''The Mark of Zorro'' is a 1974 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television film which stars

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...

alongside

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

, Yvonne De Carlo, Anne Archer,

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

and

Robert Middleton Robert Middleton (born Samuel G. Messer, May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977) was an American film and television actor known for his large size, beetle-like brows, and a deep, booming voice (for which he was known as "Big Bob Middleton"), usually ...

. It was also a

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

for a television series on which ABC-TV declined to pick up the option. The film used Alfred Newman's musical score for the 1940 film version along with new incidental music composed by Dominic Frontiere.

Plot

After receiving a letter from his father (Roland) requesting his immediate return home, Don Diego de la Vega (Langella) resigns his commission as a cadet and sails from Spain to California. Arriving in the Pueblo of Los Angeles, he learns that his father has been replaced as Alcalde by Don Luis Quintero (Middleton). Quintero is a puppet of the witty and urbane swordsman, Captain Esteban (Montalbán), and the once-free populace are oppressed by high taxes and cruel laws. Beatings and imprisonment are common for minor infractions. Diego immediately takes on the persona of a

fop Fop is a pejorative term for a foolish man. FOP or fop may also refer to: Science and technology * Feature-oriented positioning, in scanning microscopy * Feature-oriented programming, in computer science, software product lines * Fibrodysplasia ...

to appear ineffectual to the Alcalde and Esteban. His father perceives him as weak and useless, a sacrifice Diego is willing to endure to achieve his goal. Determined to restore freedom, Diego secretly takes one of a pair of ancestral swords and adopts the disguise of the legendary masked hero, El Zorro. His terror campaign against the Alcalde and the Captain eventually rouses the people against them. In his role as the fop, he romances the Alcalde's beautiful niece, Teresa (Archer), whom he grows to love. He simultaneously flirts with the Alcalde's wife, Inez (Sorel), to gain information and make her lover, Esteban, jealous. Zorro's old teacher, Frey Felipe, is accused of being Zorro and arrested. Diego effects a rescue, while his father leads the peons and

caballero Caballero (plural: Caballeros), the Spanish word for ''knight'' or '' gentleman'', is used as a form of address for older gentlemen and may refer to: Places * Caballero, Coclé, Panama * Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, a city * Santiago de los Ca ...

s and marches on the Alcalde's palace. As Zorro forces the Alcalde to sign a letter of resignation, Esteban appears and forces a duel to the death. Esteban is startled when Diego reveals his identity, lowering his guard for Diego's killing blow. The rebels storm the palace. Zorro shows the Alcalde's resignation to the crowd outside. Alejandro announces that Zorro's "stolen" sword "has never seen such distinction". "Zorro" thanks him and reveals his identity before the crowd. Don Luis and his wife return to Spain in dishonor.

Main cast

Production

Langella said, "I think Bryan Taggart's script... is marvellous. We have a great cast... A good director... I loved doing it. Here was a chance to play on three levels: the young cadet in Spain, the fop Don Diego - and, in his mask, Zorro. I was really playing out my fantasies. I was reliving myself as a small boy sitting in the dark theatre thrilling to Tyrone Power riding through the night as Zorro."

Reception

The ''Chicago Tribune'' called it "truly terrific trash you can sink your teeth into". The ''Los Angeles Times'' said it was done "in the spirit of good, though occasionally uneasy fun".'The Mark of Zorro' Plays it Straight; Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 29 Oct 1974: e16.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark Of Zorro, The 1974 television films 1974 Western (genre) films Western (genre) television films American television films Zorro films ABC Movie of the Week Television pilots not picked up as a series Television films as pilots Films set in the 1840s Films set in California 20th Century Fox Television films Films based on works by Johnston McCulley 1970s English-language films