The Spaghetti Zorro!

Made by Italians, filmed in Spain. It was inevitable that the Spaghetti Western would turn its sights to Zorro, though I wonder why it took them until 1975 to do so, when the genre was quickly fading (the only other notable entries in the Spaghetti Western in the mid 1970s were Enzo G. Castellari's "Keoma," Lucio Fulci's "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," and Sergio Martino's "Mannaja"). Oh well - better late then never. This is a charming little gem to be sure, and certainly more family-friendly and less offensive in terms of violence and sadism than others of the genre (though there is still the obligatory whipping scene).

Duccio Tessari was no stranger to the spaghetti western. He also directed the notable "A Pistol for Ringo" and its sequel "The Return of Ringo", both in 1965, as well as writing the script for Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars."