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Zorro Rides Again
''Zorro Rides Again'' (1937) is a 12-chapter Republic Pictures film serial. It was the eighth of the sixty-six Republic serials, the third with a Western theme (a third of Republic's serials were westerns) and the last produced in 1937. The serial was directed by William Witney & John English in their first collaboration. The serial starred John Carroll who also sang the title song as a modern descendant of the original Zorro with Carroll stunt doubled by Yakima Canutt. The plot is a fairly standard western storyline about a villain attempting to illicitly take valuable land (in this case a new railroad). The setting is a hybrid of modern (1930s) and western elements that was used occasionally in B-Westerns (such as the western feature films also produced by Republic). It was also the first in a series of five Zorro serials, followed by '' Zorro's Fighting Legion'' (1939), ''Zorro's Black Whip'' (1944), '' Son of Zorro'' (1947) and '' Ghost of Zorro'' (1949). Plot In contempo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film director, film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serial film, serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'', ''Daredevils of the Red Circle'', ''Zorro's Fighting Legion'', and ''Drums of Fu Manchu''. Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued working until 1982. Biography Witney was born in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was four years old when his father died, and he lived with his uncle, who was an Army captain at Fort Sam Houston. Colbert Clark, Witney's brother-in-law, introduced him to films by letting him ride in some chase scenes for the serial ''Fighting with Kit Carson'' (1933). Witney stayed around the Mascot Pictures headquarters while preparing for the entrance exam to the U.S. Naval Academy. After he failed that exam, he continued at the studio. In 1936 Mascot was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California. It had production and distribution facilities in Studio City, Los Angeles, Studio City, as well as a movie ranch in Encino, Los Angeles, Encino. Republic was known for specializing in Western (genre), Westerns, Serial film, cliffhanger serials, and B movie, B-films emphasizing action and mystery. The studio was also notable for developing the careers of such famous Western stars as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and John Wayne. It was also responsible for the financial management and distribution of several big-budget feature films directed by John Ford, as well as one William Shakespeare, Shakespeare motion picture directed by Orson Welles. Under the supervising leadership of Herbert J. Yates, Republic was considered a mini-major film studio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an international border with the Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With almost 40million residents across an area of , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, largest state by population and List of U.S. states and territories by area, third-largest by area. Prior to European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following Mexican War of Independence, its successful war for independence, but Mexican Cession, was ceded to the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost Of Zorro
''Ghost of Zorro'' is a 1949 Republic Movie serial. It uses substantial stock footage from earlier serials, including '' Son of Zorro'' and '' Daredevils of the West''. This film was shot in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Plot The year is 1865 and the telegraph is heading west. George Crane, wanting to keep law and order out of his territory, is out to stop the construction. One of the main engineers on the job is Ken Mason, the grandson of the original Zorro. As Crane hires his men to stop the work, Mason finds himself in the legendary role his ancestor originated. Cast *Clayton Moore as Ken Mason/Zorro *Pamela Blake as Rita White *Roy Barcroft as Hank Kilgore *George J. Lewis as Moccasin * Eugene Roth as George Crane * I. Stanford Jolley * Steve Clark * Tom Steele * Dale Van Sickel * John Crawford Production ''Ghost of Zorro'' was budgeted at $165,086 although the final negative cost was $164,895 (a $191, or 0.1 percent, under-spend). It was filmed between January 11 and February ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Of Zorro
''Son of Zorro'' is a 1947 American Western film serial from Republic Pictures. It was the 43rd of the 66 serials produced by that studio. The serial was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred C. Brannon. George Turner starred as a descendant of the original Zorro in 1860s United States. Plot A man returning home after having fought in the American Civil War discovers that corrupt politicians have taken over the county and are terrorizing and shaking down the citizens. He dons the costume of his ancestor, the famous Zorro, and sets out to bring them to justice. Cast *George Turner as Jeffrey "Jeff" Stewart/Zorro * Peggy Stewart as Kate Wells *Roy Barcroft as Boyd *Ed Cassidy as Sheriff Moody * Ernie Adams as Judge Hyde *Stanley Price as Pancho *Edmund Cobb as Stockton *Ken Terrell as George Thomas *Si Jenks as Fred *Tom London as Mark Daniels (uncredited) Production ''Son of Zorro'' was budgeted at $156,745 although the final negative cost was $119,343 (a $10,022, or 6.8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zorro's Black Whip
''Zorro's Black Whip'' is a 1944 12-chapter film serial by Republic Pictures starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of '' The Mark of Zorro'' in order to capitalize on it. Republic was not able to use the character of Zorro himself, however, and despite the title, the hero(ine) is called The Black Whip throughout. The serial is set in pre-statehood Idaho, and involves a fight to prevent and ensure statehood by the villains and heroes respectively. Parts of the serial were reused as stock footage to pad out later serials such as '' Don Daredevil Rides Again'' (1951) and '' Man with the Steel Whip'' (1954) – despite the fact that both of those serials had male leads. Plot In ''Zorro's Black Whip'' the word Zorro never occurs, but a female who behaves like Don Diego in Idaho fights a cabal of corrupt politicians as "The Black Whip" after her brother (the original Black Whip) is killed. Hammond, owner of the town's stagecoach l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zorro's Fighting Legion
''Zorro's Fighting Legion'' is a 1939 Republic Pictures film serial consisting of twelve chapters starring Reed Hadley as Zorro and directed by William Witney and John English. The plot revolves around his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against the evil Don Del Oro. The serial is unusual in featuring a real historical personage, Mexican President Benito Juárez, as a minor character. It is the second in a series of five Zorro serials: '' Zorro Rides Again'' (1937), '' Zorro's Black Whip'' (1944), '' Son of Zorro'' (1947) and '' Ghost of Zorro'' (1949). Plot The mysterious Don Del Oro ("Lord of Gold"), an idol of the Yaqui, emerges and attacks the gold trade of the Republic of Mexico, intent on becoming Emperor. A man named Francisco is put in charge of a fighting legion to combat the Yaqui tribe and protect the gold; he is attacked by men working for Don Del Oro. Francisco's partner recognizes Zorro as the hidalgo Don Diego Vega. Francisco asks Diego, as Zorro, to take over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yakima Canutt
Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen performing them. Early years Yakima was born Enos Edward Canutt in the Snake River Hills near Colfax, Washington, one of five children of John Lemuel Canutt, a rancher, and his wife Nettie Ellen Stevens. He grew up in eastern Washington on a ranch near Penawawa Creek, founded by his grandfather. His father operated the ranch and also served a term in the state legislature. Canutt's formal education was limited to elementary school in Green Lake, Seattle, Green Lake, then a suburb of Seattle. He gained the education for his life's work on the family ranch, where he learned to hunt, trap, shoot, and ride.World Bio. 2001. Canutt first broke a wild bronco when he was 11. As a 16-year-old, he started bronco riding at the Whitman County Fair in Colfax in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zorro
Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked Vigilantism, vigilante who defends the commoners and Indigenous peoples of California against corrupt, tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a Cordovan hat (''sombrero cordobés''), and a mask covering the upper half of his face. In the stories, Zorro has a high Bounty (reward), bounty on his head, but he is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. The townspeople thus started calling him ''"El Zorro"'', because of his foxlike cunning and charm. Zorro is an Acrobatics, acrobat and an expert in various weapons. Still, the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he often uses to carve the initial " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John W English
John Wilkinson English (25 June 1903 – 11 October 1969) was a British film editor and film director. He is most famous for the film serials he co-directed with William Witney for Republic Pictures such as ''Zorro's Fighting Legion'' and ''Drums of Fu Manchu''. He was credited variously as John W English, John English or Jack English. Career John English was born in Cumberland in the United Kingdom but moved to Canada at an early age. He first worked as a film editor before getting a break into directing at Republic in 1935. For a period in the 1930s and 1940s, starting with ''Zorro Rides Again'' (1937), he directed Movie Serials in partnership with William Witney. It was customary at the time for two directors to work on each serial, each working on alternate days. Witney customarily worked on the action scenes while English concentrated on character and story elements. Together they are regarded as having produced the best examples of the serial medium: most notab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of fiction typically Setting (narrative), set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated with Americana (culture), folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. The frontier is depicted in Western media as a sparsely populated hostile region patrolled by cowboys, Outlaw (stock character), outlaws, sheriffs, and numerous other Stock character, stock Gunfighter, gunslinger characters. Western narratives often concern the gradual attempts to tame the crime-ridden American West using wider themes of justice, freedom, rugged individualism, manifest destiny, and the national history and identity of the United States. Native Americans in the United States, Native American populations were often portrayed as averse foes or Savage ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serial Film
A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, generally advancing weekly, until the series is completed. Usually, each serial involves a single set of characters, protagonistic and antagonistic, involved in a single story. The film is edited into chapters, after the fashion of serial fiction, and the episodes should not be shown out of order, as individual chapters, or as part of a random collection of short subjects. Each chapter was screened at a movie theater for one week, and typically ended with a cliffhanger, in which characters found themselves in perilous situations with little apparent chance of escape. Viewers had to return each week to see the cliffhangers resolved and to follow the continuing story. Movie serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
