The Mark of Zorro starts in Madrid in Spain as expert swordsman & dueling champion Don Diego (Frank Langella) announces his return home to California, upon arrival back home in California he finds things are not well. The locals that his father once served are now in a state of fear & hate as the new Governor Don Luis Quintero (Robert Middleton) kills, beats, tortures & taxes them making their lives a misery. Don Diego is shocked at what he sees & speaks with his father Don Aleandro Vega (Gilbert Roland) who is powerless to stop Quintero & his bloodthirsty soldiers lead by Captain Esteban (Ricardo Montalban), Diego acts like a clueless buffoon but things are not always what they seem as Diego decides to don the black mask & hat of the legendary outlaw Zorro to right the wrongs around him & put an end to Quintero's tyranny...Directed by Don McDougall this made for telly adventure film was a remake of the classic The Mark of Zorro (1940), I have never seen the 1940 version but apparently the two are virtually identical & while this isn't the type of film I usually watch I thought I would give it a go since it was showing on telly over here. To be fair I didn't think that much of this at all, it's fairly colourful & lasts for less than 80 minutes but there's not much here to get excited about unless your a die-hard Zorro fan. The script moves along at a decent pace but there's little build-up to anything & it tries to juggle some adventure, some romance & sword fighting action without much success. The mark of Zorro just feels so pedestrian & like the afternoon telly film that it is, sure it's watchable if your bored but it never excited me or particularly interested me. It's all rather predictable, from handsome heroes who save the day to family feuds that are resolved to the villains getting their comeuppance. The character's are all broad clichés & I doubt people acted like this back then, a pretty simplistic story that the script doesn't really flesh out to any great effect. I don't know, it's not the type of film that I usually watch so I will go easy on it & it's middling entertainment I suppose so while I can't say I liked it I won't say I hated it, at least I watched it all without getting too bored along the way.Another big problem with this version of The mark of Zorro is the lack of action & when the action occurs it's pretty forgettable stuff with some wimpy sword fights & not much else. This 70's Zorro is certainly a colourful production with vibrant costumes & locations, in fact it looks a little too colourful at times & maybe both the tone & look of the film should have been a bit darker on occasion. Just to emphasise the similarities between this & the 1940 Zorro film this actually reuses the original musical score from the 1940 version by Alfred Newman.Filmed in Tuscon in Arizona this is quite well made on what must have been a tight budget. The acting is alright, Langella is OK but it's difficult to believe no-one recognises Diego & Zorro as the same person, telly regulars Ricardo Montalban & Yvonne DeCarlo provide decent support.The Mark of Zorro is a fairly mundane action adventure that feels like Robin Hood set in the Californian desert as Zorro robs the rich & evil to give back to the poor, it will pass 80 odd minutes but that's about the best thing I can say about it.

I haven't seen this TV film for years and would really like to see it again. I think I fell in love with Frank Langella because of it - OK, OK, so I was much younger and more impressionable at the time but, well, he was beguiling. As suggested in one or two other commentaries on this, I felt it was as effective a version, if not even a tad better than the 1940 one - perhaps because of both the eponymous hero's sexual magnetism and the charming, intelligent and spirited Anne Archer's Teresa. From what I remember, the film was to a large extent faithful to Tyrone Power's vehicle, and added a J-ne-sais-quoi to it.Dashing as Power undoubtedly was, to my taste Langella's rich chocolatey voice, commanding height and seductive gaze made this viewer long to be the object of his affections. I admit it, I'm shamefacedly still a bit in love with the character!

This movie was my introduction to Zorro; and, for the time, it was a fine introduction. I loved this film when it first aired (I was 7) and I spent weeks afterward slashing at everything with a stick. The film is still rollicking adventure, even if it doesn't hold a candle to the 1940 version.Frank Langella made a decent Zorro, although he was a little too serious for a swashbuckler. Still, he handled the dual role well and looked the part. Ricardo Montalban, on the other hand, was perfect as the villain. He relished the role and had the right amount of menace, with a twinkle in the eye. He was meant for a role like this.The rest of the cast are fine, with varying degrees of ability. The story moves well and the duels are exciting. The TV budget hampers the spectacle, but not too badly.After viewing it once, I was able to see the film again, nearly 25 years later. By that point, I had seen the Disney Zorro, the 1940 version, the silent version, the Alain Delon version, Zorro the Gay Blade, and a couple of others. The 1940 version is still superior (in my book) but this was still entertaining. The acting was worse than I remembered, but the action was still exciting and Ricardo Montalban was still wonderful. I'd put this ahead of Disney and George Hamilton, but on equal footing with Delon. Tyrone Power is still the king, although Anonio Banderas was great the first time out. This is a worthy entry in the series, even with its faults.

Frank Langella makes you forget both Tyrone & Fairbanks - his Zorro is quieter, more serious, more sensual, whereas the other two played the role for laughs at times. And Langella's take on Don Diego the fop is not as effeminate or funny, more like lazy and yawning. And his eyes are very expressive and always moving.Ricardo Montalban does pretty well as the villain, but can't compete against Basil Rathbone (1940). But the winsome, young Anne Archer is a big improvement over stiff Linda Darnell. Nice to see the still-fit, silent star Gilbert Roland as Zorro's dad.The dialogue and script of this is very similar to the 1940 version, and it uses the same stirring theme and soundtrack composed by Alfred Newman.You can catch this version on TV sometimes -- it's worth videotaping.