The Sign of Zorro (1958)

The Sign of Zorro (Dir: Norman Foster & Lewis R Foster, 1958).

Guy Williams stars as the vigilante hero who "makes the sign of a Z" in Walt Disney's feature film version of the hit Zorro TV series, broadcast on the ABC network from 1957-59. 

Following a lengthy absence, Don Diego (Guy Williams) returns home to the Spanish Californian pueblo of Los Angeles. Finding his hometown under the rule of cruel Captain Monastario (Britt Lomand), he dons a black cape, assumes the new identity of Zorro and determines to overthrow Monastario and restore order to the pueblo. Cue lots of sword fights! 

As with Walt Disney's earlier feature Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (Norman Foster, 1955), The Sign of Zorro was edited together from episodes of a TV series. However, where Davy Crockett was assembled from three 45 minute shows with a roughly continuous narrative, Zorro was cut together from eight 30 minute episodes. Screened in black and white but filmed in colour, Davy Crockett was a high quality production that transferred to the cinema with ease. Although episodic by nature, it rarely belies its TV origins, save for some stock footage recycled from the True Life Adventures documentary series. By contrast, Zorro was a more modestly budgeted production shot in black and white. Its static camera work and proliferation of close-ups, while perfectly acceptable on a weekly TV show, did not hold up as well on the big screen. The cobbling together of various episodes results in a somewhat disjointed narrative with multiple climaxes and plot threads which are never properly resolved. 

That said, the movie does have its compensations. Guy Williams makes for an appealing, athletic hero and is well supported by Gene Sheldon as mute man servant Bernardo and Henry Calvin as local law enforcer Sergeant Garcia; their deft comic performances nicely complementing the lighthearted heroics.

While not quite convincing as a feature film, Zorro was a high quality production for a weekly TV show, undoubtedly transferring to the big screen better than most of its contemporaries would have. Although it did not manage to repeat the success of the superior Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, it did well enough to warrant a sequel. However, Zorro the Avenger (Charles Barton, 1959) was marketed solely to international audiences and was not released in the US. 

Walt Disney's Zorro is probably best experienced in its TV format. Yet, despite its shortcomings, this is an entertaining movie, thanks to its appealing cast and general good-natured ambience. If, like me, you enjoy a bit of swashbuckling you will find The Sign of Zorro has an easy going charm that is hard to resist. Slightly shabby but a lot of fun!