Review of The Mark of Zorro (1940) by Ben L — 24 Apr 2017

Clearly I need to just watch a whole bunch of classic swashbuckler films, because every time I do I enjoy it so much. The Mark of a Zorro was no exception, I thought this movie was a treat. It had a surprising amount of comedy, and plenty of exciting fight sequences. It did a lot to keep me engaged in the story.

The story was better than I expected as well. It seemed like it was going to be very straightforward and predictable. However there were some elements that surprised me and kept me fully invested. I particularly liked the clever way they had Zorro hide his identity when the mask was off. It was both humorous and very smart.

Tyrone Power was a great actor for Zorro and he had a tough role to play. He basically had to pull off two parts and he got both right. The villains were also delightfully bad. Montagu Love was the comedic, bumbling guy and that was hilarious. Basil Rathbone is his more serious counterpart, which I was delighted to see. Rathbone can do the acting and match the hero in any sword fight.

The Mark of Zorro is predictable at times, but I kind of anticipated that, considering it's a fairly traditional hero origin movie. It's hard to complain, though, when you're having such a good time. It has so many earmarks of a truly great film. Between the action, humor, romance, and more I was left wanting nothing. I'll gladly watch this movie again soon.