Review of The Mark of Zorro (1940) by Timothy J — 18 Oct 2013

Captain Esteban Pasquale (Basil Rathbone): His Excellency will never forgive me if I let you go without a word of welcome from him. I'm quite sure that you'll save me a reprimand.

Don Diego Vega (Tyrone Power): How could I refuse a man anything with a naked sword in his hand?

This was actually pretty darn good. The story was pretty straight-forward and familiar for any fans of Zorro. I think I'm beginning to be a fan of Tyrone Power. I finally see the attraction because he was undeniably charming and amusing in this movie. His acting ability (more than his good looks) was the real star of this film because his talent was able to showcase the duality of Don Diego's personality with great balance. He was as convincing as fop that was Don Diego, as he was the heroic Zorro. Equally brilliant was Basil Rathbone, who played Captain Estaban. He was a great classic villain (the kind you loved to hate) and the sword fighting between him and Power was surprisingly exciting. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they both mastered swordplay for this film. Linda Darnell was gorgeous and played the innocent wall-flower Lolita Quintero perfectly. The rest of the cast was awesome as well and played their parts beautifully; mad props to Gale Sondegaard, who played Senora Quintero; she was devilishly devious, but at the same time all too simple and gullible that it was too irresistible not to rejoicing in her inevitable failure. Although this isn't really the usual genre I normally like viewing, the movie was still very entertaining and I found it really enjoyable to watch.