La grande Zorro

You have to have a gift for the kind of cocksure buffoonery that's unleashed in "Zorro, the Gay Blade." But you also have to have a special kind of gift to enjoy how wild and cockeyed it can be. Hal Dresner and the rest of the writing team let loose with every conceivable bit of absurdity surrounding the Zorro legend, and succeeded in giving what looks to be George Hamilton's most engaging work. It was Hamilton's talk show with his ex-wife Alana that made me trust his essential good will. He may have been a cheating, good-time charlie to Alana, but it's just this willingness to let her at him over his own personal foibles that won me over. It's there in spades in "Zorro the Gay Blade." Hamilton's not afraid to go all out, playing the fool. He grins, and you can't help but grin back. His tan may be legendary, but it's that blinding-pearl-white smile that equals it. It's what carries his performance; I haven't seen a smirk this sardonic, since John William Sublett flashed his in the number "Shine" from "The Cabin In The Sky." And Hamilton's mugging and playfulness is as masterful as Cary Grant's was in "Gunga Din." It isn't only talented actresses who get wasted in Hollywood. Hamilton is an example of the actors who watched opportunities dry up, their best years flit away, and obscurity meet them head-on in their old age. It was nice seeing him on the Halloween edition of "Talk Soup;" the face may be a little jowly, and his hair grayer, but that tan is still there, and so is that trademark wantonness. I hope it never dies.

It would not have been very good for Hamilton to be playing at the height of his comic talents without a supporting cast meeting him jab for jab. There are some who think Ron Leibman's performance is too much, but I'm not among them. Leibman knew he would have to chew a lot of scenery to make the humor built into his role work; it takes a very astute actor to know when overacting, overdoing is the right pitch at which to carry a scene or a part. And I don't think Leibman ever misjudges the moment. I can remember myself enthralled over Nehemiah Persoff's El Presidente on one episode of "Gilligan's Island," and Leibman's performance matches it, accent for accent, outburst for outburst. It'll be a long time before I forget either.

I've always thought Brenda Vaccaro a very funny actress. It's hard to find actresses whose vibe puts you in a happy mood. She's always reminded me of a primmer Susan Tyrell with her button eyes, sharp profile (the prim part), and extra husky voice (the Tyrell part). As the Alcalde's wife, Vaccaro has some smart lines, and you wish director Peter Medak had let her go as far as Leibman had in his role. And she seems wrong for the part that requires her to be vain, self-absorbed, and sex-starved. With Vaccaro, you get the feeling that the woman she plays would be aware of how empty her existence was; how to resolve her sexual frustrations (She's accorded her husband's favor twelve times a year; not once every month, but twelve times in one night, and then nothing for the rest of the year.); how to pool her resources and become a foxy champion of the downtrodden herself.

The movie is full of little surprises from the gap in Lauren Hutton's front teeth (It's like an emblem of the absurdity this movie loves.) to Donovan Scott's shaggy-dog costume (or was he a bear?) to Hamilton's alter-ego, Don Diego's brother Ramon who throws off his Spanish heritage for a freer, more suitable, more "English" estate as Bunny Wiglesworth (A name with a built-in come-on, if ever there were one). The fact that Ramon is better at wielding a whip than a sword points to how knowing the writers are; it's things like this that make you beam at what Dresner and Bob Randall and others had cooked up. Their efforts returned the word "gay" to what it used to mean, and gave its new meaning, well, new meaning. It's undiluted joviality, and even that doesn't cover it.

Say what you will about "Zorro, the Gay Blade." It's a silly send-up to the old cinematic standard of Zorro, made before our politically correct times. Sissy jokes aside, it is enjoyable. Granted, a lot of performances are over the top, particularly Ron Liebman's top-volume Alcalde, but quite a bit of the dialogue can still get a smile. It's worth a look and a laugh or two!

Tyrone Power in The Mark of Zorro plays a foppish character designed to throw off suspicion that he is, in fact, the legendary Zorro. George Hamilton in an Oscar-worthy performance (if they gave an award for comedy - which they don't!) plays Zorro who is injured and has to rely on his twin brother to stand in. George Hamilton as Bunny Wigglesworth is a riot. He is flamboyantly gay and wears lemon, plum, and scarlet instead of Zorro Black. He also likes to use a whip, which is not entirely out of character for Zorro, as he is as adept with the tail as he is with the foil. This is an entertaining farce that Zorro fans, Hamilton fans and others will enjoy. An excellent supporting cast includes Lauren Hutton, Brenda Vaccaro, and Ron Leibman.

This is a great movie that keeps you laughing the more you see it. The interplay between Ron Liebman (Esteban) and George Hamilton (both Zorros) is the perfect comedic match. Excellent cast and great writing combine to a true cult classic. Lauren Hutton provides a tolerable love interest that possesses a feminist liberal touch to her character. This is overshadowed by the comedic confusion created by Liebman and Hamilton. Liebman is outstanding as the overly obsessed Captain Esteban for his nemesis Zorro. Brenda Vaccaro plays Florinda, Esteban's devoted buy love starved wife, who of course, has secret desires for Hamilton that adds spice to the interplay between Liebman and Hamilton. Must see, 5 stars out of 5.

It is surprising to me that more people don't know about this picture, since Zorro the Gay Blade is one of the great funny movies of all time. It is certainly George Hamilton's most memorable movie, an over-the-top spoof that never takes itself too seriously. This is NOT Jerry Lewis or the Three Stooges, but an entertaining social commentary written and performed as slapstick. Of course they do all of it firmly tongue-in-cheek.

It does seem that a few people just don't get it. Well, to each his own. But if you liked Hamilton's Love at First Bite or most of the work of Mel Brooks, then this movie is for you. Personally, it reminds me of Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and the Austin Powers movies. The writing is witty and the one liners are things you will remember and repeat for years. If you haven't seen this one, then you don't know what you are missing.