Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

bsmith5552 "The Mark of Zorro" is yet another re-telling of the legend of that masked avenger of the oppressed...Zorro. Douglas Fairbanks had set the standard in his 1920 silent version of the tale. For this one, we have the youthful Tyrone Power in the title role and the sinister Basil Rathbone as the chief villain.Don Diego Vega (Power) returns from Spain to find his father Don Alejandro (Montegu Love) deposed as Alcalde in early 19th century Los Angelis and replaced by the evil Don Luis Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg). Don Luis is himself influenced by the ambitious Captain Esteban Pasquale (Rathbone) and his scheming wife Inez (Gale Sondergaard).Seeing the people's anguish, Don Diego adopts a foppish persona to mask his attempts to overthrow the regime as the bold caballero Zorro. Don Diego becomes acquainted with Don Luis' comely young niece Lolita (an interesting choice of names) as played by the very young and very beautiful Linda Darnell. Zorro allies himself with the local padre (Eugene Pallete) in recovering the evil Alcalde's taxes taken from the starving peasants. After Zorro frightens Don Luis to the point of having him resign, Don Diego is challenged by Captain Pasquale to a duel to the finish thereby revealing his secret identity.The duel between Power and Rathbone is the highlight of the film and one of the greatest of such sword fights ever filmed. Rathbone, who was 20 years Power's senior was nonetheless an expert swordsman and probably could have bested any of his on screen opponents (including Errol Flynn) in combat. Power had taken fencing lessons along the way and doesn't look out of place here.Gale Sondergaard was one of evilest of female villains of the 1940s, although she is not given much to do here. She would appear as "The Spider Women" with Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes in 1944's "The Spider Woman". Montegu Love had been on the business end of John Barrymore's sword in "Don Juan" (1925). Eugene Palette had played a sword wielding friar previously in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), which by the way contains another classic duel between Rathbone and Errol Flynn."The Mark of Zorro" appears to have been modestly produced, in Black and White and on the Fox back lot. It has way too many interior scenes and even the climatic duel is confined to one room. But it does have the handsome Power just emerging as a super star and the gorgeous Miss Darnell as the love interest.Avoid the computer colorized version of this film. The color looks like those old lobby posters and the lighting is just not right for color. Why can't they just leave the old classic B & W films alone?

Armand one of most impressive duel scenes. the mixture of humor and tension. and the lead role as the best cloth for Tyron Power. it is a film who shatters the nostalgic references and who gives a total entertainment , does an inspired example of adventure and has the rare gift to create a splendid portrait of joy. nothing, in this case, is not a sketch. the characters, the plot, the acting. all has deep roots and the final impression is to discover a precise work in which each part has mark of thoroughly care. maybe, the best Zorro, it remains memorable. a movie who must see it. not as link of cinema history but for its special beauty. and, maybe, for the flavor of a manner to do a real good film.

lagudafuad One thing this movie has is impressive horse riding chase scenes that make you grin at the ingenuity of the director and the cinematographer. The films pace is so exciting that you know that you just have to dip your hat to how it was captured on celluloid. Basil Rathbone (who is famous for playing Sherlock Holmes in the Rathbone/Bruce series that contained 14 movies between the years of 1939 – 1946) is a famous Hollywood swordsman, and I also read that Tyrone Power was also good with sword, and so I eagerly waited for the duel scene between the two.When the duel started, the idea that this was actually both the actors willing the swords and not just mere stunt men also added to the fun, as the duel is just wonderful and masterful, the grace and the speed the two masterful swordsmen displayed on screen is one that I will always remember, and one that I ask others to see, because I have not seen better fencing than that as of now.The movie had scenes that jumped at you, there was another chase scene where Zorro (Tyrone Power) made his horse jump off a bridge into a stream and made the horse ride/swam to shore, it was such a sight I raised my brow in amazement, wondering how many shots the director had to take to get that scene right.The Mark of Zorro is fun, although you can pick out plot holes and wonder how the hero was planning to achieve anything in the riot like ending, but the movie was fun to see all the way through, the story arc is taken from the story The Curse of Capistrano written by Johnston McCulley in 1919, the book introduced the masked hero Zorro, who was like Robin Hood in most sense. Set in Southern California during the early 19th century, the plot deals with Don Diego Vega/Zorro (Tyrone Power), who returned home to find that his town is being extorted by the Governor and his henchman Captain Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone).Diego then became the mask vigilante Zorro to be able to able to defend his people from the hand of the corrupt Governor.The Mark of Zorro is a true oldie; the score is so obvious and doesn't blend with the movie (from my own point of view) although the score did get an Academy Award nomination.The Mark of Zorro is one you can take the time to see even if it is just to see the duel between Power and Rathbone.www.lagsreviews.com

Marcin Kukuczka After almost seven decades THE MARK OF ZORRO by Rouben Mamoulian still thrills, delights, astonishes and mesmerizes a large audience. Such cinematic adaptations, indeed, deserve to be called 'incomparable' and superior versions where any attempt at a remake is destined to be a failure. Although the story of the Californian "Robin Hood" had been brought to screen in the silent era by Fred Niblo and was, years later transformed into THE MASK OF ZORRO, Rouben Mamoulian's movie with Tyrone Power in the lead remains a superior version that I call 'The Movie of Zest.' Why? Such a content as in Johnston McCulley's 1919 story THE CURSE OF CAPISTRANO (that is where the fictional character Zorro first appeared) does not require much effort to see, much psychology where its zestful aim would turn into a reflective one. Such a movie primarily offers to us, gives us tension and characters: goodies and baddies, of course, 'angels' and 'scorpions' so that blood can run faster in our veins as we are watching their clashes and cross our fingers for the heroes. There are better or worse films in that respect but truly seldom can we find an equally overwhelming film as THE MARK OF ZORRO which really does its best thanks to excellent cast and a terrific character development. Let me discuss this aspect in more details.While THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD was a 'tour De force' for Errol Flynn, THE MARK OF ZORRO is a true 'tour De force' for Tyrone Power. He gives the most heroic, the most sympathetic, the emotionally and skillfully flawless performance as foppish Don Diego/mysterious Zorro. Tyrone Power crafts the very gist of his role(s), of his disguises creating an unforgettable picture in us. He builds a perfect tension in the viewers that does not fade till the end. And the rest that are with or against Zorro ......with his spirit comes Fray Felipe beautifully and humorously portrayed by Eugene Palette. He is the one of the flaming wrath, holy wrath. He is the one whose fruit is neither an enemy nor a rival; the one who awaits an angel with a flaming sword to come and fight fire with fire. Consider, for instance, the scene when he talks to Don Diego about the violent and corrupt government....with his heart comes a delicious Lolita, 'more lovely and more radiant than a morning in June,' sensually portrayed by Ms Darnell. Her image with a sweet white kitten has a powerful visual effect. Although this was the heyday of the code in Hollywood (1941), Ms Darnell is extremely sexy but perfectly decent. Here's another evidence for one true fact: she can have all clothes on and still give the most erotic performance. The terrific on-screen chemistry between Ms Darnell and Mr Power is worth attention with their best two scenes: the 'Sombrero Blanco' dance and the chapel scene. No wonder the young swordsman and a mysterious vigilante does not hesitate to marry her, raise fat children with her and watch their vineyards grow......with his sentiments comes Don Alejandro Vega (Montagu Love), his father, the deposed Alcalde, more loyal, more delicate. He seems helpless when seeing the people starve and desperate when his beloved son just makes the first steps toward making him a grandfather......against his morals come the violent and corrupt government, in particular 'His Excellency' Don Luis Quintero (J. Edward Bromberg), the new Alcalde who is cowardly and blood drunk; and the cruel captain Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone), the true villain, a swordsman of evil for whom that poor fruit is not an enemy but merely a rival, who delights in terrorizing people by high taxation. The duel scene which has become, in a way, a symbol of this film is the climax of tension and the heights of thrill. While J. Edward Bromberg gives a memorable performance as Don Luis Quintenero, Basil Rathbone shines in the role, gives the clearest indication where evil lies, appears to portray a true evil's incarnate....with him, finally, come the people of Los Angeles, the people fighting for justice, and also the people who have great zest for his story and for the wonderful screen adaptation with masterful direction and acting. Highly recommended movie! 10/10