The Mark of Zorro

Rating:
Summary: LOUSY TRANSFER RUINS A POWERFUL PERFORMANCE!
Review: "The Mark of Zorro" is the most memorable of the Zorro films made about the black masked crusader, fighting for the people and against the injustices of corrupt political officials. Zorro (Tyrone Power) must stop Captain Pasquale (Basil Rathbone) from destroying Los Angeles by robbing its citizenry while he romances his gorgeous niece (Linda Darnell).
TRANSFER: Just awful! Though the original elements were in pretty bad shape, Fox has managed to restore much of the luster of the original camera negative. There are age related artifacts, but the real problem here is the edge enhancement and aliasing and shimmering of fine details that are present in EVERY SINGLE FRAME of this disc! The audio is remastered in stereo and nicely presented for its age.
EXTRAS: Only a bio on Tyrone Power and an audio commentary by Richard Schickel.
BOTTOM LINE: A thrilling story and wonderful performances ruined by a shoddy transfer. NO to "The Mark of Zorro".

Rating:
Summary: The March of the Swashbucklers to DVD Continues . . .
Review: "The Mark of Zorro" is in many ways Twentieth Century-Fox's answer to Warners long string of swashbucklers and, in particular, Errol Flynn--and a magnificent answer it is. The film never lags in its story of the masked avenger by night and stylish coward by day. Power was in top form in this rousing and exciting film that makes mincemeat of "The Mask of Zorro" and any other film using Zorro as a main character--especially the foreign films like "Three Swords of Zorro" in the 1960s.
Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell make a wonderful on-screen couple with their dance in front of her aunt and uncle a highlight of the film. The music moves and the theme of the film will haunt any lover of film music. The side players are also perfect.
In short, as these great film adventures come to DVD, it is great to see that Mr. Power, Ms. Darnell, the villanous Mr. Rathbone, and many of the others will be among them. Now,please, oh please DVD gods, bring on "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk" and allow this viewer to die a happy man!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Top 10
Review: A great classic that can never be outdone, no matter how many remakes ore done of it. The sword fight between Power and Rathbone is the best ever put on film.

Rating:
Summary: The best Zorro movie ever
Review: A great swashbuckler, this movie has romance, action, humor, and even a message in how ordinary people need to band together in order to stop an oppressive government. Tyrone Power is perfect as Zorro "the fox" and I've always loved Basil Rathbone who is just so deliciously nasty on film. Great action scenes, a wonderful Alfred Newman score. The original silent movie with Douglas Fairbanks is great, but this version is more sophisticated and crisp. It has sweep and sass. Only the 1938 "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn ranks higher to me in action films.

Rating:
Summary: The Supreme Zorro Film
Review: After the success of Warner Brothers "The Adventures of Robin Hood," starring Errol Flynn, Twentieth Century Fox released a film of their namesake, "The Mark of Zorro," starring Tyrone Power. It was a box office hit, and is a classic of it's time. While not in color, and wary of action, this film holds up as, in my opinion, the best of the Zorro films.

In the 1800's, the Spanish Empire rules California. Don Diego Vega (Tyrone Power), is "the best fencer of Madrid." He is ordered home by his father, Don Alejandro. Upon arrival, he hears that the alcalde is an evil tyrant. But Diego's fahter is the alcalde!
Diego learns from Capitan Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone) that his father resigned, and that Luis B. Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg) has replaced him as alcalde. Both Esteban and Quintero are worthless land theives, taxing the peons into poverty to fill their own pockets. However, Diego suddenly appears to have lost his swordsman skills, now acting foppish and peaceful, much to Alejandro's dissapointment. However, Deigo soon becomes the black-clad Zorro, a daring freedom fighter rescuing both the rich and poor from the tyrants. To disguise himself, he must remain foppish. Only the padre Felipe (Eugene Pallette) knows his true identity, along with Diego's fiance Lolita Quintero (Linda Darnell), a kind girl against her uncle and his henchman. However, when Fray Felipe is arrested as Zorro for trying to defend the mission taxes, Diego abandons both disguises and leads the caballeros and peons to battle, personally taking on Esteban in a spectacular showdown.

"The Mark of Zorro" was based on three stories. One was Johnston McCulley's original Zorro story. Unlike the Fairbanks film, the theme here focuses on saving the people from corruption, rather than defending Lolita. Another was Douglas Faribanks's "The Mark of Zorro" (1920). The other was "The Adventures of Robin Hood." Basil Rathbone and Eugene Pallette had roles in the Robin Hood film before starring in "The Mark of Zorro." Zorro here as a Robin Hood characteristic: he steals tax money and returns it to the people. Most Zorros force their enemies to give the money back themselves.

Sword battles in this film occur mainly between Diego and Esteban. The fencing in this movie is excellent. Rathbone is one of the best fencer's of all time, as is Power. The Zorro in this film is the closest thing ever that fits the Zorro legacy. This is a beautiful classic, one than cannot be missed.

And yes, I know, this exact same review is already up, but I made a few errors.

Rating:
Summary: Movies - and Ty Power - don't get better than this!
Review: Beautiful faces, gorgeous b&w photography, an array of old Hollywood's best character actors, brawling and tumultous fight scenes, probably the best sword fight ever filmed, and a rousing musical score that must have sent people almost dancing out of theaters with big smiles on their faces in 1940 - and will still make you smile in your living room. And dialogue laced with wit and humor as well as drama. Now THIS is what a Hollywood action movie should be!

This is one of the all-time best. Got the blues? This ought to chase them right away. Really got the blues? Try a double-feature of this with Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood. And you can keep all the Wars and Treks in the stars. They are made by mere children as compared to these old pros.

Why doesn't Tyrone Power have a cult of his own today? He was handsome and versatile, and a good actor whose performances hold up better than many of his competitors'. Ty Power's the Man!

Rating:
Summary: Movies - and Ty Power - don't get better than this!
Review: Beautiful faces, gorgeous b&w photography, an array of old Hollywood's best character actors, brawling and tumultous fight scenes, probably the best sword fight ever filmed, and a rousing musical score that must have sent people almost dancing out of theaters with big smiles on their faces in 1940 - and will still make you smile in your living room. And dialogue laced with wit and humor as well as drama. Now THIS is what a Hollywood action movie should be!

This is one of the all-time best. Got the blues? This ought to chase them right away. Really got the blues? Try a double-feature of this with Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood. And you can keep all the Wars and Treks in the stars. They are made by mere children as compared to these old pros.

Why doesn't Tyrone Power have a cult of his own today? He was handsome and versatile, and a good actor whose performances hold up better than many of his competitors'. Ty Power's the Man!

Rating:
Summary: Classic Zorro , Tyrone Power's finest moment
Review: Classic is the one word that I could truly use to properly describe Twentieth Century Fox's 1940 version of "The Mark Of Zorro". Forget all the previous versions and certainly the latest remake with Antonio Banderas, this is the supreme version in regard to storytelling, casting, sets, excitement and unforgettable sword play. It boasts Tyrone Power's finest performance by far in my opinion and it also contains one of the most exciting and dramatically staged sword fights in the history of film swashbucklers (with the possible exception of Errol Flynn's duel with Basil Rathbone in "The Adventures of Robin Hood").

"The Mark Of Zorro" directed by veteran director Rouben Mamoulian, is old fashioned movie making at its very best. It contains an exciting storyline with frequent dashes of daring action sequences, excellent sword play, a tender romance between Tyrone and the very beautiful Linda Darnelland a sweeping, energetic musical score which is just right for this production.

Tyrone Power scored a great personal triumph in this role of the effeminate Don Diego de Vega by day, and the dashing and daring Zorro by night. It is the role which really became his trademark performance much as "Gone With The Wind" is for Clark Gable. Forever after Zorro has been identified as possibly his greatest role and the character he was most identified with. By 1940 Tyrone Power had reached his Box Office peak with a string of huge Box Office successes like "In Old Chicago" "Marie Antoinette", "Suez", "Jesse James", "Rose of Washington Square" and "Johnny Apollo". Zorro was the role of a life time and came along also just as his extraordinary good looks had matured enough to make him totally convincing as the fop by day and dashing bringer of justice by night. It is a performance filled with a vital energy, dashing spirit and the right element of tongue in cheek bravado.

The production of "The Mark Of Zorro" was one of Twentieth Century Fox's biggest productions of the year. The attention to detail in sets and importantly in costumne is immaculate and really recreates that feeling of old California of the nineteenth century. The film benefits greatly from the superb supporting cast without which any film of this size would be lost. The beautiful Linda Darnell was only starting to come into prominence at this time and she makes a very effective love interest for Tyrone here in the role of Lolita. Her role might be really window dressing but she is most effective in her brief scenes. The wonderful Basil Rathbone, swordsman extraordinaire, is superb as always as the corrupt and cruel Captain Pasquale and he brings the right elements of menace and slippery sophistication to his role to turn in another stunning performance much like his performance of two years before in
"The Adventures Of Robin Hood" . Equally villianous and equally delightful in the cast line up are Gale Sondergaard, arch villianess of many films, and J. Edward Bromberg as the cowardly but corrupt governor Don Luis Quintero and his vain wife Inez . They are excellent in their scenes and Bromberg in particular has a field day with his very amusing role as the ruthless replacement governor who is bleeding the local peasants dry in taxation but is a coward afraid of his own shadow. His scenes are very amusing where he is reduced to a blubbering mass of fears during Zorro's nocturnal visits to his headquarters and proves to be no match for the daring Zorro who always manages to leave his signature "Z" in conspicious places.

I cannot recommend "The Mark Of Zorro" highly enough and if for nothing else it is worth seeing for the superb fencing sequence between Power and Rathbone which is a classic of its kind and one of the most memorable dueling sequences ever put on film. Some individuals believe it's a pity that the photography is in black and white but I personally feel it suits the story well and never have Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell looked more attractive than in this production. Enjoy "The Mark Of Zorro" as the high spirited entertainment that it is and as a tribute to the mastery that was Hollywood film making in its Golden Age. Films really don't come better than the 1940 version of "The Mark Of Zorro"

Rating:
Summary: Tyrone Power at his best!
Review: During the age when swashbuckling action films were the most popular form of entertainment, there arose from Twentieth Century Fox an adventure film that topped all others. This film was "The Mark of Zorro" starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. The daring masked avenger cloaked in black has been an American legend for 80 years, and many films have been produced starring the masked fox. However, I believe that this film is the best Zorro production ever made.

The setting is Spanish California in 1820. Don Diego Vega (Tyrone Power), an expert fencer of Madrid an in the elite training corps, is summoned back to Los Angeles by his fahter, Don Alejandro (Montagu Love), the alcalde. Upon arriving home, Diego learns his father has been run out of office by Capitan Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone). Esteban holds in his hand the perfect puppet, a superstitious, greedy alcalde, Luis Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg). However, Diego pretends to be a fop, unmotivated to fight the capitan, befriending the alcalde and his wife Inez (Gale Sondergaard). However, Diego soon dons the mask of a daring hero, identifying himself as Zorro. Zorro terrorizes the alcalde and robs Esteban of the money he has robbed from the peons. Zorro and a local padre (Eugene Pallete) work to return the money to the citizens of Los Angeles. Diego/Zorro also falls in love with the beautiful Lolita Quintero (Linda Darnell), the niece of the alcalde. She cares nothing for her father's plans, her full support to Zorro. However, when the padre is arrested, Diego abandons his mask and leads the caballeros on a revolt.

This film added into the Zorro figure a new trait. In most Zorro stories, Zorro forces his enemies to return stolen money themselves. This Zorro, more serious, delivers the gold himself. This is a definate classic.

Of course, the film has it's problems. Power spends less time as Zorro and more time as Diego. Zorro only battles one soldier, the main battle occuring between Esteban and Diego. However, dispite minor errors, this film is an undisputed classic, and cannot not be missed by Zorro fans.

Rating:
Summary: "No Wonder You Chose the Church!"
Review: exclaims Basil Rathbone when he gets a peek into all the loot that's in the coffers he's stealing from Father Eugene Pallette. But of course what he doesn't know is that it was all just put in there by Zorro aka Tyrone Power. "The Mark of Zorro" is a very entertaining romp in old California, when the Spanish nobles still had a lot of sway. Basil Rathbone is simply wonderful as the fencing master who takes an instant dislike to Diego, Tyrone Power's true identity. That's because Gale Sondergaard, heretofore Rathbone's mistress, is now casting glances at Power, who is pretending to be something of a sissy. This is disgusting to senorita Linda Darnell, who respects a Real Hombre, like Zorro. Power is drawn to her, not Sondergaard, but romance has to take a second seat to righting some wrongs. Really great duelling scenes, and some pretty advanced dialogue about an analogy between fruit and Diego make for a picture worth seeing.