Popular actor Douglas Fairbanks wanted to pivot away from his physical man-meets-woman comedies he was previously known for, despite all of them being highly profitable at the box office. He was taking an enormous risk abdicating the format, especially when his movies were personally funded by United Artists, partially owned by him and his wife Mary Pickford. He envisioned a more challenging role than his can-do All-American boy characters. Once his wife read 'The Curse of Capistrano' in a recent magazine, she knew her husband was perfect for the Batman-like masked crusader, the protector of the innocent battling evil people preying upon them.
As the foppish son of a wealthy Spanish California ranch owner, Don Vega, Fairbanks created his career-defining role in November 1920's "The Mark of Zorro." From here on, the actor went on to star in a series of action heroic movies. His first was Zorrow with his distinctive 'Z' swashed on the foreheads of the villains.
A Fairbanks' biographer described the film as "helping popularize one of the enduring creations of twentieth-century American fiction, a character who was the prototype for comic book heroes such as Batman." It's no coincidence comic book artist/writer Bill Finger of Batman-fame detailed Bruce Wayne's parents taking their son to see the Fairbanks' Zorrow movie in 1920s Gotham City the night his mother and father were killed in front of him.
In the 1920 film version, Zorrow has to battle not only the governor of California but the Mexican Army headed by sergeant Pedro Gonzales, played by Noah Berry, Wallace Berry's older half-brother in real life. Noah was able to get his son, Noah Beery Jr., to play the part as a boy in the film. People today will recognize Noah Jr. As James Garner's father in TV's 'The Rockford Files.'
As the foppish son of a wealthy Spanish California ranch owner, Don Vega, Fairbanks created his career-defining role in November 1920's "The Mark of Zorro." From here on, the actor went on to star in a series of action heroic movies. His first was Zorrow with his distinctive 'Z' swashed on the foreheads of the villains.
A Fairbanks' biographer described the film as "helping popularize one of the enduring creations of twentieth-century American fiction, a character who was the prototype for comic book heroes such as Batman." It's no coincidence comic book artist/writer Bill Finger of Batman-fame detailed Bruce Wayne's parents taking their son to see the Fairbanks' Zorrow movie in 1920s Gotham City the night his mother and father were killed in front of him.
In the 1920 film version, Zorrow has to battle not only the governor of California but the Mexican Army headed by sergeant Pedro Gonzales, played by Noah Berry, Wallace Berry's older half-brother in real life. Noah was able to get his son, Noah Beery Jr., to play the part as a boy in the film. People today will recognize Noah Jr. As James Garner's father in TV's 'The Rockford Files.'