Zorro's Fighting Legion
Zorro's Fighting Legion | |
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Cinematography | Reggie Lanning |
Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 12 chapters (211 minutes) (serial)[2]
6 26½-minute episodes (TV)[2] |
Language | English |
Budget | $137,826 (negative cost: $144,419)[2] |
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
Cast
Though there were numerous Zorro serials, Hadley was the only actor to play the original Zorro in any of them.[4]
- Sheila Darcy as Volita
- William Corson as Ramón
- Leander De Cordovaas Governor Felipe
- Edmund Cobb as Manuel González
- John Merton as Comandante Manuel
- C. Montague Shaw as Chief Justice Pablo/Don Del Oro
- Budd Buster as Juan
- Carleton Young as Benito Juárez
- Bud Geary as Don Del Oro (body and voice)
Production
Zorro's Fighting Legion was budgeted at $137,826, although the final negative cost was $144,419 (a $6,593, or 4.8%, overspend).[2] It was filmed between 15 September and 14 October 1939 under the working title Return of Zorro.[2] The serial's production number was 898.[2]
This film was shot in Simi Hills and Chatsworth, Los Angeles.
Stunts
- Dale Van Sickel doubling Reed Hadley
- Yakima Canutt
- James Fawcett
- Ted Mapes
- Ken Terrell
Release
Theatrical
Zorro's Fighting Legion's official release date is 16 December 1939, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[2] The serial was re-released on 24 March 1958, making it the last serial released by Republic, which re-released serials for several years following the release of their final serial King of the Carnival in 1955.[2]
Television
In the early 1950s, Zorro's Fighting Legion was one of fourteen Republic serials edited into a television series. It was broadcast in six 26½-minute episodes.[2]
Chapter titles
209 minutes = 3h, 28m, 58s
- The Golden God (27 min 21s)
- The Flaming "Z" (16 min 37s)
- Descending Doom (16 min 40s)
- The Bridge of Peril (16 min 42s)
- The Decoy (16 min 38s)
- Zorro to the Rescue (16 min 37s)
- The Fugitive (16 min 23s)
- Flowing Death (16 min 23s)
- The Golden Arrow (16 min 36s) – Re-Cap Chapter
- Mystery Wagon (16 min 37s)
- Face to Face (16 min 20s)
- Unmasked (16 min 34s)
Differences from the Zorro canon
The story takes a few liberties with
The date given for the movie is 1824, which in and of itself establishes that it takes place well after Zorro's California adventures: Zorro opposed a corrupt Spanish Colonial government in his canon tales, and California ceased being a Spanish Colony in 1821.
References
- ISBN 978-0-7864-7762-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-9632878-1-8.
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
- ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
External links
- Zorro's Fighting Legion at IMDb
- Zorro's Fighting Legion at AllMovie
- Stomp Tokyo Review of Zorro's Fighting Legion
Download or view online
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