Zorro, The Gay Blade

Released: 1981
Starring: George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Ron Leibman, Brenda Vaccaro
Director: Peter Medak
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG (UK – PG)

“Zexy, Zany, Zensational!”

A black mask, a flash of cold steel, and three decisive cuts leave you with the symbol of the hero Zorro. In this parody, Don Diego de la Vega is called home by a message from his father, he rushes to see him (and to avoid being killed by the husband of a woman he was caught in bed with). When he arrives, he finds his father has died, his childhood friend, Esteban, is the alcalde of the town (the position Diego’s father held), and his destiny as the new Zorro. After his debut though, he injures his foot and is not able to fight oppression as the masked vigilante. Fortune smiles on him though as his brother, Ramón, having adopted the name Bunny Wigglesworth, soon shows up to “save the day.” With some makeup, a collection of colorful costumes, and a whip, he temporarily takes up the mask as Zorro, the Gay Blade.

This light-hearted comedy is quite a bit of fun, especially if you are a fan of the character, and the serials and films from the 1930s and 1940s. George Hamilton (Love at First Bite, Where the Boys Are) does a great job as a charismatic and slightly exaggerated Zorro. He is able to put a spotlight on his character(s) while not putting the rest of the cast in the dark. George Hamilton pulls double duty (at least) in Zorro, The Gay Blade as both Zorros (Zorri? Zorroes?), Diego and Bunny. As Diego, he is depicted as charming, handsome, wealthy, and good with a sword. As Bunny, his initial introduction is almost a caricature of a British military man of the 1840s. His face is made up to look pale, his hair is blonde, and his accent is British-English — as opposed to his brother’s exaggerated Spanish accent. Hamilton does a very good job showing that these are two separate people, using a change in body language as well as the accents he puts on. You almost could believe they were played by two actors.

The character of Bunny Wigglesworth is a fairly strong character. He spends more time as Zorro than Diego does and outwits Esteban many times. He even has the final heroic moment of the film. This is not saying that there aren’t stereotypes portrayed. Heavy makeup, exaggerated body language, flamboyance, and higher pitched voice for the character are all in place in case we didn’t understand that the character is gay (he also refers to himself as The Gay Blade at one point). I did enjoy the different costume variations his Zorro wears though.

The other stand out character in Zorro, The Gay Blade is the alcalde Esteban (Ron Leibman; Rhinestone, Slaughterhouse-Five). Leibman’s villainous character is the center for most of the jokes in the film. Depicted as cruel, arrogant, and incompetent, he is the perfect foil for Zorro. He ends up delivering some good lines and being the butt of many of the film’s jokes. However, his incomprehensible yelling at his soldiers is a bit annoying.

The remaining of the cast fills in the rest of the comedy. Brenda Vaccaro (Midnight Cowboy, Once Is Not Enough) as Florinda, Esteban’s wife, is annoying, childish, and garners many of the films laughs. Lauren Hutton (The Gambler, Once Bitten) doesn’t really get in too much on the comedy side, but her beauty and charisma work well with Hamilton’s Zorro.

The 2001 DVD release of Zorro, The Gay Blade by Image Entertainment (which is the one I reviewed) includes the widescreen version of the film. That’s it. And, it is now out of print so prices on it are starting to rise. As of this review, there are no other releases in the US. The picture and sound quality are clear, but not remastered in any way. Not much to review beyond that. Hopefully, this gets a Blu-Ray release with some features.

Zorro, The Gay Blade itself is a delightful romp into the swashbuckler films that it is parodying. Its theme song is even taken from The Adventures of Don Juan starring Errol Flynn. While it has a fair amount of jokes, wittiness, and slapstick comedy, the humor is probably not going to make you laugh hysterically, but it will lighten your spirits and engage you enough to enjoy the film. The sword fighting is exciting and well choreographed, not quite the same as watching Douglas Fairbanks or the aforementioned Errol Flynn dual an opponent. However, the clanging of metal and fancy swordplay will always be enticing. All in all, the film is fun to watch, even if it is not exactly Oscar material.