The Mark of Zorro (1920)

Film: The Mark of Zorro (1920)

Stars: Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Marguerite de la Motte, Noah Beery, Robert McKim

Director: Fred Niblo

Oscar History: Predated the Oscars

Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Each month, as part of our 2026 Saturdays with the Stars series, we are looking at the men & women who created the Boom!-Pow!-Bang! action films that would come to dominate the Blockbuster Era of cinema.  This month, our focus is on Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.: click here to learn more about Mr. Fairbanks (and why I picked him), and click here for other Saturdays with the Stars articles.

It feels weird to start an assessment of Douglas Fairbanks with a movie he made when he was 37, particularly as we kick off a year focusing on movies starring action heroes (i.e. people in their physical prime).  But that's kind of appropriate for Fairbanks.  While he had had some success in the 1900's in Broadway shows, and had made movies (including The Lamb in 1915 which arguably was the first film to focus on Fairbanks' athletic prowess), The Mark of Zorro is really the picture that cemented Fairbanks as a proper leading man, and one of the biggest names in cinema in the 1920's.  It's also the first movie to really focus on him as an action star, rather than using him for comic effect, which of course leans into our theme, but also creates a fascinating juxtaposition that won't honestly be the case for any of the 11 actors we profile the remainder of the year: Douglas Fairbanks doesn't look like an action star.

(Spoilers Ahead) This was the first Zorro film, and it plays pretty close to the legend that you'd be familiar with if you are more used to Tyrone Power or Antonio Banderas playing this part.  We have the wimpy Don Diego Vega (Fairbanks), the foppish heir to a large ranch fortune, who is set to marry Lolita Pulido (de la Motte), a beautiful but unimpressed daughter of a nearby ranch who is struggling for money (and needs her to marry rich).  She, though, is madly in love with the dashing Zorro (also Fairbanks) who is trying to overthrow the colonial government and fights for her hand (and her kiss) with great honor.  The film has regular tangles that ensue, including the villain also trying to win over Lolita, before we get to the grand reveal, where Don Diego, out of mask, proves that he is willing to fight bravely for Lolita's honor, and unmasks himself in the shockingly graphic (there is a bloody Z carved on one of the villains' foreheads) finale, complete with her in love with both Don Diego AND Zorro, ready to save the day.

For fear of overwhelming you with punctuation, I will largely refer to our January Star as "Douglas Fairbanks" going forward rather than repeatedly using his post-nominal letters, but I do want to point out that, for those familiar with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., you'll notice that there's a stark difference between the two men aesthetically.  Junior, by pretty much any definition (including modern standards-of-beauty) is gorgeous in his prime.  With his pencil thin mustache, thick hair, giant ears, and piercing eyes, he looks like a really handsome cross between Clark Gable and William Powell.  His father, as a rule, was not hot by our modern standards.  37 in 1920 meant something a lot different than 37 today, and going into this movie, where Fairbanks was expected to play a sex symbol, I figured this would feel a bit comical.

So imagine my surprise that Fairbanks looks crazy great as Zorro.  He cuts a surprisingly athletic figure in the title role, and his action scenes are impressive.  This was in many ways the first major action-adventure movie, and it has all of the tropes of the genre (charming leading man, daring stunts, and a love story), and while it is stuck a little bit by being the prototype (i.e. other films had room to improve), it is aided by Fairbanks being a pleasantly good actor.  His Don Diego is unlikable, but his Zorro is palpitating-I'm curious if this continues, but this adds a level that the Power & Banderas films don't (i.e. those films it's hard to understand why the beautiful girl doesn't immediately fall for them alongside of Zorro...here there's an explanation).  Color me somewhat excited to get into the filmography of a man I have seen very little of this month after catching his star-making turn.