The Mark of Zorro (1940)
I didn’t really have high hopes for the 1940 version of The Mark of Zorro, since I’d rented it before I’d seen the right Tyrone Power movies. This was one of the movies that made me like him better! It’s very cute, extremely entertaining, and even snagged a Best Picture nomination at the Hot Toasty Rags! Rent it, even if your favorite has been the 1920 or 1998 version. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Swashbuckling hero Tyrone Power stars as the masked swordsman, and his fencing scenes with classic villain Basil Rathbone are ridiculously impressive. Even Basil was impressed, praising his partner’s skills as above Errol Flynn’s! There’s a constant comic flair to the screenplay that keeps you on your toes as well. Eugene Pallette’s “reprises” his Friar Tuck role from The Adventures of Robin Hood, playing an un-priest-like priest. Basil shows off his swordsman skills by cutting a candle in half, a move that was spoofed fifteen years later in The Court Jester. Ty’s throws out good-natured repartee while fencing, horse-riding, and talking himself out of jail. Even his meet-cute with Linda Darnell is adorable! He’s hiding out in monk’s robes, but by the end of their interaction, she can tell he’s far from saintly. Ty and Linda are particularly cute in this movie, of all the five they made together.
The Mark of Zorro is very good, earning its place among the swashbuckling classics. The music is rousing, the chase scenes are exciting, and the hero is very charming.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More Tyrone Power movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the 1998 remake The Mask of Zorro here!
Swashbuckling hero Tyrone Power stars as the masked swordsman, and his fencing scenes with classic villain Basil Rathbone are ridiculously impressive. Even Basil was impressed, praising his partner’s skills as above Errol Flynn’s! There’s a constant comic flair to the screenplay that keeps you on your toes as well. Eugene Pallette’s “reprises” his Friar Tuck role from The Adventures of Robin Hood, playing an un-priest-like priest. Basil shows off his swordsman skills by cutting a candle in half, a move that was spoofed fifteen years later in The Court Jester. Ty’s throws out good-natured repartee while fencing, horse-riding, and talking himself out of jail. Even his meet-cute with Linda Darnell is adorable! He’s hiding out in monk’s robes, but by the end of their interaction, she can tell he’s far from saintly. Ty and Linda are particularly cute in this movie, of all the five they made together.
The Mark of Zorro is very good, earning its place among the swashbuckling classics. The music is rousing, the chase scenes are exciting, and the hero is very charming.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More Tyrone Power movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the 1998 remake The Mask of Zorro here!