''The Mark of Zorro'' is a 1920 American silent Western romance film starring Douglas Fairbanks and

Noah Beery Sr. Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of promine ...

This genre-defining swashbuckler adventure was the first movie version of ''The Mark of Zorro''. Based on the 1919 story ''

The Curse of Capistrano ''The Curse of Capistrano'' is a 1919 novel by Johnston McCulley and the first work to feature the Californio character Diego Vega, the masked hero also called Zorro (''zorro'' is the Spanish word for fox). It first appeared as a five-part magazin ...

'' by Johnston McCulley, which introduced the masked hero, Zorro, the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

was adapted by Fairbanks (as "Elton Thomas") and Eugene Miller. The film was produced by Fairbanks for his own production company, Douglas Fairbanks Pictures Corporation, and was the first film released through United Artists, the company formed by Fairbanks, Mary Pickford,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

, and

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

Noah Beery Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994) was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, ...

makes his first of many dozens of screen appearance spanning six decades. He portrayed a young child; his father began sporadically billing himself as Noah Beery Sr. as a result. The film has been remade twice, once in 1940 (starring Tyrone Power) and again in 1974 (starring Frank Langella). In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

''The Mark of Zorro'' tells the story of Don Diego Vega, the outwardly foppish son of a wealthy ranchero Don Alejandro in the old Spanish California of the early 19th century. Seeing the mistreatment of the peons by rich landowners and the oppressive colonial government, Don Diego, who is not as effete as he pretends, has taken the identity of the masked Robin Hood-like rogue Señor Zorro ("Mr. Fox"), champion of the people, who appears out of nowhere to protect them from the corrupt administration of Governor Alvarado, his henchman the villainous Captain Juan Ramon and the brutish Sergeant Pedro Gonzales (Noah Beery, Wallace Beery's older half-brother). With his sword flashing and an athletic sense of humor, Zorro scars the faces of evildoers with his mark, "Z". When not in the disguise of Zorro, dueling and rescuing peons, Don Diego courts the beautiful Lolita Pulido with bad magic tricks and worse manners. She cannot stand him. Lolita is also courted by Captain Ramon; and by the dashing Zorro, whom she likes. In the end, when Lolita's family is jailed, Don Diego throws off his masquerade, whips out his sword, wins over the soldiers to his side, forces Governor Alvarado to abdicate, and wins the hand of Lolita, who is delighted to discover that her effeminate suitor, Diego, is actually the dashing hero.

Primary cast

* Douglas Fairbanks as Don Diego Vega/Señor Zorro * Marguerite De La Motte as Lolita Pulido *

as Sergeant Pedro Gonzales * Charles Hill Mailes as Don Carlos Pulido * Claire McDowell as Doña Catalina Pulido * Robert McKim as Captain Juan Ramon *

George Periolat George Periolat (February 5, 1874 – February 20, 1940) was an American actor. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, George Periolat began his career as a Broadway actor. Making his film debut with the Essanay Studios in Chicago, he moved to H ...

as Governor Alvarado * Walt Whitman as Father Felipe * Sidney De Gray as Don Alejandro Vega * Tote Du Crow as Bernardo, Don Diego's mute servant *

as Boy * Charles Stevens as Peon beaten by Sergeant Gonzales *

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

(uncredited child)

Reception and impact

'' The New York Times'' gave ''The Mark of Zorro'' a mixed review. Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance, assessing the film's legacy in 2008, writes: "''The Mark of Zorro'' is a landmark, not only in the career of Douglas Fairbanks, but also in the development of the action-adventure film. With this, his thirtieth motion picture, Fairbanks was transitioning from comedies to the costume films for which he is best remembered. Instead of reflecting the times, ''The Mark of Zorro'' offers an infusion of the romantic past with a contemporary flair ... Beyond reenergizing his career and redefining a genre, Fairbanks's The Mark of Zorro helped popularize one of the enduring creations of twentieth-century American fiction, a character who was the prototype for comic book heroes such as

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

." ''The Mark of Zorro'' was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Batman connection

In the DC Comics continuity, it is established that ''The Mark of Zorro'' was the film that the young Bruce Wayne had seen with his parents at a movie theater, 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

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 1920 original. Bill Finger was himself inspired by Fairbanks' Zorro, including similarities in costumes, the "Bat Cave" and Zorro's cave, and unexpected secret identities, especially since the

character predates the Tyrone Power remake by a year. The posters for 1940's ''The Mark of Zorro'' and the 1981 film '' Excalibur'' were used for a scene in '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. In the animated series '' Justice League Unlimited'', a flashback of the fateful night establishes that for DCAU continuity Bruce and his parents were attending ''The Mark of Zorro'' but does not indicate which version. In earlier episodes of '' Batman: The Animated Series'', the fictional character the Gray Ghost, a pulp fiction hero inspired by The Shadow, is the inspiration to young Bruce Wayne. In the Season 5 episode "Ace Chemicals" of '' Gotham'', the villain Jeremiah Valeska films his own version of the film as a way of taunting Bruce Wayne. The credits for his own version begin with the title credits that acknowledge it as Douglas Fairbanks' version. Despite copyright dates, both Zorro and Batman have been litigated with regard to whether the original material has passed into the public domain. Zorro has been found to be in the public domain in the courts.Note 31
of ''Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Ent. Group.''

References

External links