Zorro il vendicatore

Acceptable Paella/Spaghetti Zorro Western co-produced by Spain/Italy , being decently directed by expert filmmaker Joaquin Romero Marchent , in fact , if you like traditional westerns this one remains watchable . One of the first Tortilla or Chorizo Western - pre Sergio Leone boom- filmed in Spain with spectacular outdoors from Manzanares Del Real and Colmenar Viejo (Madrid), locations where were filmed a lot of Westerns , pre-Almeria outbursting . It's a decent western with spectacular landscapes and breathtaking confrontation among protagonists . This exciting western titled ¨Zorro the Avenger¨ (United States) or ¨Zorro il Vindicatore¨ (Italy) or ¨La Venganza del Zorro¨ (Spain) or ¨Zorro le vengeur¨ (France) had a follow-up titled ¨Cabalgando Hacia Muerte¨ (Spanish title) , or ¨L'ombra di Zorro" - Italy (original title), or "The Shadow of Zorro" - UK, USA title or "Shades of Zorro¨. It deals with Don José de la Torre (Frank Latimore posing as Zorro) , a foppish and wealthy owner who disguises himself as Zorro, the masked freedom fighter , who attempts to save his people from the wrath of an evil military officer : Colonel Clarence (Howard Vernon) who is using his position to his own advantage supported by his henchmen .Then a new and honest governor (José Marco Davo) comes to California to rule , he is accompanied by his beautiful daghter (Maria Silva) , and Don José/Zorro falls in love for her . Along the way , three villain US soldiers (Paul Piaget , Emilio Rodriguez, Antonio Molino Rojo) execute a set-up in which they murder a priest incriminating a Zorro's friend , Juan Aguilar (Rafael Romero Marchent's director's brother) . Later on , Zorro seeks revenge , as he is relentless in their vendetta , deadly in their violence . The conflict is simple , one between three merciless killers against the masked revenger Zorro . While they commiting rampage as well as killings , and population blames the real Zorro . At the end takes place the classy confrontation by fencing between the good guy and the bad guy.

Passable Iberian Western professionally realized by the best Tortilla Western director , Joaquin Romero Marchent . This moving Zorro Western contains thrills , gun-play , shimmer locations and being proceeded in American style more than Spaghetti . This Iberian western contains a story full of action , vengeance , good dramatic pace and slick direction . This is a classical western before Leone's style , it is an ordinary example of American western style , though it is partly Spanish and partly Italian . The Spanish westerns of this era were far more likely to try and emulate their American source material than cultivate a distinctive style of their own the way the Italians ; as Spaniards were doing too their own product in peculiar manners . Interesting screenplay and story by the famous Jesús Franco , ¨Uncle Jess¨ , along with director Joaquin Romero Marchent himself . It results to be a trilling as well as a western vengeance with lots of shots , fights and emotion . Stars Frank Latimore gives a likeable acting as Don José disguising as ¨The Zorro¨ . It has breathtaking showdown between the protagonist Frank Latimore and the enemies as the military official performed by Howard Vernon , Jesús Franco's regular , and other hoodlums as Paul Piaget , Molino Rojo or Red Mills and Emilio Rodriguez . Charismatic performance for whole casting , as there appears usual Italian/Spanish Western support actors , a largely secondary cast filled with familiar faces , all of them ordinary in Chorizo/Spaghetti western , such as : Maria Silva , José Marco Davo , Lorenzo Robledo , José Riesgo, Antonio Molino , Guillermo Méndez , Iran Eory , Jesús Tordesillas , Ángel Álvarez , Alfonso de la Vega , Manuel Alexandre , Emilio Rodríguez , Carlos Romero Marchent : director's brother , and many others . The musician Manuel Parada composes an atmospheric soundtrack and well conducted . Regular cinematography , though being necessary a perfect remastering , holding a horrible copy , filmed by cameraman Rafael Pacheco on locations in Manzanares Del Real and Colmenar Viejo , as usual ; including good sets by Jaime Perez Cubero and Jose Luis Galicia , creating a nice scenario with luminous outdoors , rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and fine sets by these expert set designers who carried out the most Production Design on Westerns shot in Spain . They made a little town called ¨Golden City¨ where filmed several Westerns as ¨Welcome Padre Murray¨ , ¨Brandy¨ , various ¨Zorros¨ , other Marchent films and the prestigious ¨Fistful of dollars¨ trilogy also produced by Alberto Grimaldi .

The sequel was well produced by Copercines/Eduardo Manzanos Brochero who financed various films for Marchent brothers as Joaquin Romero Marchent : ¨El Coyote¨ , ¨Venganza Del Coyote¨, and this ¨Cabalgando Hacia Muerte¨; and for Rafael Romero Marchent : ¨Quien Grita Venganza¨, ¨Two crosses in Danger Pass¨ and being also financed by PEA/Alberto Grimaldi , previously to produce his successful trilogy of dollars/Sergio Leone . This film containing action , thrills , shootouts , drama , high body-count and entertainment was compellingly directed and in traditional style by Joaquin Marchent (1921-2012) . He was an expert writer and director of good Western . His first film was ¨El Coyote¨ and the sequel titled ¨Revenge of Coyote¨ shot in Mexico . After that , he filmed ¨The shadow of Zorro¨ and ¨Revenge of Zorro¨. He went go directing Western as ¨ Riding to death ¨ , ¨Adventures in the West¨ , ¨Three good men¨, ¨Sabor Venganza ¨ and the most popular and violent ¨Condenados a Vivir¨ . Plus , he wrote for his brother Rafael Romero the following Westerns : ¨Manos Torpes¨, ¨Ocaso un Pistolero¨ and ¨Garringo¨ . Rating : Acceptable ,it has its entertaining moments here and there .

Zorros's producer , ¨Eduardo Manzanos Brochero¨, ordered to build a Western town in Hoyo De Manzanares (Madrid) , today disappeared , called ¨Golden City¨ where filmed several Westerns and various Zorros . Other Zorros filmed by that time are as follows : ¨Zorro all Corte di Spaña¨ (1963) by Luigi Capuano , ¨Zorro versus Maciste¨ by Umberto Lenzi with Pierre Brice , Alan Steel , Moira Orfei ; ¨El Jiuramento Di Zorro¨ by Ricardo Blasco with Guy Stockwell , Antonio Prieto , Gloria Milland and Mikaela ; its sequel titled ¨Oath of Zorro¨ by Ricardo Blasco with Tony Russel , Maria Jose Alfonso , Sancho Gracia and Agustin Gonzalez ; ¨Zorro Il Ribelle¨ by Piero Pirotti with Howard Ross ; ¨Il Figlio Di Zorro¨ (1973) by Gianfranco Baldanello and two directed by Jose Luis Merino with Charles Quiney and Maria Pia Conte as ¨Zorro the rider of vendetta¨ and ¨Zorro of Monterrey¨ . This ¨La venganza de Zorro¨ (1962) was followed by ¨Cabalgando hacia la muerte¨ , a so-so sequel concerning two brothers , the slimy , menacing outlaw Billy (Claudio Undari as Robert Hundar) and Dan (Paul Piaget who however in the first part was killed by Zorro) who swear to carry out a bloody revenge against Zorro (Frank Latimore again) when in previous film titled ¨Zorro the avenger¨ at a confrontation resulted in brother's murder .

This forgettable film is probably impossible to locate in its original form. As many others like it, this Italian/Spanish Hollywood-adventure ripoff, has been subject to drastic cuts, horrible dubbing and rewriting of the credits (in my version, probably re-edited in the seventies, the lead is identified with alias Clint Douglas...ring a bell?). Of course, this might be the reason why my version, renamed "The Mark of Zorro", is nearly uncomprehendable. One might say that it is unfair to rate a movie when only having seen the butchered version, but then, the original material is amateurishly staged, directed and photographed. The only interest this film might generate, is the search for an original full-length version. In other words, only worthy as a subject for film-archeology.