Zorro's Fighting Legion

Infobox Film
name = Zorro's Fighting Legion


director = William Witney
John English
producer = Hiram S. Brown Jr
writer = Ronald Davidson
Franklin Adreon
Morgan Cox
Sol Shor
Barney A. Sarecky
Johnston McCulley "(Original Zorro Novel)"
starring = Reed Hadley
Sheila Darcy
William Corson
Leander De Codova
Edmund Cobb
John Merton
C. Montague Shaw
cinematography = Reggie Lanning
distributor = Republic Pictures
released = 1939
runtime = 12 chapters (212 min)
country = USA
language = English
budget = $137,826 (negative cost: $144,419)
gross =
preceded_by = "Zorro Rides Again" (1937)
followed_by = "Zorro's Black Whip" (1944)
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0032164

"Zorro's Fighting Legion" was a 1939 Republic Pictures serial consisting of 12 chapters. It featured Reed Hadley as Zorro and his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against the evil Don Del Oro. It was noted for its exciting stunts and thrilling cliffhanger chapter endings as well as a better-than-average plot.

A trademark of the serial's production is the sudden demise of at least one native informant each episode. The direction, being unsophisticated, was identical for each informant's death, and thus became a source of unintentional humor. Each informant, upon uttering the phrase, "Don del Oro is..." would be shot by a golden arrow (wielded by Don del Oro himself, hidden behind a curtain) and die with a grunt before being able to name the villain's alter ego.

Plot

The mysterious Don Del Oro ("Lord of Gold"), an idol of the Yaqui Indians, has emerged and attacks the gold trade of the Republic of Mexico, with plans to take over the land and become Emperor. A man named Francisco was put in charge of a fighting legion to combat the Yaqui tribe and protect the gold, but he was attacked by a few men working under Don Del Oro-- Zorro came to his rescue but it was too late for him. Francisco's partner recognized Zorro as the hidalgo Don Diego Vega. Francisco asked Diego to take over the fighting legion as his alter-ego Zorro and defeat Don Del Oro.

Cast

Chapter titles

#The Golden God "(27 min 38s)"
#The Flaming "Z" "(16 min 41s)"
#Descending Doom "(16 min 41s)"
#The Bridge of Peril "(16 min 40s)"
#The Decoy "(16 min 39s)"
#Zorro to the Rescue "(16 min 40s)"
#The Fugitive "(16 min 41s)"
#Flowing Death "(16 min 41s)"
#The Golden Arrow "(16 min 39s)" -- Re-Cap Chapter
#Mystery Wagon "(16 min 40s)"
#Face to Face "(16 min 40s)"
#Unmasked "(16 min 41s)"

Differences

The story takes a few liberties with Zorro's official timeline:
* Takes place in Mexico instead of Alta California.
* Zorro wears a masquerade mask rather than the traditional bandana.
* Characters such as Bernardo are absent.
* Zorro's horse, Tornado, was changed to white (much like Kaiketsu Zorro).But it should be noted that this story is presented as a further adventure of Zorro. Or a sequel to the traditional "Mark of Zorro" origin story.
* Don Diego is said to be visiting from Los Angeles
* The people of Mexico immediately recognize Zorro when he first appears in this story, Strongly suggesting that Zorro is a well known hero.
* * This serial very intentionally did not remake the Zorro story. But shows Zorro briefly visiting Mexico because his help is needed there.

tunts

*Dale Van Sickel as Don Diego Vega/Zorro (doubling Reed Hadley)
*Yakima Canutt
*James Fawcett
*Ted Mapes
*Ken Terrell

ee also

*Zorro Rides Again (1937) - Earlier Zorro Serial
*Zorro's Black Whip (1944) - Later Zorro Serial
*Son of Zorro (1947) - Later Zorro Serial
*Ghost of Zorro (1949) - Later Zorro Serial

References

*"Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement"; Mathis, Jack, 1995, ISBN 0-9632878-1-8

External links

*
* [http://www.serialexperience.com/showarticle.php?fldRecNum=84 Zorro's Fighting Legion at Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience]
* [http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/z/zorros-fighting-legion.html Stomp Tokyo Review of Zorro's Fighting Legion]

Download or view online

* [http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=Zorro%20Fighting%20Legion Complete serial at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_1 Chapter 1 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_2 Chapter 2 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_3 Chapter 3 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_4 Chapter 4 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_5 Chapter 5 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_6 Chapter 6 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_7 Chapter 7 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_8 Chapter 8 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_9 Chapter 9 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_10 Chapter 10 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_11 Chapter 11 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/zorros_fighting_legion_chapter_12 Chapter 12 at The Internet Archive]
* [http://www.publicdomaintorrents.com/nshowcat.html?category=action Download through bittorrent in DX50 format]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Republic Serial
before=Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939)
years=Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)
after=Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)succession box
title=Zorro Serial
before=Zorro Rides Again (1937)
years=Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)
after=Zorro's Black Whip (1944)succession box
title=Witney-English Serial
before=Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939)
years=Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)
after=Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)