In my home, a large bookcase opens into a hideaway
office. The idea came from an old Zorro serial. In 64 magazine
stories, 46 films, any number of comic books, and five television series,
Zorro's secret room was the thing I looked forward to seeing most. In
the hacienda of Don Diego De LaVega, a tunnel led to a library, a wine cellar,
and a stable that housed Zorro's magnificent black stallion, Tornado.
Zorro's creator, Johnston McCulley,
didn't envision a man dressed all
in black, however. That was
Douglas Fairbanks' idea for the original film
"The Mark of Zorro" in1920. Fairbanks loved Zorro. He was cool,
could fight like hell, and tango in tight pants. McCulley loved Fairbanks'
changes and adopted them for the next 60 magazine stories he wrote.
Thirteen years later, Zorro became the inspiration for a new radio series
hero, The Lone Ranger. Creator George W. Trendle fessed-up to seeing
the Fairbanks film several times and taking notes. In the publishing
world, Zorro was the
inspiration cartoonist Bob Kane needed for Batman.
From pulp magazines and comic books to movies and television. Zorro
has been
an inspiration to many.
And now we are looking at two treasures starring Antonio Banderas. Only
he's not our Diego, he's another who tangos in tight pants, the brother of
California outlaw Juaquin Murieta.