''Zorro, The Gay Blade'' is a 1981 American

swashbuckling A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, produced by C.O. Erickson and George Hamilton, directed by

Peter Medak Péter Medák (born 23 December 1937) is a Hungarians in the United Kingdom, Hungarian-British film and television director. Early life Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...

, that stars Hamilton,

Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...

, Ron Leibman, and

Brenda Vaccaro Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) is an American stage, film and television actress. In a career spanning over half a century, she received one Academy Award nomination, three Golden Globe Award nominations (winning one), four Primet ...

. The film's opening prologue states: "This film is dedicated to

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian (October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an Armenian-American film and theater director. Mamoulian's oeuvre includes sixteen films (four of which are Musical film, musicals) and seventeen Broadway theatre, Broadw ...

and the other great filmmakers whose past gives us our future". The prologue quickly establishes that ''Zorro, The Gay Blade'' is a tongue-in-cheek sequel to 20th Century Fox's swashbuckling

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

'' The Mark of Zorro'' (1940), directed by Mamoulian. Hamilton was nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

award for playing the

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

of Don Diego de la Vega (

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

) and his gay twin brother Bunny Wigglesworth, aka Ramón de la Vega.

Plot

In 1840s

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Don Diego de la Vega is in bed with a married woman. They are caught by her husband, Garcia, and Diego must sword fight with him and his five brothers. During the altercation, Diego's mute servant Paco reads (via gestures) a letter from Diego's father ordering Diego's return to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Diego and Paco jump from a high wall into a waiting carriage. When the two arrive in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

months later, they are met by Diego's childhood friend Esteban, who is now capitán of the guard. He has married Florinda, for whom the men competed when they were boys. Diego learns that his father was killed in a riding accident, his horse "frightened by a turtle". Esteban is the acting

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

until the Dons elect a replacement. Esteban is elected by acclamation and then gives a speech to the assembled peasants. He is interrupted by Charlotte Taylor-Wilson, a wealthy

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. She and Diego meet, and despite their political differences, Diego is smitten. Diego is invited to a masked ball celebrating Esteban's elevation. He also receives his inheritance: Zorro's black cape, hat, and sword, along with a letter from his late father revealing that he was Zorro. That legacy now falls to Diego. He decides the masked ball is the perfect place to announce Zorro's return. On his way there, Zorro witnesses a peasant being extorted. He confronts and defeats Esteban's tax collector, then instructs the peasant to spread the word that El Zorro has returned. Diego, in Zorro costume, dances with Florinda at the ball. Velasquez, the tax collector, reports the theft to Esteban, pointing to Diego as Zorro. A duel ensues with Esteban, and Zorro escapes by again jumping from a high wall, but this time injuring his foot and hobbling away. Later that night, a drunken Florinda attempts to seduce Diego at his

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

, but Esteban arrives to speak about the evening's events. He suspects that Diego might be Zorro, but Diego convinces him that his foot is uninjured. A reign of terror begins, including

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and increased

taxation A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...

. Diego is frustrated because, being injured, he cannot fight Esteban's tyranny. Fate intervenes when Diego's gay, foppish, and British-educated twin brother Ramón de la Vega, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer having adopted the name "Bunny Wigglesworth", comes home for a visit. Diego brings him up to date, and Bunny assumes the guise of Zorro, using a whip instead of a sword, while wearing flamboyant Zorro attire in a variety of coordinated colors. The colorful Zorro always eludes capture. Esteban hatches a plan to lure Zorro to the alcalde's residence with another ball to show off Florinda's expensive new necklace. Seeing through the plan, Diego arrives dressed as Zorro. So do the rest of the Dons and male party guests, saying that a message from Esteban instructed them all to dress that way. Adding to the confusion, Bunny appears in drag, masquerading as "Margarita" Wigglesworth, Diego's cousin from Santa Barbara. Esteban is smitten upon meeting her. Bunny spills a drink on Florinda, and in the resulting chaos attempts to clean her dress, and makes off with the necklace. As Bunny leaves to return to the Royal Navy, he tells Diego that Charlotte Taylor-Wilson has confessed her love for Zorro. At the plaza, Diego (as Zorro) and Charlotte meet again, falling into each other's arms, but they are observed and Esteban is informed. As a ruse to lure Zorro, he has Charlotte arrested, and she is sentenced to be executed. Don Diego as Zorro surrenders to Esteban to save her, and he is sentenced to death. Seconds before the firing squad opens fire, Bunny, this time wearing a bright metallic gold costume, announces the return of Zorro with a rhyme, "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a peso. All for Zorro, stand up and say so!" With Charlotte's and Diego's aid, Zorro incites the assembled peasants to rebellion. Esteban's guards also rebel, joined by Florinda, and Esteban stands alone, defeated. Later, Bunny finally rides off to catch his ship back to Britain, waving goodbye, after which Diego and Charlotte ride off to plan their wedding. As her wedding gift, Charlotte suggests that Diego donate all his family lands to the people, so they can settle down and raise a family in Boston.

Cast

* George Hamilton as Don Diego Vega / Zorro / Bunny Wigglesworth / Ramón Vega *

as Charlotte Taylor-Wilson *

as Florinda * Ron Leibman as Captain Esteban *

Donovan Scott Donovan Scott (born September 29, 1947) is an American character actor best known for his role as cadet Leslie Barbara in the 1984 film ''Police Academy'', in which he was part of an ensemble cast. Biography Scott studied for two and a half ye ...

as Paco *

James Booth James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Private Henry Hook in '' Zulu.'' ''Variety'' called him "a punchy b ...

as Velasquez * Helen Burns as Consuelo *

Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill (18 April 1930 – 11 March 2025) was a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he also starred in numerous films and television ...

as Garcia *

Carolyn Seymour Carolyn Seymour is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Abby Grant in the BBC series ''Survivors (1975 TV series), Survivors'' (1975) and Queen Myrrah in the ''Gears of War (series), Gears of War'' franchise. Career She wa ...

as Dolores * Eduardo Noriega as Don Francisco * Pilar Pellicer as Don Francisco's wife *

Jorge Russek Jorge Antonio Russek Martínez (4 January 1932 – 30 July 1998) was a Mexican actor, whose career in film and television spanned over 40 years. A native of Guaymas, Sonora, he became one of the most prominent actors in Mexican cinema and appeare ...

as Don Fernando * Eduardo Alcaraz as Don Jose * Carlos Bravo y Fernández as Don Luis Obispo * Roberto Dumont as Ferraro * Jorge Bolio as Pablito *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

as Narrator (in voice-over)

Development

The film began life as a screenplay by future screenwriter and teacher David Trottier, titled ''Zorro, the Comedy Adventure''. Trottier had little involvement with the finished film, barring some minor additions, so was not credited.

Film score

The opening credits read: ”Music conducted and adapted by Ian Fraser” and the end credits: “Music adapted from ''

Adventures of Don Juan ''Adventures of Don Juan'' is a 1948 American Technicolor swashbuckling adventure romance film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Errol Flynn and Viveca Lindfors, with Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford, and Robert Warwick. Als ...

'' (1948) by

Max Steiner Maximilian Raoul Steiner (10 May 1888 – 28 December 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and became one of cinema of the United States, Hollywood's greatest musical composers. Steiner was a child prodi ...

nd'' Danzes Fantastica'' by

Joaquín Turina Joaquín Turina Pérez (9 December 188214 January 1949) was a Spanish composer of classical music.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online (2014)"Joaquín Turina"/ref> Biography Turina was born in Seville. He studied in Seville as well as in Madri ...

”.

Critical reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

gave a mostly positive review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', praising many of the performances in particular. " eorge Hamiltonhas energy and extreme good will. He also has surrounded himself with some very attractive and funny actors, particularly Mr. Leibman, Brenda Vaccaro, as the alcalde's sex-hungry wife, and beautiful Lauren Hutton". The film holds a rating of 50% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

from 16 reviews.

References

External links

* * * {{Peter Medak 1981 films 1980s adventure comedy films American parody films 1980s Western (genre) comedy films 20th Century Fox films American adventure comedy films American LGBTQ-related films 1981 LGBTQ-related films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Peter Medak 1980s parody films Zorro films Films set in the 1840s Films set in California 1981 comedy films Films based on works by Johnston McCulley Fiction about twins 1980s American films English-language Western (genre) comedy films English-language adventure comedy films