RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1788

Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2021

Zorro - A Swashbuckling Hero Who Should Never Die

Every time I hear the theme music from the 1957 Disney Zorro television series my heart skips a beat. 

Confession is good for the soul. My heart races when I hear the William Tell Overture in the background as Fred Foy’s voice announces: “In the early days of the Western United States, a masked man and an Indian rode the plains searching for truth and justice. Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when from out of the past came the thundering hoofbeats of the great white horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again.” I returned to the old West again and again on radio and television, but not for the most recent Lone Ranger film versions. The later film interpretations are best forgotten, destined to suffer a long and well-deserved lingering demise in the western wastelands. 

I grew up in an era of swashbuckling heroes in books, movies, and television. They fueled my imagination and convinced me for that a life filled with adventure and a commitment to the public good was to be desired and envied. I realized they were fantasy and not reality but was more than willing to escape into a world where destiny made certain the good guy always came out on top. 

Although I grew up in the age of Super Heroes, it was the movie and television swashbucklers along with the movie and television cowboy heroes who shaped and molded me. I was and remain an Errol Flynn fan. I have lost track of how many times I have watched Flynn’s Captain Blood (1935), Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Dive Bomber (1941), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), Adventures of Don Juan (1948), and The Master of Ballentine (1953). If Errol Flynn is in a movie on TCM or other cable channel, I always make time to watch. 

I am a sucker for sword fighting swashbucklers whether medieval epics such as Robert Taylor in Ivanhoe (1952), French Revolution epics such as Leslie Howard in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) and Stewart Granger in Scaramouche (1962), or Viking classics such as Kirk Douglas in The Vikings (1958). All involved a struggle between good and evil and an impressive cast of villains. I am not certain how I would have reacted had I met Basil Rathbone in person. I love his portrayals of Sherlock Holmes. No one honored Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation better. However, Rathbone’s sinister Guy of Gisborne remains my landmark movie villain. 

John McCulley, an American pulp writer, created Zorro (The Fox), the multifaceted Don Diego de la Vega, in 1919. McCulley’s Zorro was a masked vigilante who defended the commoners and indigenous peoples of California, long before the age of pollical and social correctness, from corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. McCulley is responsible for Zorro’s all black costume that included a cape and mask. Zorro also appeared in the novel “The Curse of Capistrano” in 1919. 2019 passed quietly with hardly a mention of the hundredth anniversary of Zorro’s creations. McCulley wrote five additional serialized Zorro series and 57 short stories, the last appearing posthumously in 1969, a year after McCulley’s death. 

The success of the Zorro novel caught the attention of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., an early movie swashbuckler. In 1921, Fairbanks was the producer, star, and uncredited co-writer of “The Mark of Zorro.” It helped pioneer the swashbuckler movie genre. Michael Sragow’s article “Zorro at 100: Why the original swashbuckler is still the quintessential American action hero” appeared in the “Washington Post” on January 1, 2021. The full article is available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/zorro-100-birthday-movies/2020/12/29/455d6e30-4596-11eb-a277-49a6d1f9dff1_story.html. 

Zorro appeared in more than 40 American films and 10 television series, the most famous being the Disney-produced television Zorro series produced between 1957 and 1959, starring Guy Williams as Zorro. What makes Zorro memorable are the fine performances of all the actors who played the famous swashbuckler in American and foreign films—Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Tyrone Power, Reed Hadley, Guy Williams, Alain Delon, Duncan Regehr, Henry Darrow, Anthony Hopkins, George Hamilton, Frank Langella, Antonio Banderas, Christian Meier, Gael Barcia Bernal, Richard Gutierrez, Gordon Scott, Rodolfo de Anda, Sean Flynn, Fabio Testi, Franco Fantasia, Toshihiko Seki, Pierre Brice, Franco Franchi, Spiros Focás, Guy Stockwell, George Hilton, Demetrio Gonzáles, Benjamin Small, José Suárez, Howard Ross, Tony Russel, Michael Gough, Nadir Moretti, Jean-Michael Dhermay, Douglas Frey, and George Turner (The Son of Zorro). I have my homework cut out for me. I have seen less than half of these films. 

Zorro is responsible for the evolution of the Super Hero. The creators of Batman, Superman, and other Super Heroes drew heavily on the physical and personal characteristic exhibited by Zorro. Compare Zorro riding Tornado through the camouflaged storm-cellar doors to his underground lair whose passageways connect with Diego’s hacienda with Bruce Wayne’s Batmobile emerging from his subterranean Batcave or the Green Arrow’s Arrowcave in an abandoned warehouse. 

The key difference between Zorro and the Super Heroes is that Zorro did not require super powers to achieve his goals. Zorro’s swordsmanship rivals that of Errol Flynn. Its suspense-packed action moves from scene to scene with advantage shifting between Zorro and the villain from second to second. Knowing that Zorro will win in the end never lessens the thrill of watching the two opponents dual. The sword fight between Antonio Banderas as Zorro and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Elena in The Mask of Zorro (1998) is a classic scene not to be missed. 

Unlike the cowboy heroes, Zorro did not carry a gun. He was a worthy advisory with his sword and whip. Zorro’s whip could flick out a flame, trap a stampeding bull, lasso opponents, and propel him from place to place as easily as vines carried Tarzan. It is easy to see the inspirational connection between Zorro and Lash Larue. 

It is impossible to find a single word to describe Zorro’s ability to balance the many alter egos that comprised his character. Gusto, charming, sex appeal, forward leaning, and humor are all applicable. Zorro did not need car chases or super powers. His riotous chases involving horsemanship, acrobatic moves including somersaults and handsprings, and master swordsmanship were more than sufficient for this pure of heart swashbuckler. 

Zorro may be old-fashioned and escapist. Most importantly in this era of social dissolution, we need Zorro and what he represents more than ever. May he continue to represent right making might for another 100 years.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Selected letters will be answered in this column.  Harry cannot provide personal answers.  Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned.  Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI  49512.  You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.