Attila the Professor said:
I interpreted the statement differently, that the fact of the war and the grave sense of doubt it instilled accounts for why the serials struck a chord.
Quite possibly. It made me think of those 'Keep calm and carry on' posters during the war. The idea of never giving up, no matter how bad things might look. I was thinking in terms of the serial hero as the model for a character such as Captain America, who (literally) took the fight to Hitler.
It seemed right to continue with the Zorro theme, so I've begun watching
Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939).
First impressions:
I’ve only watched two and bit episodes, but there might be a lot to say about this one, as there appears to be more in it than
Zorro Rides Again.
Where James Vega may have been a counterfeit in ZRA, Diego Vega is the real McCoy in
Zorro’s Fighting Legion. There’s much better whip work, and being set in 1824 gives the added dimension of swordfights.
The choreography is fantastic, with fast and intricate fight scenes, with Zorro battling simultaneously with sword and bullwhip – even whipping a gun from another bad guy’s hand during a fight (very
Raiders of the Lost Ark!)
One of the reviews of ZRA commented on the awkwardness of James Vega wearing his pistols butt-forward, and drawing them with a twisted wrist action (right hand, right pistol, left hand, left pistol). In the later serial the reasoning behind it becomes apparent.
Zorro is a horseman, and it’s tradition for a right-handed, sword-wielding cavalryman to wear his sword on the left and his pistol on the right. The stronger right hand draws the sword from the left, and the weaker left hand draws the pistol from a rear-facing holster on the right hip. In
Zorro’s Fighting Legion he still wears twin holsters, but favours his left hand to draw the pistol from the right holster, even when his sword isn’t drawn. Without a sword, James Vega of ZRA doesn’t have a need for the tradition, and neglects to cross-draw.
With the mention of “The Golden Idol of the Yaqui” in the first episode I was thinking in terms of the Golden Idol of Raiders, and didn’t expect the “God of Gold”, Don Del Oro, to be a mysterious man in armour residing in a
Temple of Doom style cavern, complete with a flame-pit for disposing of prisoners! But like the 1930s technology of ZRA, this adds a hook that turns the story into something more than just a western.
The shadows, cast by the torchlight, of the hat-wearing men on the back wall of “the meeting place” (The Mission) reminded me of the times when Indy appears as an iconic fedora-wearing shadow. And like Indy, Zorro is much more practical concerning the use of the whip. When he’s able to retrieve it, he does so.
Finally, the horse jumping the canyon looked like a real stunt. A death-defying stunt at that!