MovieChat Forums > Zorro (1957) Discussion > How historicaly accurate is this show?

How historicaly accurate is this show?


i was just wondering how historicaly accurate this show is! was it reallt that bad in california?

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Personally I think that the historical accuracy of the show has always been one of its strongest qualities. It is well documented that all Spanish colonies from the period were ruled with an iron fist.

I always appreciated that Zorro's writer weren't so concerned with the show's educational content to make it anachronistical. Despite the fact that it obviously sends a message in favour of justice and freedom of thought, the series never gets too politically correct nor tries to show a way too modern society. Even if Bernardo is accepted by Diego as an equal, you can see that he's never allowed to sit at table during dinner but always stands near it. Don Alejandro is quite a modern man for his time and an opposer of oppression, but he wasn't made excessively liberal for a 19th century man. Sometimes he displats some pretty ancient ideas about the importance of family's blood (Agent of the Eagle) and can act in a very impulsive way in the name of honor (An Affair of Honor). And- especially in the first half of the show- he seems always keen to resort to physical force even if it's clear that his actions might have some nefarious consequences (Zorro Saves a Friend/Monastario Sets a Trap).

Everyone smokes and drinks a lot in the show. The first incarnation of Zorro; I knew in my life was the more kid-oriented 90's version starring Duncan Regehr where everyone drunk lemonade or orange juice. Please!
Zorro sometimes kills people. And , even if he fights to defend minorities, like Indians or the Gypsies, the writers never imply that the time has come for these people to be fully integrated into society. In 2008, I saw a London musical produced by Isabella Allende and inspired by the book she wrote about the character. It was far too "New Age": in the end, the Spanish dons and gypsies becoming equals in Californian societ . As noble as the message is, it didn't feel very believable. What I loved about this show is that, despite its positive message, it was never too concerend to give a too sensitive and edulcorated painting of the situation of 19th century Spanish California to make children feel better. Otherwise it would've possibly qualified as an early example of steampunk.

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MrEdnablackadder, that was a very erudite answer. I agree totally.

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Thanks for the nice compliment, Clint. If you want to know some bits of trivia about his show, maybe I can help. I've been a fan for a very long time now and I've actually read Guy Williams' biography, "The Man Behind the Mask", which reveals many interesting facts.

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Mr.Ednablackadder, here's a couple of questions for you:

1. I heard that Guy Williams was actually a good guy in real life, well-like by his fellow actors, and unselfish.

2. I believe the charcter of Zorro was a composite of real outlaws that lived in the 1800's.

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Thank you for the trust , Clint .

1. I heard that Guy Williams was actually a good guy in real life, well-like by his fellow actors, and unselfish.


He was indeed. Everyone has very fond memories of him. Don Diamond also described him as an extremely intelligent and cultured person. He was in very good terms with Britt Lomond. The two used to train at the same fencing school and they had both auditioned for the role of Zorro.

2. I believe the charcter of Zorro was a composite of real outlaws that lived in the 1800's.


Yes, he was. It is said that Johnston McCulley based the character on many real-life outlaws from the period , notably Joaquin Murrieta (the brother of Banderas' character in "The Mask of Zorro"). In the original McCulley novel , Zorro certainly isn't a very politically correct character and can use some really cruel and ruthless forms of punishment. But above all, the writer wanted to make him a noble hero who would have helped the poor and the victims of oppression and, on this account, Robin Hood was probably its greatest inspiration.



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Mr EdnaBladder,

I have wanted to read McCulley's book for a long time now. Is it good? I believe he wrote it in 1919, didn't he? It's interesting to note that Douglas Fairbanks' movie came out only a year later. Guy Williams is the consumate Zorro for me, but Fairbanks stunts were truly amazing.

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It has been a long time since I read McCulley's book, but I remember that I liked it. It's quite dark and serious compared to the Fairbanks film version which has a lighter, almost Picaresque touch.

Guy will always be the definitive Zorro for me as well, but Fairbanks did a good job with his unique turn on the character: the 1920 movie version was almost a comedy, actually.

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McCulley's book version, The Mark of Zorro (taking it's name from the Douglas Fairbanks movie) and the original pulp fiction printing in All-Story Weekly as The Curse of Capistrano are public domain (IE that means freely available, anyone could reprint a copy).

If anyone is interested in reading the book, someone uploaded a digital version onto Archive.org (Project Gutenberg doesn't seem to have a copy yet).

http://www.archive.org/details/markzorro

If you have an e-reader, the Kindle format is marked as such and I believe Nook owners can use the Epub format.

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And if you bring up Archive.org on your laptop, it's got its own reader format, which worked just fine for me.

My husband and I really enjoyed reading The Curse of Capistrano after having watched the Zorro series (on DVD) for the first time in decades. The two versions are different in many ways, but the basic story is pretty much the same. As I recall, though, Zorro's real identity is not revealed till the very end -- it seemed obvious to us of course, but I wonder whether someone who read the story back when would have figured it out.

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Not to intrude but I always like to think that The Scarlet Pimpernel was a source--- fictional of course.

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I love the show, but there were some inaccuracies.
The military uniforms, for example, were not accurate.
To give you an idea, here is the uniform of a sergeant in the Spanish army during the first quarter of the 19th century (such as Sgt. Garcia, whose uniform would've been much larger than this, but otherwise more-or-less identical):
http://i53.tinypic.com/f1kr9t.jpg
And here is the uniform of a captain in the Spanish army during the first quarter of the 19th century (such as Capt. Monastario):
http://i54.tinypic.com/2eq6slv.jpg
You get the idea...

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The peons weren't called pee-ons for nothing.

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"Pee-on" is a mispronunciation. It's pay'-own.


"The value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it."-Oscar Wilde

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"Pee-on" is a mispronunciation. It's pay'-own.


And the plural is actually peones, not peons as they say in.. well, basically very show and movie of the period.

The Basilio story arc also seems to misrepresent Spain's current situation, as he implies that they're currently at war with England, France and Netherlands at the same time, which wasn't the case in 1820 (Spain had last fought France during the War of the Seventh Coalition, with England and Netherlands as allies). Of course, you can also assume that Basilio was trying to misrepresent the situation to the California to require some exorbitant war taxes.

Giving that California swore allegiance to Mexico in 1821, a lot of people have always argued that it would've been wiser of McCulley to set Zorro's story a few years before 1820. It may require some suspension of disbelief that the events of the show would take place less in one year, since California is under the Spanish crown for its entire run. But seriously.. it can be done.

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"Pee-on" is a mispronunciation. It's pay'-own.


That depends on what language you're speaking. In English, it can be pronounced "PEE on" (among other possibilities), and (according to one website) in Spanish it's actually spelled "peón" (with an accent mark) so it's pronounced (more or less) "pay OWN."

On the show they do use the Spanish pronunciation for most Spanish words, including "Los Angeles."

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Aside from everyone speaking English instead of Spanish, it was pretty accurate.

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Who gives a shit? It’s a kids’ TV show!

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