The Mark of Zorro (1920 film) ranchero Don Alejandro in the old Spanish California of the early 19th century. Seeing the mistreatment of the peons by rich landowners and the oppressive colonial government, Don Diego, who is not as effete as he pretends, has taken the identity of the masked Robin Hood-like rogue Señor Zorro ("Mr. Fox"), champion of the people, who appears out of nowhere to protect them from the corrupt administration of Governor Alvarado, his henchman the villainous Captain Juan Ramon and the brutish Sergeant Pedro Gonzales (Noah Beery, Wallace Beery's older half-brother). With his sword flashing and an athletic sense of humor, Zorro
Zorro while also pretending to be a coward and a fop. Zorro made his debut in the 1919 novel "The Curse of Capistrano", originally meant as a stand-alone story. However, the success of the 1920 film adaptation "The Mark of Zorro" starring Douglas Fairbanks convinced McCulley to write more Zorro stories for about four decades: the character was featured in a total of five serialized stories and 57 short stories, the last one appearing in print posthumously in 1959, the year after his death. "The Curse of Capistrano" eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the most sold