Zorro's Black Whip
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| Zorro's Black Whip | |
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| Directed by | Spencer Gordon Bennet Wallace Grissel |
| Produced by | Ronald Davidson |
| Written by | Basil Dickey Jesse Duffy Grant Nelson Joseph Poland Ruth Roman Johnston McCulley (Original Zorro Novel) |
| Starring | Linda Stirling George J. Lewis Lucien Littlefield Francis McDonald |
| Cinematography | Bud Thackery |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1944 |
| Running time | 12 chapters (211 min) |
| IMDb profile | |
Zorro's Black Whip was a 1944 film serial starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the popular 1940 Universal remake of The Mark of Zorro and Republic was unable to use the character himself, but still wanted to capitalize on it.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
In Zorro's Black Whip the word Zorro never occurs, but a distant female relative of Don Diego in Iowa fights a cabal of corrupt politicians as "The Black Mask". Hammond, owner of the town's stagecoach line and a leading citizen, is opposed to Idaho becoming a state, and kills Randolph Meredith, owner of the town's newspaper, for endorsing it. Meredith's sister Barbara, expert with a bullwhip and pistol, dons a black costume and mask and becomes "The Black Whip", dealing a blow to Hammond and his gang each time they perform some heinous act in their efforts to keep the town, and their power over it, unchanged. Aided by government agent Vic Gordon, Barbara confronts Hammond in a final showdown just as the town votes on whether or not to accept statehood.
[edit] Cast
Linda Stirling as Barbara Meredith, The Black Whip
George J. Lewis as Vic Gordon, a government agent allied with the Black Whip
Lucien Littlefield as "Tenpoint" Jackson, a newspaper man working with Barbara Meredith
Francis McDonald as Dan Hammond, villainous owner of the town's Stagecoach company
Hal Taliaferro as Baxter, one of Hammond's henchmen
John Merton as Ed Harris, one of Hammond's henchmen
[edit] Chapter titles
- The Masked Avenger
- Tomb of Terror
- Mob Murder
- Detour to Death
- Take Off That Mask!
- Fatal Gold
- Wolf Pack
- The Invisible Victim
- Avalanche
- Fangs of Doom
- Flaming Juggernaut
- Trail of Tyranny
[edit] Stunts & Effects
Stunts by:
Babe DeFreest as Barbara Meredith (doubling Linda Stirling)
Dale Van Sickel as Vic Gordon/Rock Heavy Karl/Camp Heavy/Danley (doubling George J. Lewis)
Tom Steele as Baxter/Ed (doubling Hal Taliaferro)
Helen Thurston
Special Effects by the Lydecker brothers
[edit] Trivia
- Linda Stirling as The Black Whip is quite obviously female but, even after a bout of wrestling, the villains do not realise they aren't fighting a man.
- Parts of this serial were reused as stock footage to pad out later serials such as Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) and Man with the Steel Whip (1954) - despite the fact that both of those serials had male leads.
- The surnames of the two lead characters, Meredith and Gordon, are an in-joke. They are the surnames of both versions of Nyoka the Jungle Girl in the, otherwise unconnected, Republic serials "Jungle Girl" and "Perils of Nyoka".
[edit] See also
- Zorro
- Zorro Rides Again (1937) - An earlier Zorro Movie Serial
- Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)) - An earlier Zorro Movie Serial
- Son of Zorro (1947) - a later Zorro Movie Serial
- Ghost of Zorro (1949) - a later Zorro Movie Serial
- List of film serials
[edit] External links
- Zorro's Black Whip at the Internet Movie Database
- Episodes 2-12 free online
- Dr Hermes Review of Zorro's Black Whip
- The Serial Squadron
| Preceded by Haunted Harbor (1944) |
Republic Serial Zorro's Black Whip (1944) |
Succeeded by Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945) |
| Preceded by Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) |
Zorro Serial Zorro's Black Whip (1944) |
Succeeded by Son of Zorro (1947) |
| Zorro |
|---|
| Notable Books |
| The Curse of Capistrano | Zorro |
| Notable Films |
| Douglas Fairbanks: The Mark of Zorro | Don Q, Son of Zorro |
| Robert Livingstone: The Bold Caballero |
| John Carroll: Zorro Rides Again |
| Reed Hadley: Zorro's Fighting Legion |
| Tyrone Power: The Mark of Zorro |
| Linda Stirling: Zorro's Black Whip |
| George Turner: Son of Zorro |
| Clayton Moore: Ghost of Zorro |
| Guy Williams: Zorro, the Avenger | The Sign of Zorro |
| Rodolfo de Anda: La Gran Aventura Del Zorro |
| Frank Langella: The Mark of Zorro |
| Alain Delon: Zorro |
| George Hamilton: Zorro, The Gay Blade |
| Anthony Hopkins / Antonio Banderas: The Mask of Zorro |
| Antonio Banderas: The Legend of Zorro |
| Television |
| "Zorro" | "The New Adventures of Zorro" | "Zorro and Son" | "Zorro" | "The Legend of Zorro" | "The New Adventures of Zorro" | Zorro: La Espada y La Rosa |"Zorro: Generation Z" |
| Notable Stage Productions |
| "Zorro in Hell" [1] | "Untitled Zorro Musical" [2] |
