The Mark of Zorro
About The Mark of Zorro
In Spanish California, Don Diego Vega plays the idle son of a rich ranchero while Governor Alvarado and the landowners mistreat people. As Zorro he uses a sword and cuts a Z into his enemies. He bores Lolita Pulido with bad magic tricks while Captain Juan Ramon courts her and she prefers the masked man. When her family is jailed, Diego reveals himself, wins the soldiers, and forces Alvarado out. Lolita takes him.
Cast & crew
More about The Mark of Zorro
Fred Niblo directed. Douglas Fairbanks, credited as Elton Thomas, and Eugene Miller adapted Johnston McCulley's 1919 story The Curse of Capistrano. Fairbanks produced it and plays Diego and Zorro. United Artists released it on November 27, 1920. It was the first film through that company, formed by Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith. Wikipedia times it at 101 minutes. Wikidata says 91 minutes. William C. McGann and Harris Thorpe photographed it. Mortimer Wilson wrote the music. Bill Nolan edited. Marguerite De La Motte is Lolita. Noah Beery is Sergeant Pedro Gonzales. Charles Hill Mailes, Claire McDowell, and Robert McKim are billed. Wikipedia states the budget as $169,187.05 and receipts of over $500,000.
Themes
Background
The story is set in old Spanish California under a colonial governor.
In film history
First release from United Artists, and the first film of McCulley's Zorro. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2015. The Academy Film Archive preserved it in 2012.
Making
Fairbanks hid the writing credit under the name Elton Thomas.
Audiences
Wikipedia puts the receipts at over $500,000 against a budget of $169,187.05.
Look
William C. McGann and Harris Thorpe shot the sword fights and the fop disguise.
Music
Mortimer Wilson composed the score.
Preservation
Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. Selected for the National Film Registry in 2015.
Notes
- Noah Beery Jr. makes his first screen appearance as a small boy. His father then sometimes billed himself Noah Beery Sr.
- Wikipedia also lists Milton Berle, uncredited, as a child.
- Wikidata gives later dates of November 9, 1921, November 11, 1921, and December 29, 1921.
- The 1940 remake stars Tyrone Power. The 1974 remake stars Frank Langella.
- Wikipedia compares Zorro to Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel.
Scenes
- Diego botches a magic trick in front of Lolita.
- Zorro marks an enemy with a Z.
- He drops the mask when her family is jailed and turns the soldiers.
Influenced by
- Johnston McCulley's The Curse of Capistrano
- Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel
Influenced
- The Mark of Zorro (1940)
- The Mark of Zorro (1974)
Also available
- Internet Archive (markofzorro-1920)
- Wikimedia Commons (The Mark of Zorro (1920).webm)
