Director: Peter Medak
Cast: George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Rob Leibman, Brenda Vaccaro
Have I Seen it Before: Never. You might have a tricky time seeing it yourself, as the film has disappeared in the cracks of the streaming wars, discs going out of print, and the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney… But I have my ways and a few people making requests.
Did I Like It: It is better than The Legend of Zorro (2005), but that isn’t exactly a hard standard to achieve. It is not as good as either The Mark of Zorro (1920), the 1940 remake, or The Mask of Zorro (1998). That’s probably a much harder level.
After you lament that a film has disappeared, you must then must ask why a film disappears. There are the alarmists who might say that censorship run rampant. I think it’s usually a bit more banal than that, especially as there is not a single dangerous idea in such a film as this. Nor should there be.
The problem is that the entire film hinges on a joke that, not to spoil a 40-plus year old film, you might be able to guess by seeing the movie’s title. It’s the kind of thing that is certainly offensive to some, but also so cliché that you almost sympathize with the large entertainment conglomerate’s lack of a rush to get the film out onto Blu Ray, 4K, or even a streaming service for all to enjoy.
And yet, I don’t dismiss the film entirely. There were several moments where I caught myself laughing not so much at the hoary concept, but at some genuinely inventive wordplay. I also must give credit to Hamilton. Even when the movie groans around him, there’s never a moment of malice in Hamilton’s dual portrayals.