Z
The Mark of Zorro
1974 Made-for-TV
So often... so so so often a TV Movie can in no way come close to achieving a level of quality worthy of being shown to mass audiences on the big screen in a theater. That's the case here.
Bayonne, New Jersey native Frank Langella, a future Tony Award winner, gives a decent performance as Don Diego. After returning to southern Arizona... oh wait, that's supposed to be old Los Angeles, he finds his family is no longer in control of the region. The ruling party, with Captain Esteban (Ricardo Montalban) partially at the helm is vicious to the citizenry, taxing the crap out of them and treating them like pondschum. But in comes a masked bandit/hero to save the day. All the while Don Diego, in his peaceful and pompous ways, tries to fit in as best he can.
Yada yada yawn.
There were only two swordfights to capture the crowd's attention and neither one could really come close to the swashbuckling greatness of Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks, the original Zorro on film. A young Anne Archer plays Don Diego's (sort of) arranged love interest and Mrs. Munster a.k.a. Yvonne DeCarlo is Don Diego's mother. Other than the two mediocre action scenes there's really not much else to give this Made-for-TV movie any real substance. While far from being in the ranks of the most horrible movies ever made, it's not even close to being memorable by any means.
1974 Made-for-TV
So often... so so so often a TV Movie can in no way come close to achieving a level of quality worthy of being shown to mass audiences on the big screen in a theater. That's the case here.
Bayonne, New Jersey native Frank Langella, a future Tony Award winner, gives a decent performance as Don Diego. After returning to southern Arizona... oh wait, that's supposed to be old Los Angeles, he finds his family is no longer in control of the region. The ruling party, with Captain Esteban (Ricardo Montalban) partially at the helm is vicious to the citizenry, taxing the crap out of them and treating them like pondschum. But in comes a masked bandit/hero to save the day. All the while Don Diego, in his peaceful and pompous ways, tries to fit in as best he can.
Yada yada yawn.
There were only two swordfights to capture the crowd's attention and neither one could really come close to the swashbuckling greatness of Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks, the original Zorro on film. A young Anne Archer plays Don Diego's (sort of) arranged love interest and Mrs. Munster a.k.a. Yvonne DeCarlo is Don Diego's mother. Other than the two mediocre action scenes there's really not much else to give this Made-for-TV movie any real substance. While far from being in the ranks of the most horrible movies ever made, it's not even close to being memorable by any means.
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~ Movies
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