From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zorro's Fighting Legion
Directed by	William Witney John W English
Produced by	Hiram S Brown Jr
Written by	Ronald Davidson Franklin Adreon Morgan Cox Sol Shor Barney A Sarecky Johnston McCulley (Original Zorro Novel)
Starring	Reed Hadley Sheila Darcy William Corson Leander De Codova Edmund Cobb John Merton]] C Montague Shaw
Cinematography	Reggie Lanning
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date(s)	1939
Running time	12 chapters (212 min)
IMDb profile

Zorro's Fighting Legion was a 1939 Republic Pictures serial consisting of 12 chapters. It featured Reed Hadley as Zorro and his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against the evil Don Del Oro. It was noted for its exciting stunts and thrilling cliffhanger chapter endings as well as a better-than-average plot.

A trademark of the serial's production is the sudden demise of at least one native informant each episode. The direction, being unsophisticated, was identical for each informant's death, and thus became a source of unintentional humor. Each informant, upon uttering the phrase, "Don del Oro is..." would be shot by a golden arrow (wielded by Don del Oro himself, hidden behind a curtain) and die with a grunt before being able to name the villain's alter ego.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Chapter Titles 4 Differences 5 Stunts & Effects 6 See Also 7 External links

The mysterious Don Del Oro ("Lord of Gold"), an idol of the Yaqui Indians, has emerged and attacks the gold trade of the Republic of Mexico, with plans to take over the land and become Emperor. A man named Fransisco was put in charge of a fighting legion to combat the Yaqui tribe and protect the gold, but he was attacked by a few men working under Don Del Oro-- Zorro came to his rescue but it was too late for him. Fransisco's partner recognized Zorro as the hidalgo Don Diego Vega. Fransisco asked Diego to take over the fighting legion as his alter-ego Zorro and defeat Don Del Oro.

Reed Hadley as Don Diego Vega/Zorro
Sheila Darcy as Volita
William Corson as Ramon
Leander De Cordova as Governor Felipe
Edmund Cobb as Manuel Gonzalez
John Merton as Commandante Manuel
C. Montague Shaw as Chief Justice Pablo
Budd Buster as Juan
Carleton Young as Benito Juarez

1. The Golden God
2. The Flaming "Z"
3. Descending Doom
4. The Bridge of Peril
5. The Decoy
6. Zorro to the Rescue
7. The Fugitive
8. Flowing Death
9. The Golden Arrow
10. Mystery Wagon
11. Face to Face
12. Unmasked

The story takes a few liberties with Zorro's official timeline:

• Takes place in Mexico instead of Alta California.
• Lolita's name was changed to Volita.
• Zorro wears a masquerade mask rather than the traditional bandana.
• Characters such as Bernardo are absent.
• Zorro's horse, Tornado, was changed to white (much like Kaiketsu Zorro).

But it should be noted that this story is presented as a further adventure of Zorro. Or a sequel to the traditional "Mark of Zorro" origin story.

• Don Diego is said to be visiting from Los Angeles
• The people of Mexico immediately recognize Zorro when he first appears in this story, Strongly suggesting that Zorro is a well known hero.
• So Lolita's name was not changed, this is a separate group of characters. Presumably he just did not take Tornado with him to Mexico.
• This serial very intentionally did not remake the Zorro story. But shows Zorro briefly visiting Mexico because his help is needed there.

Dale Van Sickel as Don Diego Vega/Zorro (doubling Reed Hadley)
Yakima Canutt
James Fawcett
Ted Mapes
Ken Terrell

• Zorro Rides Again (1937) - Earlier Zorro Serial
• Zorro's Black Whip (1944) - Later Zorro Serial
• Ghost of Zorro (1949) - Later Zorro Serial

• Zorro's Fighting Legion at the Internet Movie Database
• Complete Public Domain Serial in MPEG formats
• Dr Hermes Review of Zorro's Fighting Legion
• The Serial Squadron

Zorro
Notable Books
The Curse of Capistrano | Zorro
Notable Films
Douglas Fairbanks: The Mark of Zorro | Don Q, Son of Zorro
Robert Livingstone: The Bold Caballero
John Carroll: Zorro Rides Again
Reed Hadley: Zorro's Fighting Legion
Tyrone Power: The Mark of Zorro
Linda Stirling: Zorro's Black Whip
George Turner: Son of Zorro
Clayton Moore: Ghost of Zorro
Guy Williams: Zorro, the Avenger | The Sign of Zorro
Rodolfo de Anda: La Gran Aventura Del Zorro
Frank Langella: The Mark of Zorro
Alain Delon: Zorro
George Hamilton: Zorro, The Gay Blade
Anthony Hopkins / Antonio Banderas: The Mask of Zorro
Antonio Banderas: The Legend of Zorro
Television
"Zorro" | "The New Adventures of Zorro" | "Zorro and Son" | "Zorro" | "The Legend of Zorro" | "The New Adventures of Zorro" | Zorro: La Espada y La Rosa |"Zorro: Generation Z"
Notable Stage Productions
"Zorro in Hell" [1] | "Untitled Zorro Musical" [2]

Preceded by Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939)	Republic Serial Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)	Succeeded by Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)
Preceded by Zorro Rides Again (1937)	Zorro Serial Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)	Succeeded by Zorro's Black Whip (1944)
Preceded by Dick Tracy's G-Men (1939)	Witney-English Serial Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)	Succeeded by Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)