Good start, but then it gets ruined

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

OK, I confess. Kids today believe any movie made before 1990 is old-fashioned and not worth their time. When I was a kid, I loved the old B&Ws from the 30s and 40 -- treasures abounded! -- but pretty much drew the line at the silent films. Lawdy, Lawdy, how can you possibly make a film without sound? A funny thing happened on the way to that belief system. I was telling a friend how Disney's Zorro with Guy Williams was the best Zorro of the era -- matched only by the sheer exuberant bravado of Tyronne Power in the 1940 MARK OF ZORRO -- and it was suggested to me, in return, that I should check out the Fairbanks Sr. version, the silent version, the fountainhead of Zorros, as it were. (No comments here on the Hopkins version - abomination!) OK, I said I would and I did. And now the confession -- it is the only silent film I have seen beginning to end, it was mesmerizing, and I loved it. I was told, but could not believe, that the athletic ability of Fairbanks exceeded that of any subsequent Zorro, sound or no sound. I did not believe it. I was wrong. Wrong happens. I watched in awe as this amazing actor, denied the ability to use his voice, conveyed by eye movement, facial expression, and gestures what was happening. And the stunts! I swear, in several scenes he moved like he was weightless. These were not special effects, please note, these were stunts. Fairbanks could almost float, it seemed. The version I saw had all the piano music in the overdub which presumably matched what audiences might have heard in theatres. It was fun. It was entertaining. It was as promised. Great film.

031: The Mark of Zorro (1920) - released 11/27/1920, viewed 1/20/06.The Wall Street Bombing occurs outside the JP Morgan building in New York, killing 39. The first domestic radio sets hit the shelves in the U.S. Adolph Hitler makes his first public political speech in Austria. Warren G. Harding wins the presidential election. Bloody Sunday goes down in Dublin, killing 31 football spectators.BIRTHS: Frank Herbert, Mario Puzo, Timothy Leary, Ricardo Montalban.KEVIN: Finally, a swashbuckler! I don't know what possessed me to skip this movie before, but I'm glad I caught it this time around. I was a little alarmed in the beginning when Zorro pulled out a gun, but since he doesn't even fire it, I got used to the idea, as Zorro's enemies all have swords and guns so it makes sense for him to keep up. As I was watching, I tried my best to read the inter-titles with a Mexican accent. I thought the pure stunt work in the film was more impressive than any of the sword fights, which were exciting in their own right. And I really liked that when our hero has his final duel with Capt. Ramon, it is not as Zorro but as Diego.DOUG: We would have watched Mark of Zorro in between Way Down East and The Kid, and let me say I really wish we had, because it was extremely good. I noticed a few things different about Douglas Fairbanks' Zorro than other later versions. For one, he smokes a cigar a lot. Second, more noticeably, he carries a gun. He never fires it, but still, he never had one before. As is customary with adventure stories, the action is over-the-top, the heroes are supercool, and the villains are larger-than-life. The swordfights were all very cool, as well. I also like watching Fairbanks move between Zorro and Diego; a running gag had Diego always feigning exhaustion at the slightest bit of work, so he could go to bed and then go out as Zorro. (Looking back, I'd say that of all the Douglas Fairbanks films we've watched, The Mark of Zorro was my favorite. Thief of Baghdad was a close second.)Last film viewed: Daddy Long-Legs (1920). Last film chronologically: Way Down East (1920). Next film viewed: Robin Hood (1922). Next film chronologically: The Kid (1921). The Movie Odyssey is an exhaustive, chronological project where we watch as many milestone films as possible, starting with D.W. Griffith's Intolerance in 1916 and working our way through, year by year, one film at a time. We also write a short review for each and every film. In this project, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the time period, the films of the era, and each film in context, while at the same time just watching a lot of great movies, most of which we never would have watched otherwise.

A vehicle for Douglas Fairbanks to swashbuckle about and fight oppression and win the hand of the lovely Lolita Pulido (Marguerite de la Motte), who not surprisingly despises the pallid Don Diego and loves the tushing Zorro. Fairbanks keeps his shirt on, but moves with considerable nimbleness. The Bad Guy is tall Captain Juan Ramon (Robert McKim), something of a would-be-swashbuckler himself, but a bully and craven and a kidnapper of reluctant maidens. Also bad is the judge who condemns the saintly Franciscan friar Fray Felipe (Walt Whitman—no, not the poet) to fifteen lashes, and the governor, too, who is not only a tyrant but appears to be poorly groomed. The Old California sets and landscapes are nice, familiar from countless westerns, but somehow quite refreshingly old. The "natives" are actually First Nations people, and they retain some dignity even under oppression and even under well-meaning Zorrovian interventions.

Besides being entertaining in itself, "The Mark of Zorro" also provides Douglas Fairbanks with a nice showcase, in a dual role that gives him plenty of good material to work with. While other versions of the Zorro legends are now more familiar to present-day audiences, this one is probably still better than any of the others except for the 1940 version with Tyrone Power.The 1998 update had big names and a big budget, but it was of much lower quality, glossy and over-played at a number of points, and with too much material of comic-book quality at other times.Fairbanks works nicely both as Don Diego and as Zorro, and he gets opportunities to display many different talents. He gets to display his swash-buckling yet easy-going persona, and then at other times is able to show a more refined, sometimes vulnerable side. Not only does he make both personalities work, but he melds them together into a believable whole, not so much by means of artifice as by the vigor and sincerity of his screen presence.The story, likewise, presents an interesting situation that works Fairbanks in well with the other characters. Though they are less interesting in themselves, the secondary characters each play a useful role in the story and in the ideas that it suggests. This old version of the Zorro tale holds up well - at least for those who enjoy silent movies - and it presents a nicely paced and entertaining story.