He was the first action hero and though he was already middleaged the man was amazingly fit and agile as this movie proves. Zorro was the firstever super hero inspiring superman, batman, and all the others. According to lenin, karl marx was, the genius who continued and consummated the three main ideological currents of the 19th century, as represented by the three most advanced countries of mankind. The 1920 silentfilm classic is projected on the big screen while organist dennis james provides the unforgettable soundtrack. But, as an argentinian, the only zorro ever for me will be guy williams from disneys take on it. The novel was adapted as the film the mark of zorro 1920, which fairbanks produced, cowrote and starred in as diegozorro.
Many movies have been made since the first, the latest being the legend of zorro, 2005, with antonio banderas. The mark of zorro is a 1940 american blackandwhite swashbuckling spanish western adventure film from 20th century fox, produced by darryl f. Mark of zorro was the transition between douglas fairbanks early career as a brash allamerican hero and the lavish 1920s costume adventures. By 1920, a year after mcculleys novel was published, hollywood took over. Directed by fred niblo produced by douglas fairbanks. The mark of zorro, his fourth film for united artists, changed the course of his career. Zanuck, directed by rouben mamoulian, that stars tyrone power, linda darnell, and basil rathbone. Pdf download the first king of hollywood the life of douglas. Zorro eventually leads a revolution and convinces the alcalde to resign and move to spain.
M, just as i got home from school, i was more than a fan. Znak zorroa je americki crnobijeli nijemi pustolovni film snimljen 1920. The mark of zorro made douglas fairbanks a superstar. A young spanish aristocrat must masquerade as a fop in order to maintain his secret identity of zorro as he restores justice to early california. From this moment on, fencing was associated with swashbuckling adventure. Johnston macculleys 19 adventure yarn the curse of capistrano was given its first filmization in douglas fairbanks 1920 the mark of zorro. And its a great way for introducing modern viewers to the art of silent film. The screenplay was adapted from the book by fairbanks as elton thomas and eugene miller. Zorro spanish for fox is a fictional character created in 1919 by american pulp writer. Although the author might have drawn his inspiration from such characters as the 17 th c.
Young boys all around the world donned homemade capes and masks in imitation of their daring hero. As spanish californias masked avenger, with a foppish cover identity. In old spanish california, the oppressive colonial government is opposed by zorro, masked champion of the people, who appears out of nowhere with flashing sword and an athletic sense of humor, scarring the faces of evildoers with his mark. A showcase for his charm and amazing athletic talents, doug plays a dual role as the rich and foppish don diego vega, a disappointment to his father and a miserable failure at love. Mark of zorro was the transition between douglas fairbanks early career as a brash allamerican hero and the lavish 1920s costume. When the mark of zorro premiered on november 29, 1920, fairbanks feared audiences might not accept him in a costume adventure film. The mark of zorro alternates between light romance and thrills more than 80 years on, fairbanks stunts and physical exuberance continue to surprise audiences. The mark of zorro 1940 amongst the most enduring and familiar figures of american heroic fiction, johnston mcculleys zorro slashed his initial into the national consciousness when douglas fairbanks first embodied the avenging swordsman of old california onscreen over eighty years ago. Based on the 1919 story the curse of capistrano by johnston mcculley, which introduced the masked hero, zorro, the screenplay was adapted by fairbanks as elton thomas and eugene miller. The mark of zorro is a milestone in silent cinema because it was. Find release information for the mark of zorro 1920 fred niblo on allmovie. The beautiful 1920 musical score has never been recorded before. The novel takes the form of a biography and was the first origin story for this legendary character.
Like buster keaton, douglas fairbanks did his own stunts. The zorro legend has changed throughout the years with each new version affecting the versions that come later. The 1920 the mark of zorro also outdoes later portrayals of zorro in its depiction of the hero as a champion of faith as well as justice, and of the catholic milieu of his native california. The mark of zorro is a 1920 silent adventure romance film starring douglas fairbanks and noah beery srthis genredefining swashbuckler adventure was the first movie version of the mark of zorro. March 19 the mark of zorro 1920 april 9 the peach girl 1931. A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante zorro, who seeks to. The mark of zorro 1920 is a historical romantic drama and a swashbuckler starring douglas fairbanks and featuring snitz edwards, a star of silent hall of fame.
Fairbanks nimble antics in the action scenes add zest and humor to the nowfamiliar formula. Before zorro, movie fencing consisted of some fairly primitive blade whacking. The mark of zorro 1920 movie simple english wikipedia. The mark of zorro is a 1920 silent american film directed by fred niblo and starring douglas fairbanks. The mark of zorro featuring the original 1920 score. It was based on the 1919 story the curse of capistrano by johnston mcculley.
The mark of zorro 1920 1920 marked a major turning point in the career of movie matinee idol douglas fairbanks. Fairbankss zorro is well known to his enemies as a defender of priests and natives. Combat in the great war had ended two years earlier and the spanish flu pandemic, which claimed millions more lives worldwide. The film is also an extended pun on sexual potency, for while the masked zorro is a deadly swordsman, his cynical alter ego is, well, limp. Diego vega, a young nobleman born in california, attends an officer school in spain. He also did all of his own stunts, including riding and fencing. This swashbuckler adventure was the first movie version of the mark of zorro. The highlight of last week wasno, not an old film that i watched at home, but a new film that i watched in a cinema theatre. Zorro became the prototype for a new kind of hero the swashbuckling adventurer.
The mark of zorro 1920 douglas fairbanks, marguerite. The mark of zorro 1920 posted on march 5, 2012 by dustedoff. The mark of zorro was such a success that a reprint of the original story was. Not only did he tie the matrimony knot with mary pickford, the most popular actress in silent film, he also embarked on a new screen career. This revolutionary film changed the course of early hollywood and the career of one of. Douglas fairbanks also a freemason incidentally wrote the screenplay of, and starred in, the mark of zorro, which closely followed the basic plot, characters and dialogue of mcculleys story. American silent film the mark of zorro 1920 directed by fred niblo. In the mark of zorro, fairbanks plays don diego vega, alias the masked bandit zorro, on a mission to free the poor from the shackles of oppression and win the heart of the one he loves.
Douglas fairbankss first great acrobatic epic, from 1920, set the standard for zesty swashbucklers. Zorro in the 1920 silent motion picture, the mark of zorro mcculley reprinted his. Terms of activation by activating, you agree that you want to enable cloud technology to access your xfinity stream subscription on additional supported devices like computers and tablets, as well as the tv connected to your settop dvr via comcasts network. Mark of zorro was one of the most popular movies of the silent era. Previously known for his many upbeat, optimistic, happygolucky urban comedy films of the 1910s, douglas fairbanks made his first swashbuckling film, the mark of zorro, which was soon followed by the string of historical action films that dominated fairbanks output in the 1920s. Zorro is a 2005 novel by chilean author isabel allende. The mark of zorro, with douglas fairbanks, was released in 1920 to great success, which encouraged mcculley to write many more zorro novels. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. Cote divoire, egypt, france, germany, hong kong, india, indonesia.
A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante. As a kid in the 80s, i watched his series every damn fucking day they replayed an episode every day at 6 p. Fairbanks understood that changing his screen image was a risk. Several sequels made the character popular which prompted the making of several films. The mark of zorro 1920 fred niblo releases allmovie. Victor hugos vast, complicated tale of romance and revolution plays out against the majestic. The mark of zorro 1920 stream and watch online moviefone. He had flirted with costumed sequences but the mark of zorro was the first time he attempted anything as ambitious as a 100% historical film. Douglas fairbanks is the original zorro in this, one of his most famous, actionpacked and entertaining films. The survival of american silent feature films library of congress. Written by eugene miller and douglas fairbanks, based on the 1919 story the curse of capistrano by johnston mcculley. San juan capistrano to be exact, douglas fairbanks as zorro opposes the corrupt colonial government, defends the weak and downtrodden, and gets the girl. This discussion will focus primarily on the development of the legend throughout the following versions of zorro and how each has affected later versions.
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