The Sign of Zorro (1958) Poster

(1958)

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8/10
It's all well acted
r96sk15 June 2020
'The Sign of Zorro' is good fun.

I've always heard of Zorro, with his famous mark et al., though have never seen anything directly about him. This makes for a strong first impression. It is a compilation of a number of the television show episodes, but it's edited together nicely to the point I didn't even notice.

Guy Williams is great as Zorro, bringing the required amount of charisma and smartness to the role. Henry Calvin is also impressive, as comedic character Sgt. Garcia - he gives the laughs. Britt Lomond also gives a notable performance, as Monastario. It's all well acted in general.

I have nothing negative to note, everything makes for entertaining viewing.
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6/10
Pieced together from eight episodes of the TV series.
planktonrules19 February 2022
"The Sign of Zorro" is a full-length film made up of 8 episodes of the popular "Zorro" series from television. And, it uses the same catchy tune to begin the film as the show.

Guy Williams plays Don Diego, a young man who has been studying abroad. However, his father begs for him to return...though Don Diego doesn't know exactly why. Well, it's soon apparent, as the latest man appointed as the Comandante in Mexican-ruled California is robbing folks blind in order to become the wealthiest man in the state. But attacking the Comandante directly is ill-advised and Don Diego poses as an ineffectual intellectual instead of the macho crime fighter. Additionally, his sidekick who is mute also pretends to be deaf in order to better spy on the crooks. As 'Zorro', Don Diego fights evil...righting wrongs and battling injustice.

As you'd expect, in this compilation there are many instances where Zorro gets the better of the Comandante and his troops....as well as narrow escapes. No major surprises here...especially since it was taken from a childrens' show.

So is it any good? Yes. The acting is nice and despite being filmed in black & white, it is an enjoyable production. My only complaint is that the Sergeant is an obvious dunderhead...perhaps too much so to have any sense of realism.

By the way, the film uses the term 'deaf & dumb'...an old fashioned but inaccurate way to describe deaf folks. This is because 'dumb' in this case means unable to talk...and deaf people can talk, just often not that well. Plus 'dumb' has many other very negative connotations. I am glad it was left in the film, as I hate censorship, though I was taken aback by it as well.
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8/10
Humor, heroism, fencing, nostalgia, romantic...
RosanaBotafogo29 June 2021
Very convenient, it's not my favorite hero by far, but I liked the movie, the plot entertains, I loved to see Zorro trolling the villain, a light hint of humor, heroism, fencing, nostalgia, romantic...
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One of the best actionadventure movies!
04124296025 August 2002
Good film.This movie is spectacular, but The Mark of Zorro with Tyrone Power is better.Guy Williams is fantastic in the role of Don Diego Vega.This is one of the best action\adventure movies that I ever saw!
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7/10
pure Zorro
trashgang8 June 2021
With a new graphic novel out about the youth of Don Vega Zorror is back on everybodies mind who do read comics. What else to do then to watch this classic.

Over the top performances full with clichés as seen in the comic. Story is of course not that important but they did well to make it an enjoyable adventure flick.

Fight scene's, slapstick scene's, a big hit back then and still watchable nowadays.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 1/5.
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7/10
Fun, But Bogus "Feature" Film
redryan6411 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
WE CAN RECALL when Mr. Walt Disney had an episode of his DISNEYLAND TV slow devote its hour to previewing just what was coming our way from Walt Disney Productions that year. The year was 1957 and in addition to whatever theatrical releases were on deck, television seemed to dominate this unashamed, blatantly self-serving commercialism. We all loved it, nonetheless.

IN ADDITION TO the already mentioned DISNEYLAND there was the daily afternoon MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. Whiole chatting with the assembled band of youthful performers, Mousketeer Cubby O'Brien (or was it "Moochie"-Kevin Corchran?) constantly questioned 'Uncle' Walt, "But what about Zorro?"

EVENTUALLY WE DID find out about Zorro and his connection with he Disney Organization. A masked & costumed Guy Williams appeared and gave us a teaser of a rundown about the new series, slotted for Thursdays at 7:30 PM Central Time.

IT WAS HIGHLY successful, garnering a great following. Everywhere we looked there was a chalk or marker impression of "Z" on buildings, school signs, billboards, book covers, wherever kids could write.

SO WAS THE next logical step for Disney's ZORRO to be a full length feature film for showing at the movie houses? The answer was a resounding "Yes!" The following year Disney's own Buena Vista Distributors released THE SIGN OF ZORRO! The young crowd was ecstatic; as we marched like the rodents of Hamlin's Pied Piper to plunk down our two bits at the local theatres.

WELL, ALTHOUGH WE did enjoy seeing Don Diego and company on the big screen, we did feel as if we'd been had. Even a ten year old knew that this was a sort of bogus movie; being made up from three ZORRO TV episodes, edited into a single screen story.

ALTHOUGH WE HAVE always held this Disney series in high regard, the use of this episode splicing into a 'feature film' casts certain aspersions on Guy Williams as a Movie Zorro. In our view, it disqualifies his being compared to Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power or even our personal favourite, Reed Hadley in the ZORRO'S FIGHTING LREGION Serial (Republic, 1939).
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6/10
Cheesy but fun
velgarthfan15 March 2020
This show has a lot of great sword fights. I think it's lacking in the personable department though. Not sure why I should care about the lead.

Filming location: Iverson Movie Ranch in what is now Chatsworth, California.
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10/10
The Best Zorro
zillionairepoet5 November 2006
Yes, the Tyrone Power film Zorro was very good ... the sword fight one of the best on screen. But Guy Williams was the perfect Zorro --- he was more dashing and handsome than Power / Banderas, etc. (although these actors also did the character much justice), and looked and moved the part. His costume was the best, too, as was the theme song. And he pronounced "Tornado" like it should be, unlike Banderas' mistake "Tor NAY doe" .... As Don Diego, Williams (Armand Catalano) was also the best in the humor dept. (Powers comes close "So fatiguing") along with Bernardo. It's quite a feat that something from TV was this good, and competed with big budget films. If Williams was in his prime today, he would have been the greatest!
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7/10
A rerun
mrwoof-367-88594019 December 2022
I was a little disappointed. This film is a combined and edited version of the first part of season one of "The Adventures of Zorro". Thing is, I have just completed watching all of the episodes made available on Disney+. So this feels like a rerun. OK, for what it is. But the chances are, if you can watch this, do you have access to Disney+. If you have access to Disney+, you have access to the original series.

Sergeant Garcia may have been a model for Sergeant Schultz, of "Hogan's Heroes", they are very similar character types.

I will say, just to fill up the apparently required six hundred characters, that "The Adventures of Zorro" is one of my more vivid childhood TV memories. One of the shows I grew up with. 🤔😉😊
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10/10
The Sign of Zorro
halvorh21 May 2006
I love this movie! The costumes are excellent, actors are excellent, fencing and shooting are excellent and cast and crew are excellent. But even tough, this movie is good, it's also old. So it has this old fashion in it, but that doesn't matter.

Guy Williams (Don Diego de la Vega and Zorro) is my favorite actor of all time. Henry Calvin (Sgt. Garcia) is also an excellent actor, and he is very funny. Which makes him perfect for his role. Gene Sheldon (Bernardo) is an even better actor, and just as funny! He makes an excellent man servant.

Plot: After 3 years of study in Spain, Don Diego de la Vega returns to California because he father sent a message for him. When he arrives in Los Angeles, he finds that a dictator named Captain Monasatario, has taken over control. He is the most cruel man in all California, and arrests everyone that can not pay the taxes. Diego decides to do something about it, and makes the Zorro outfit. And with his man servant Bernardo and the horse Tornado, he fights for freedom and justice!
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10/10
An exciting adventure from the beginning to the end! Love it.
francisco53315 April 2021
An exciting adventure from the beginning to the end! Zorro is one of my favorite shows ever! It's very well written and the swordplay is fantastic. They used real swords because Walt Disney wanted realism into the scenes. Guy Williams is superb as Diego\Zorro and this was the role of his life. All the cast is wonderful, full of chemistry and magic!

All in all , this is great and even today is fantastic. A show (in this case a movie) for all ages!
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5/10
Stuck Together TV Episodes
boblipton8 April 2022
It's cobbled together from episodes. It's clearly TV material, never rising above B, yet here and there throughout the movie, I was four years old, and one valiant man could make a difference again and it was a good feeling.
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