Following up his comic triumph in Love At First Bite, George Hamilton took on the dual role of Zorro in Zorro The Gay Blade. Although the man handles a sword well, Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, and Guy Williams would not recognize both the Hamiltons who take their turn at championing the peasants of Spanish California.George Hamilton returns to California from Spain and discovers his father is no longer the Alcalde of Los Angeles and in fact is now dead. His friend Ron Leibman, captain of His Majesty's guards is now the Alcalde combining both civil and military authority and he is having a great old time taxing the peasants to pay for the expensive lifestyle that Leibman and wife Brenda Vaccaro now enjoy. Of course Leibman isn't taking care of some of Vaccaro's other needs and she's giving Hamilton the same eye she gave John Voight in Midnight Cowboy.When Don Diego Hamilton injures himself doing his Zorro thing, by chance he's visited by his twin brother Ramon who is now going by the name of Bunny Wigglesworth. Dad sent him off to the British Navy to get the gay out of him, but as Bunny puts it he was reared in the British Navy, I'm betting he was a most popular cabin boy on long voyages.Anyway when Bunny takes over the Zorro role he brings a sense of style to the part, having a rainbow flavor of costumes instead of the basic black Zorro was known for. And stereotypical gay that Bunny is, that is precisely what is driving Leibman crazy, Bunny's a better swordsman in every conceivable way.Lauren Hutton is also in the cast playing a part that her contemporary during the era, Abigail Adams would envy. She is making sure that the ladies are indeed remembered when as a suffragette some fifty years ahead of her time Lauren is spreading the gospel of the American Revolution being fought at that time on the other side of the continent.George Hamilton plays both Diego and Bunny with a flair and twinkle, the best one in the cast, the one who seems to be having the most fun in his role is Ron Leibman. Leibman is having one whale of a good time overacting outrageously as his part calls for, getting a chance to do what he could normally do only in slasher flicks. He has a great flair himself for comedy, I'm not sure why Ron Leibman doesn't do more of it.I think Fairbanks and Power who had been long gone by the time Zorro, The Gay Blade was released would have really enjoyed this terrific satire on a part that was special to both of them.

Zorro, the Gay Blade is one of trippiest movies ever. It obviously was made on the heels of the massive box office success of George Hamilton's comedic vampire movie Love at First Bite. They had a big success with Hamilton playing Dracula, why not move onto another comedic version of an iconic character? And thus, we get Zorro, the Gay Blade! George Hamilton is hilarious in his dual role as Don Diego de la Vega and his flamboyant gay twin brother Bunny Wigglesworth (one of the great camp character names ever).Lauren Hutton gives a cool performance too as Zorro's leading lady. She's not as good as Susan Saint James in Love at First Bite. But we couldn't expect comedic lighting to strike twice. Since Love at First Bite was good but one of those films that its success is more of a fluke than anything else. It's one of those films that shouldn't have worked but amazingly did. Ala films like The Blues Brothers, Meatballs and Smokey and the Bandit.Zorro, the Gay Blade is one of those off the wall flawed comedies that belong alongside other late night comedy classics like Jekyll and Hyde Together Again starring the amazing Mark Blankfield.Also, Ron Liebman as Esteban, Zorro's nemesis, is hilarious here as is Brenda Vaccaro as Florinda, Esteban's mondo sexually frustrated wife.Not the greatest comedy ever captured on celluloid. But far superior to most at your local mutliplex, amigo.

George Hamilton's finest role was the hilarious send up of the Dracula Film genre in "Love at First Bite" Now he sets his sights on Swashbucklers like Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, and the immoral Douglas Fairbanks Junior in this howler, "Zorro the gay blade." Ironically, this is one of the first mainstream comedies to use a gay character in a lead role, long predating such films as "La Cage Au Foules". And while Hamilton does well as the two main characters, there is a sense that this film tries too hard. Some of the comedy is as shrill as Leibman's Alcalde character. All of this aside it is still a fun film, and the underlying tribute to the character created by McCauly Johnson over a century ago still rings true. So let the "Fox" hunt commence.

It is surprising to me that more people don't know about this picture, since Zorro the Gay Blade is one of the great funny movies of all time. It is certainly George Hamilton's most memorable movie, an over-the-top spoof that never takes itself too seriously. This is NOT Jerry Lewis or the Three Stooges, but an entertaining social commentary written and performed as slapstick. Of course they do all of it firmly tongue-in-cheek.It does seem that a few people just don't get it. Well, to each his own. But if you liked Hamilton's Love at First Bite or most of the work of Mel Brooks, then this movie is for you. Personally, it reminds me of Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and the Austin Powers movies. The writing is witty and the one liners are things you will remember and repeat for years. If you haven't seen this one, then you don't know what you are missing.