Gilbert Roland : Should have starred in 'The Mark of Zorro'

Should have starred in 'The Mark of Zorro'

Gilbert Roland would have been the perfect Zorro; handsome, dashing and actually Spanish. But in the 1940 remake (of the 1920 Douglas Fairbanks original) the role went to the distinctly American actor Tyrone Power. That same year,(1940) Gilbert Roland was dueling with legendary screen swashbuckler Errol Flynn in "The Sea Hawk". Roland looked fantastic with a sword and handled the role of Captain Lopez with ease and grace. As fate would have it, years later Gilbert costarred in the next remake of "The Mark of Zorro" (1974) with Frank Langella and Ricardo Montalban, playing, appropriately enough, Zorro's father. But not playing the actual role of Zorro will always linger as one of the great missed opportunities of film.

Re: Should have starred in 'The Mark of Zorro'

I made a similar comment recently but the one doubt that I have is whether he could have pulled off the effete side of the role. Gilbert Roland is the kind of guy who was macho in his sleep, a good actor but could he do prissy?

He has an athletic duel in The Gay Cavalier with Tris Coffin and it appears that he is not doubled at all.

It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me
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