The Mark of Zorro

The Mark of Zorro (1940) is a Hollywood swashbuckler classic you can watch online on iFILM. Director Rouben Mamoulian brought a rare elegance to the material, and the film features one of the most admired sword fights in cinema history — Tyrone Power against Basil Rathbone, two minutes of steel that stunt coordinators still study.

Don Diego Vega returns from Spain to find his California homeland strangled by a crooked alcalde and his troops. Taxes bleed the farmers dry; anyone who objects gets flogged. Diego's father has been stripped of his position. Diego's response is to play the role of a useless dandy — poetry, card tricks, perfume — while Zorro rides at night, leaving his mark on the tyrant's regime. Linda Darnell plays Doña Lolita, the one person who nearly sees through both faces.

The film runs 94 minutes and wastes none of them. Power handles the comedy and the action with equal ease, and Mamoulian keeps the pace tight without letting the romance or the politics get swallowed. Stream The Mark of Zorro online on iFILM.