Zorro, The Gay Blade Zorro, The Gay Blade Zorro, The Gay Blade is a 1981 swashbuckling comedy film from 20th Century Fox, produced by C.O. Erickson and George Hamilton, directed by Peter Medak, that stars Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Ron Leibman, and Brenda Vaccaro. Via its dedication to director Rouben Mamoulian and opening prologue, the film establishes that it is a sequel to 20th Century Fox's swashbuckling adventure film "The Mark of Zorro" (1940). Hamilton was nominated for a Golden Globe award for playing the dual role of Don Diego de la Vega (Zorro) and his gay twin brother Bunny Wigglesworth, né Ramón de la
Zorro the film "The Mark of Zorro" (1920), which Fairbanks produced, co-wrote and starred in as Diego/Zorro. The movie was a commercial success, and the 1924 reprint of McCulley's story by publisher Grosset & Dunlap used the same title, capitalizing on the movie's popularity. The novel has since been reprinted using both titles. In response to public demand fueled by the film, McCulley wrote more than sixty more Zorro stories, beginning in 1922. The 1922 story was "The Further Adventures of Zorro" and was also serialized in "Argosy All-Story Weekly". Fairbanks picked up the movie rights for the sequel that year.