at a clip (only 94 minutes!) and makes up for it with a fantastic final duel and pitched battle.
Maybe because of the parallels with Batman, I was surprised at how closed the ending is.
Our hero has saved the people and found love.
The movie’s character arc is simple - he starts the movie as a soldier, excited to be at the centre of the action.He treats his return home as purgatory
By the end of the film, he has found purpose and contentment with matrimony.
Order has been restored - the corrupt ruler has been replaced by a more benevolent one, all classes seemingly united. Going back to the contemporary context of the film’s making, it feels like an allegory for Roosevelt’s America; not remaking the old order but re-working it to a more egalitarian model
The film had no sequels, although it paved the way for Power to challenge Errol Flynn as a swashbuckling hero.
It made me want more Zorro, but it also made me want to check out more movies in the swashbuckler genre.
Check back in - the Midnight Ramble will be swashing more buckles shortly.
