Zorro's Fighting Legion
| Zorro's Fighting Legion | |
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| Directed by |
William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Hiram S. Brown Jr |
| Written by |
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 Cordova Edmund Cobb John Merton C. Montague Shaw |
| Cinematography | Reggie Lanning |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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12 chapters (211 minutes) (serial) 6 26½-minute episodes (TV) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $137,826 (negative cost: $144,419) |
Zorro's Fighting Legion is a 1939 Republic Pictures film serial consisting of twelve chapters starring Reed Hadley as Zorro and directed by William Witney and John English. The plot revolves around his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against the evil Don Del Oro.
A trademark of this serial is the sudden demise of at least one native informant in each episode. The direction was identical for each informant's death, creating a source of unintentional humor: each informant, upon uttering the phrase, "Don Del Oro is...", is shot by a golden arrow and dies before being able to name the villain's alter ego. The serial is also unusual in featuring a real historical personage, Mexican President Benito Juárez, as a minor character. It is the second in a series of five Zorro serials: Zorro Rides Again (1937), Zorro's Black Whip (1944), Son of Zorro (1947) and Ghost of Zorro (1949).
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, planning to take over the land and become Emperor. A man named Francisco is put in charge of a fighting legion to combat the Yaqui tribe and protect the gold, but he is attacked by men working for Don Del Oro. Zorro comes to his rescue, but it is too late for him. Francisco's partner recognizes Zorro as the hidalgo Don Diego Vega. Francisco asks Diego, as Zorro, to take over the fighting legion and defeat Don Del Oro.
Though there were numerous Zorro serials, Hadley was the only actor to play the original Zorro in any of them.
Zorro's Fighting Legion was budgeted at $137,826, although the final negative cost was $144,419 (a $6,593, or 4.8%, overspend). It was filmed between 15 September and 14 October 1939 under the working title Return of Zorro. The serial's production number was 898.
This film was shot in Simi Hills and Chatsworth, Los Angeles.
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