pett-01204 Review of The Mark of Zorro

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

Excellent in some areas, but weak in others

[7/10 · 30 October 2019]

The film The Mask of Zorro shines because of its depiction of the poor rising up against the tyrannical rich but it also shows how little minorities were valued at the time of the movie's release. The film also features great acting which elevates the film though the audio is a little weak. The film does a great job of reflecting the anti-rich sentiment during the Great Depression. In the movie, Zorro is a hero who fights for the "common man" against a rich and corrupt leader who had taken over his hometown. Around this time President Roosevelt had claimed that the rich were his number one enemy and this combined with the fact that people felt as though the rich lived in blissful ignorance and never helped those beneath them, only increased the hatred for the wealthy. One problem this movie has is that everyone in the movie is supposed to be Hispanic, but there's not a single Hispanic actor in the film, every actor in the film. This shows that this movie was a product of its time because in 1940, minorities were not getting starring roles in these big-name films. The acting in this film mainly from Tyrone Power is excellent. He plays the role of a rich boy turned hero who cares for everyone in the town and does it very convincingly. He also does a good job of playing out of the role of Zorro where he is very whiny and plays the rich boy that everyone thinks he is. The audio in this film is also a low point for the movie. Some would argue that they hate having a soundtrack during the intense fights but without one the fights, especially the final one feels a little dull. An amazing score can elevate fight scenes and make them feel more intense than they are which is usually a positive, but this movie just does not do that. All in all, this film has some great things going for it but it's held back by the audio and whitewashing.