The Mark of Zorro (1920)
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Scottsville Victory Theatre
Director: Fred Niblo
Writer: Johnston McCulley
Cinematographers: William McGann, Harry Thorpe
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Noah Beery, Charles Hill Mailes
Running Time: 107 min
This 1920 silent classic stars the great Douglas Fairbanks as Don Diego Vega and his masked alter ego, Zorro, fighting oppression in old Spanish California. The earliest full-length feature about the masked avenger, The Mark of Zorro stands as a notable influence on the character of Batman and establishes in cinema some of the now familiar alienated qualities and conflicts of superheroes.
Unlike later film adaptations of Zorro, here the character is portrayed more as a phantom, appearing out of the night and haunting his victims. During his first appearance, in a tavern filled with the governor’s men, he raises his cape over his face and creeps from door to window, locking them in as a predator traps his prey. Like a vampire, he leaves a bloody mark—the initial Z—carved into his enemy’s neck. While Zorro is in fact mere flesh and blood, he uses the fear that he is supernatural, a creature of the unknown, to empower himself over his enemies. When finally he makes himself visible, he laughs mercilessly as they recoil in terror.
The price of becoming such a phantom is not small for Don Diego. To prevent anyone from guessing the true identity of Zorro, he must present himself as a bumbling fool, a weakling who abhors violence and is constantly tired and preoccupied with childish magic tricks. Because of this persona, his hand in marriage is rejected by the lovely Lolita Pulido, for she desires a man who will defend her honor from the cruel and ravenous Capitan Ramon.
At its heart, The Mark of Zorro is more a comical, action-adventure film than a dramatic meditation on the lonely path of the masked hero. It is filled with astonishing acrobatic stunts, swashbuckling aplenty, and laughs throughout, but its historical significance should not be overlooked. Within its nuances, the seeds for many more superhero narratives were planted.
