Der Rächer mit der Maske

This is exactly the sort of Saturday matinee serial I loved during World War II. I was under ten years of age. And that's the audience this serial is designed for. Looking at it now, one must roar at its ineptitude and stupidity. The budget must have been next to nothing, given the shortcuts and repeats. The acting? Well, this is Republic pictures, 1944. They read the lines....and no doubt had one take to make them convincing.

One and half stars.

Why Republic titled this "Zorro's Black Whip" is a mystery except perhaps for name recognition. The studio did produce several Zorro serials. There is nothing Zorro here. Name is never mentioned and setting is Idaho not California. The black garbed hero is known as "The Black Whip." There is a gender bender as Linda Stirling is quickly revealed the Black Whip. The heavy lifting (meaning fisticuffs and shooting) is performed by top billed George J. Lewis as an undercover federal agent.

Cast is packed with familiar faces from Republic's stock company of character actors and stuntmen. Locations are those same distinct rock formations at the Simi Valley movie ranch that Republic used over and over. Western fans will recognize those well worn trails and even the cave. Solidly made entertaining serial as you would expect from Republic.

Zorro is gone and replaced by the Black Whip. Its 1880 something and one of the territories in the American west wants statehood to bring law and order but a band of outlaws doesn't want it. So the black whip rides to the rescue. At first its the publisher of the paper in disguise but when he dies his sister takes on the role. Good western serial and one of the few real action ones with a woman in the lead. Linda Sterling makes a dynamite action queen, even if she was doubled for most of the action. If there is a flaw it's that its that Republic was moving toward the machine like precision in the construction of their serials. The construction is Spartan and there is nothing extraneous anywhere so things can feel rather sparse. You can almost guess what the cliffhanger is going to be (especially if you've seen other serials since many are lifted from others in the Republic canon). Still its a very good serial, better if you aren't tearing through a great number in a short period them like I am.

This serial from Republic is one of a long line of Zorro epics. This one is different in that the the Zorro character is played by the lovely Linda Stirling and the hero by veteran character actor/villain George J Lewis. The chief baddies are played competently by Francis MacDonald and Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales). Roy Barcroft must have been busy.

The second unit direction is handled by Yakima Canutt so you know that

you will be treated to the best stunt work the industry had to offer.

With the usual narrow escapes, rides to the rescue, fisticuffs and explosions, this serial is one of the better efforts from the Republic thrill factory.

For someone who had dreams of being a college English teacher, Linda Stirling's reign as Republic Pictures Queen of Serials was indeed a detour. Reporting to work on the set of Zorro's Black Whip, she had trouble controlling her horse which nearly bowled over the set. She thought she had lost the job, but the studio asked her back because they appreciated her spunky spirit. She still continued to have trouble controlling the horse all through her career. She laughed about how the crew would have to come looking for her to find her sitting on the ground, with the horse grazing nearby. "They put makeup on my bruises and put me back on the horse again." Babe DeFreest of course did the majority of stuntwork for her in "Zorro's Black Whip." In comparison, she had to wear a skimpy leopard outfit in "The Tiger Woman" during the shooting in a cold January. That's why she seems to be gritting her teeth when she smiles. When "Zorro's Black Whip" was shot, it was in the hot summer months. The all black outfit she wore gave her a skin reaction which lasted for years. Such were the trials and tribulations of a movie serial actress.